The Malicious Effects of Existential Threat on Motivation to Protect the Natural Environment and the Role of Environmental Identity as a Moderator
Abstract
Existential threat, which terror-management theory suggests is associated with greater psychological distance from nature and increased concern for the self, may erode human motivation to protect the natural environment. Environmentally relevant motivations and concerns include desires to protect humans (anthropocentric motivation and egoistic concern) and nature (biocentric motivation and biospheric concern). Experimentally induced mortality salience decreased biocentric but not anthropocentric motivation to protect the environment (Studies 1 and 2) as well as biospheric but not egoistic environmental concern (Study 2). However, moderator effects also suggest how environmentally protective motivations can be sustained despite existential threat. If people conceive of proenvironmental action as serving humans or if it relates to people’s identities, the malicious effects of existential threat on proenvironmental motivation can be eliminated.
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- Authors
- Fritsche, I., & Häfner, K.
- Affiliations
- Friedrich Schiller University Jena (DE)
- ORCID
- Fritsche, Immo
- Venue
- Environment and Behavior
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2011-01-30
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 570-590
- ISSN
- 0013-9165 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-390X
- OpenAlex
- W2092850117
- Cited by
- 103
- References
- 9
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 6.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Environment and Behavior (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Environmental Education and Sustainability
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Environmental Philosophy and Ethics
- Keywords
- existential risk, mortality salience, terror management theory, environmental identity, environmental concern
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