The New Ecological Paradigm in Social-Psychological Context

Examined the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale in relation to the variables in a theoretical model of environmental concern using data from 199 adults. It was found that the NEP was indistinguishable from a scale of awareness of consequences (AC) of general environmental conditions, both psychometrically and in terms of its relations to behavioral intentions, but somewhat different in its relations to basic value orientations and sociodemographic variables. Both NEP and AC measure generalized beliefs about the nature of human-environment interactions or folk ecology (i.e., a set of beliefs that may be influenced by social structure and values and that influence attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral intentions regarding specific environmental conditions).