Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Environmentalists--Attitudes; Academic theses;
Abstract
This study evaluates a model of environmental beliefs constructed by Lester Milbrath (1989). Milbrath contends that a New Environmental Paradigm is emerging in opposition to the Dominant Social Paradigm embraced by most members of contemporary Western societies. Milbrath conducted a longitudinal study of three nations: the United States, Great Britain, and Germany. He gathered data through surveying samples of environmental leaders,, business leaders, government officials, and citizens in each of these nations. Based on data collected through these surveys, Milbrath developed a model of the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) and Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP) reflected in the attitudes people hold toward environmental issues in Western societies. He divides this model into six categories and proposes that people's attitudes tend to fit consistently into the NEP or DSP across every category. Milbrath's model thus demonstrates how the NEP differs from and contrasts to the DSP. The first category in Milbrath's model focuses on nature and people's attitudes toward it. The second category deals with the amount of compassion members of society feel regarding other species, other people, and future generations. The third category addresses the amount of risk viewed as acceptable and necessary in society. The fourth category has to do with the idea of limits to population growth and the attendant effect on resource depletion. The fifth category deals with society's view of nature and our role in it. The sixth and final category in the model addresses politics and the political system. To assess the merits and applicability of Milbrath's model, I conducted 12 in-depth interviews with people who identified themselves as environmentalists and had a close affiliation with environmental groups. Six of my respondents expressed attitudes that were inconsistent with the predictions of Milbrath's model, particularly in the categories of risk and politics. Overall, my findings in this study suggest that Milbrath's model would be more accurate if it excluded the categories of risk and politics and included only the four categories of nature, .compassion, limits to growth, and society.
Year of Submission
2004
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology
First Advisor
Kent Sandstrom
Second Advisor
Jerry Stockdale
Third Advisor
Wynne Wright
Date Original
2004
Object Description
1 PDF file (94 leaves)
Copyright
©2004 Steven R. Junge
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Junge, Steven R., "A Qualitative Model Test of the NEP/DSP" (2004). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 3098.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/3098
Comments
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