Penso dunque agisco: la dimensione socio-cognitiva dei conflitti ambientali

Abstract

Environmental conflicts can be included in the broader category of conflicts based on Locally Unwanted Land Uses (LULU). Although in media and political language the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) acronym is frequently utilized to label and stigmatize individuals and groups who oppose facilitieswith high environmental and social impact, research has shown that genuine NIMBY attitudes are rare. The psychosocial perspective sheds light on the modes through which protesters, citizens, stakeholders, and decision-makers cognitively perceive the events and the other actors involved in the conflict. Specifically, there are distinctive inter-group socio-cognitive processes that are likely to orientate the actors’ interactions, such as stereotypes overuse, the erroneous feeling of being surrounded by hostile individuals compensated by the erroneous tendency to believe that many others support the cause , generalized mistrust attitudes, and the inclination to support the public opinion’s dominant views. A close examination of these ordinary socio-cognitive processes brings into the foreground the internal dynamic of the conflict, while also highlighting key-points for conflict management.