Cross-Cultural Evidence for Spatial Bias in Beliefs About the Severity of Environmental Problems

Abstract

Prior research has shown a tendency for environmental problems to be rated as more severe at the global level than at the local level. The present article reports reanalyses of a large cross-cultural data set (Study 1: k = 22, N = 3,277) and new cross-cultural data (Study 2: k = 8, N = 1,131) examining the prevalence of this spatial bias in the rated severity of environmental problems Article 268 Environment and Behavior 46(3)along with analyses of individual and country-level predictors of this bias. Results from multilevel modeling analyses showed that spatial bias was greater for happier and younger individuals and for those from smaller communities. We interpret these results as evidence for self-serving and "place-serving" biases in which the bias tempers the severity of environmental problems in one's local area. Considering the large cross-cultural evidence, we argue that spatial bias is a plausible candidate of a psychological universal identified by research in environmental psychology.

Small town, big risks: natural, cultural and social risk perception ( Ciudad pequeña, grandes riesgos: percepción del riesgo natural, cultural y social )

“…The first hypothesis, which looked at spatial bias, had predicted that earthquake and crime risk would be perceived to be greater at the national and international levels than at the local one. Our results confirmed previous studies and the optimistic bias (e.g., Milfont et al, 2011; Schultz et al, 2014). In the case of the running of the bulls, however, which causes more frequent accidents, it was hypothesized that the spatial bias pattern would be the inverse, that is, that people would perceive greater risk at the local than at the national or international levels, which is not, in fact, a bias but a correct perception of the risk in question.…”

Small town, big risks: natural, cultural and social risk perception ( Ciudad pequeña, grandes riesgos: percepción del riesgo natural, cultural y social )

“…The first hypothesis, which looked at spatial bias, had predicted that earthquake and crime risk would be perceived to be greater at the national and international levels than at the local one. Our results confirmed previous studies and the optimistic bias (e.g., Milfont et al, 2011; Schultz et al, 2014). In the case of the running of the bulls, however, which causes more frequent accidents, it was hypothesized that the spatial bias pattern would be the inverse, that is, that people would perceive greater risk at the local than at the national or international levels, which is not, in fact, a bias but a correct perception of the risk in question.…”

Biospheric Values Predict Ecological Cooperation in a Commons Dilemma Scenario

“…It will be advantageous to recruit a more diverse sample of Canadian young adults, as well as participants from different age groups (e.g., middle-aged adults) and cultural circumstances (e.g., the United States) to examine how generalizable the findings of this study are. Descriptive statistics for the three environmental values included in the EMS (Schultz, 2001) in this study were similar to those found in other studies on Canadian young adult university students (Arnocky et al, 2007; Arnocky & Stroink, 2011; Davis & Stroink, 2016), as well as students from other countries (Schultz et al, 2014). But how do farmers respond to these kinds of questions?…”

The better the bond, the better we cope. The effects of place attachment intensity and place attachment styles on the link between perception of risk and emotional and behavioral coping

“…Distress, which is a negative affect, may encourage adaptation behavior as it is an unpleasant state of mind that people are motivated to reduce, as a recent meta-analysis proves too [3]. The effect on avoidant coping is also in line with past research, which shows that place attachment negatively moderates the relationship between perception of risk and coping (intention and action) in a context of high flood risk [27], due to possible place-specific biases, such as the optimistic bias applied to environmental perception of risk [60][61][62].…”

Small town, big risks: natural, cultural and social risk perception ( Ciudad pequeña, grandes riesgos: percepción del riesgo natural, cultural y social )

“…The first hypothesis, which looked at spatial bias, had predicted that earthquake and crime risk would be perceived to be greater at the national and international levels than at the local one. Our results confirmed previous studies and the optimistic bias (e.g., Milfont et al, 2011; Schultz et al, 2014). In the case of the running of the bulls, however, which causes more frequent accidents, it was hypothesized that the spatial bias pattern would be the inverse, that is, that people would perceive greater risk at the local than at the national or international levels, which is not, in fact, a bias but a correct perception of the risk in question.…”

Biospheric Values Predict Ecological Cooperation in a Commons Dilemma Scenario

“…It will be advantageous to recruit a more diverse sample of Canadian young adults, as well as participants from different age groups (e.g., middle-aged adults) and cultural circumstances (e.g., the United States) to examine how generalizable the findings of this study are. Descriptive statistics for the three environmental values included in the EMS (Schultz, 2001) in this study were similar to those found in other studies on Canadian young adult university students (Arnocky et al, 2007; Arnocky & Stroink, 2011; Davis & Stroink, 2016), as well as students from other countries (Schultz et al, 2014). But how do farmers respond to these kinds of questions?…”

The better the bond, the better we cope. The effects of place attachment intensity and place attachment styles on the link between perception of risk and emotional and behavioral coping

“…Distress, which is a negative affect, may encourage adaptation behavior as it is an unpleasant state of mind that people are motivated to reduce, as a recent meta-analysis proves too [3]. The effect on avoidant coping is also in line with past research, which shows that place attachment negatively moderates the relationship between perception of risk and coping (intention and action) in a context of high flood risk [27], due to possible place-specific biases, such as the optimistic bias applied to environmental perception of risk [60][61][62].…”

Small town, big risks: natural, cultural and social risk perception ( Ciudad pequeña, grandes riesgos: percepción del riesgo natural, cultural y social )

“…The first hypothesis, which looked at spatial bias, had predicted that earthquake and crime risk would be perceived to be greater at the national and international levels than at the local one. Our results confirmed previous studies and the optimistic bias (e.g., Milfont et al, 2011; Schultz et al, 2014). In the case of the running of the bulls, however, which causes more frequent accidents, it was hypothesized that the spatial bias pattern would be the inverse, that is, that people would perceive greater risk at the local than at the national or international levels, which is not, in fact, a bias but a correct perception of the risk in question.…”

Biospheric Values Predict Ecological Cooperation in a Commons Dilemma Scenario

“…It will be advantageous to recruit a more diverse sample of Canadian young adults, as well as participants from different age groups (e.g., middle-aged adults) and cultural circumstances (e.g., the United States) to examine how generalizable the findings of this study are. Descriptive statistics for the three environmental values included in the EMS (Schultz, 2001) in this study were similar to those found in other studies on Canadian young adult university students (Arnocky et al, 2007; Arnocky & Stroink, 2011; Davis & Stroink, 2016), as well as students from other countries (Schultz et al, 2014). But how do farmers respond to these kinds of questions?…”

The better the bond, the better we cope. The effects of place attachment intensity and place attachment styles on the link between perception of risk and emotional and behavioral coping

“…Distress, which is a negative affect, may encourage adaptation behavior as it is an unpleasant state of mind that people are motivated to reduce, as a recent meta-analysis proves too [3]. The effect on avoidant coping is also in line with past research, which shows that place attachment negatively moderates the relationship between perception of risk and coping (intention and action) in a context of high flood risk [27], due to possible place-specific biases, such as the optimistic bias applied to environmental perception of risk [60][61][62].…”