The influence of the new ecological paradigm and cultural worldviews on pro-environmental behavior

To achieve a sustainable future there is a need to gain a better understanding of what drives pro-environmental behavior. This study analyzes the role played by the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) and cultural worldviews on pro-environmental behavior. For this purpose, a national sample of 1726 Italian respondents completed a survey designed to measure the NEP, cultural worldviews (declined in terms of symbolic universes) and pro-environmental behavior. These variables were used in a model with pro-environmental behaviors as an outcome variable, the NEP as a direct predictor, and symbolic universes - grouped by polarization (moderate-extremist) and valence (optimistic-pessimistic) - as indirect predictors. The analyses revealed that the NEP has a direct influence on pro-environmental behaviors and polarized symbolic universes indirectly influence pro-environmental behaviors through the NEP. In addition, the valence of symbolic universes moderates the relationship between polarized symbolic universes and the NEP. The results are interpreted within the framework of Semiotic-Cultural Psychology Theory (SCPT) and highlight that taking people’s meaning-making into account can guide policy makers to understand what fosters or hinders adaptive responses to climate emergence.