Psychological ownership of nature: Relationships with pro-environmental intentions in less environmentally-oriented individuals

Abstract

Broadening community participation in pro-environmental behaviors would benefit from better understanding individuals not yet concerned about nature. In this paper, we examined whether psychological ownership of nature (i.e., the feeling that nature is mine/ours) was positively associated with pro-environmental intentions and particularly, whether this association was contingent on individual differences in environmental views (e.g., new ecological paradigm, dominionistic beliefs toward nature, environmental self-identity, environmental concern, and value orientations). Based on the jiu-jitsu persuasion model, we hypothesized that psychological ownership of nature would resonate with less environmentally-oriented people but might be less effective for those already oriented. Results of a cross-sectional survey distributed to the Australian community (total N = 836) showed that psychological ownership of nature was positively related to civic pro-environmental intentions. However, there was limited evidence supporting the proposed moderation—increased levels of psychological ownership of nature were almost similarly associated with increased pro-environmental intentions for individuals across the environmental orientation spectrum. This paper contributes to the literature on psychological ownership of nature by examining its boundary conditions in nature conservation.