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Toward an Integrated Approach to Environmental and Prosocial Education

Author

Listed:
  • Alexander Neaman

    (Escuela de Agronomía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, 2260000 Quillota, Chile)

  • Siegmar Otto

    (Institute of Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39108 Magdeburg, Germany
    Institute of Law and Social Sciences, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany)

  • Eli Vinokur

    (Department of Non-Formal, Informal and Community Education, Gordon College of Education, 3570503 Haifa, Israel)

Abstract

Environmental education programs neglect the aspect of prosocial behavior as a correlate of pro-environmental behavior. This article examines the possible benefits of increasing the emphasis on prosocial behavior as a way to reinforce environmental education. In our study, prosocial behavior was positively related to pro-environmental behavior (r = 0.34, p < 0.001), and even a combined scale consisting of prosocial and pro-environmental behavior items showed an acceptable reliability (separation reliability = 0.82, at the level of the separated scales), which implies that prosocial and pro-environmental behaviors are a similar class of behavior. We can assume that the two underlying propensities (prosocial behavior and pro-environmentalism) are probably only two facets of an overarching common propensity that supports both kinds of behavior. Therefore, promoting one facet will, through its relationship with the other facet, also foster the respective other facet. Even more so, it might be most effective to relate to both propensities equally.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexander Neaman & Siegmar Otto & Eli Vinokur, 2018. "Toward an Integrated Approach to Environmental and Prosocial Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-11, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:3:p:583-:d:133356
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. Jana S. Kesenheimer & Tobias Greitemeyer, 2021. "Going Green (and Not Being Just More Pro-Social): Do Attitude and Personality Specifically Influence Pro-Environmental Behavior?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-12, March.
    7. Daniel Musitu-Ferrer & Celeste León-Moreno & Juan Evaristo Callejas-Jerónimo & Macarena Esteban-Ibáñez & Gonzalo Musitu-Ochoa, 2019. "Relationships between Parental Socialization Styles, Empathy and Connectedness with Nature: Their Implications in Environmentalism," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-20, July.
    8. Ruirui Zhang & Joseph D’Andrea & Chunmin Lang, 2023. "Gifts and Commodities: A Dialectical Thought Experiment for Sublation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-16, May.
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    11. Víctor Corral-Verdugo & Claudia Pato & Nissa Torres-Soto, 2021. "Testing a tridimensional model of sustainable behavior: self-care, caring for others, and caring for the planet," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(9), pages 12867-12882, September.
    12. Shibly Shahrier & Koji Kotani & Yoshinori Nakagawa, 2021. "Cooperation on climate change and ongoing urbanization," Working Papers SDES-2021-8, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised Sep 2021.
    13. Ying Li & Xuan Wu & Yu-Jie Chu & Ya-Jun Guo, 2022. "The Impact of Transformative Tourism Experiences on Prosocial Behaviors of College Students: Multiple Chain Mediating Effects of Dispositional Awe and Social Connectedness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    14. Hannes Kettner & Sam Gandy & Eline C. H. M. Haijen & Robin L. Carhart-Harris, 2019. "From Egoism to Ecoism: Psychedelics Increase Nature Relatedness in a State-Mediated and Context-Dependent Manner," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-23, December.
    15. Kentaka Aruga, 2020. "Is Environmental Awareness a Good Predictor of an Individual’s Altruism Level?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-12, September.
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    17. Lourdes Villardón-Gallego & Rocío García-Carrión & Lara Yáñez-Marquina & Ana Estévez, 2018. "Impact of the Interactive Learning Environments in Children’s Prosocial Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-12, June.

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