On the relationship between Openness to Experience, political orientation, and pro-environmental behavior

Publication date: 1 February 2019Source: Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 138Author(s): Sina A. Klein, Daniel W. Heck, Gerhard Reese, Benjamin E. HilbigAbstractPrevious research consistently showed that Openness to Experience is positively linked to pro-environmental behavior. However, this does not appear to hold whenever pro-environmental behavior is mutually exclusive with cooperation. The present study aimed to replicate this null effect of Openness and to test political orientation as explanatory variable: Openness is associated with a left-wing/liberal political orientation, which, in turn, is associated with both cooperation and pro-environmental behavior, thus creating a decision conflict whenever the latter are mutually exclusive. In an online study (N = 355) participants played the Greater Good Game, a social dilemma involving choice conflict between pro-environmental behavior and cooperation. Results both replicated prior findings and suggested that political orientation could indeed account for the null effect of Openness.
Source: Personality and Individual Differences - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research