Ecocentric and Anthropocentric Attitudes toward the Environment
Thompson, S. C. G., & Barton, M. A. (1994). Ecocentric and anthropocentric attitudes toward the environment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 14, 2, 149-157.
Examined the relationship between 2 motives underlying environmental attitudes: ecocentrism, valuing nature for its own sake; and anthropocentrism, valuing nature because of material or physical benefits it can provide for humans. Scales to measure ecocentric (ECC) and anthropocentric (APC) attitudes and general apathy toward environmental issues were developed. In Study 1 (with 115 Ss waiting in airports), the ECC and APC scales predicted independently conserving behaviors, apathy toward environmental issues, and membership in environmental organizations. In Study 2, these results were partially replicated with 71 college students (aged 17-21 yrs). The results were extended to include the relationship between ECC attitudes and a measure of observed environmentally relevant behavior. Study 2 demonstrated that the ECC-APC distinction explains behavior independently of environmental attitudes measured with a traditional attitude scale.
