Abstract
Four human values are considered to underlie individuals’ environmental beliefs and behaviors: biospheric (i.e., concern for environment), altruistic (i.e., concern for others), egoistic (i.e., concern for personal resources) and hedonic values (i.e., concern for pleasure and comfort). These values are typically measured with an adapted and shortened version of the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS), to which we refer as the Environmental-SVS (E-SVS). Despite being well-validated, recent research has indicated some concerns about the SVS methodology (e.g., comprehensibility, self-presentation biases) and suggested an alternative method of measuring human values: The Portrait Value Questionnaire (PVQ). However, the PVQ has not yet been adapted and applied to measure values most relevant to understand environmental beliefs and behaviors. Therefore, we tested the Environmental-PVQ (E-PVQ) – a PVQ variant of E-SVS –and compared it with the E-SVS in two studies. Our findings provide strong support for the validity and reliability of both the E-SVS and E-PVQ. In addition, we find that respondents slightly preferred the E-PVQ over the E-SVS (Study 1). In general, both scales correlate similarly to environmental self-identity (Study 1), energy behaviors (Studies 1 and 2), pro-environmental personal norms, climate change beliefs and policy support (Study 2). Accordingly, both methodologies show highly similar results and seem well-suited for measuring human values underlying environmental behaviors and beliefs.
Highlights
Haltering global warming is one of the main challenges of our times and probably one of the biggest global challenges mankind ever faced
Descriptive statistics on the comprehensibility of the E-Portrait Value Questionnaire (PVQ) showed that the introduction text (M = 4.20, SD = 0.83) and all items were easy to understand (Ms = 4.16 to 4.71, SDs = 0.50 to 1.03)
In Study 1 we tested a methodology – the E-PVQ – for measuring four basic human values that relate to environmental identity, beliefs and behaviors
Summary
Haltering global warming is one of the main challenges of our times and probably one of the biggest global challenges mankind ever faced. Some values might be regarded as more socially accepted than others, which makes this methodology vulnerable to self-enhancement biases (Schwartz, 2003, 2005) In addition to these issues related to the direct way of asking, specific groups (e.g., children under 14, elderly and people who did not follow typical Western education) have difficulties with completing the (E-)SVS as they are not used to the abstract, context-free formulation of the items, which could result in measuring errors (Schwartz et al, 2001, 2012; Schwartz, 2003; Maio, 2010; Schwartz and Butenko, 2014). We directly compare the E-PVQ with the original E-SVS in order to (1) investigate whether both scales identify the same value structure, (2) test and compare the reliability of both scales, (3) inspect the correlation between the E-PVQ and E-SVS value clusters, (4) examine each scale’s ability to predict relevant environmental outcome variables and (5) evaluate each scale’s ease-of-use (the latter only Study 1)
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