No abstract

It is essential to engage the public in conservation measures to conserve insects. We investigate the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), as well as knowledge, attitudes, and sociodemographic variables (gender, age, education level, and income) as predictors of willingness to donate (WTD) and actual donations to insect conservation for a representative German sample (N = 515; MAge = 49.36, SD = 16.73; female = 50.1%). The PMT subcomponents severity, self-efficacy, and response efficacy, as well as attitudes toward insects, income, and education level, significantly predicted WTD. In contrast, severity, response barriers, age, gender, and the WTD significantly influenced actual donations. Overall, components of the PMT have high predictive power for both dependent variables. Our results suggest that an intention-behavior gap exists between the intention to donate and the actual donation toward insect conservation. Measures to increase WTD and actual donations for insect conservation are discussed.

This study investigated the effect of a four-lesson teaching unit titled “Entomophagy and Sustainability” on the willingness of adolescents in Germany to consume insect-based food (N = 114; MAge = 15.77 years; SDAge = 1.12 years; female = 58.8%). The main aim of the study was to test whether the teaching unit can induce long-term changes in selected nutritional-psychological factors (food disgust, food neophobia, food technology neophobia), attitudes, knowledge, and the willingness to consume insect-based food. For this purpose, a paper-pencil questionnaire was conducted immediately before (pre-test), immediately after (post-test), and approximately six weeks after (follow-up test) the teaching unit. Although significant changes in food disgust, food neophobia, food technology neophobia, attitudes, and knowledge were recorded, adolescents’ willingness to consume insect-based food was not significantly increased. Attitudes were identified as the strongest predictor of adolescents’ willingness to consume, while knowledge was not a significant predictor. Conclusions and recommendations that can be applied to other educational interventions are provided to increase the effectiveness of the teaching unit.

The loss of biodiversity is a problem that particularly affects biodiversity hotspots. Children play a crucial role in the conservation of endangered species. One important prerequisite for conservation behavior is the willingness to protect endangered animal species. The present study investigated the influence of several variables on Ecuadorian children’s willingness to protect domestic endangered animal species (N = 154; MAge = 8.57; SD = 0.55; 48.1% female). Gender, caring beliefs (a subdimension of the wildlife value orientation), dispositional empathy with endangered animals, and threat perception of the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) toward humans were strong predictors of the willingness to protect them. Conversely, psychological distance, and threat perception of both the Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus) and the jaguar (Panthera onca) had no significant influence on willingness to protect. However, their effects may be indirect. The results of this study are relevant for biodiversity conservation and educators in schools.