THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY SHELAH MARIE DARAP RECIDE TOPIC TITLE: THE ROLE OF EMOTION ON ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES: AN ASSESSMENT IN DEVELOPING PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIONS TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY BACHELOR THESIS Study Mode : Full-Time Major : Environmental Science in Management Faculty : International Training and Development Center Batch : 2011-2015 Thai Nguyen, September 2015 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis entitled: “THE ROLE OF EMOTION ON ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES: AN ASSESSMENT IN DEVELOPING PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIONS TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY”, prepared, presented and submitted by SHELAH MARIE D RECIDE in partial fulfillment of the requirements in the undergraduate degree in Environmental Science and Management has been examined and hereby recommended for approval and acceptance Thai Nguyen, September 25, 2015 Supervisor A/Prof Dr HOANG VAN HUNG BIOGRAPHICAL DATA Name: SHELAH MARIE DARAP RECIDE Address: BRGY M PANDEÑO SINILOAN, LAGUNA PHILIPPINES Nationality: FILIPINO Date of Birth: SEPTEMBER 23, 1995 Place of Birth: STA CRUZ, LAGUNA PHILIPPINES PARENTS: Father: REYNALDO S RECIDE Mother: LEONORA D RECIDE SIBLINGS: Brother: JHOVAN REY D RECIDE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT: UNIVERSITY (2012-2016) Major: Bachelor of Environmental Science in Management Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, Thai Nguyen City, Vietnam (Advanced Education Program from University of California, Davis, USA) SECONDARY (2008-2012) Curriculum: Special Agricultural Science Laguna State Polytechnic University, Siniloan Campus, Siniloan, Laguna PRIMARY (2002-2008) Angela Ong Javier Memorial Elementary School, Siniloan, Laguna ii ABSTRACT Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry Degree Program Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management Student Name Shelah Marie D Recide Student ID DTN1153110279 The Role of Emotion on Environmental Changes: An Assessment Thesis Title in Developing Pro-Environmental Actions Towards Environmental Sustainability Supervisor A/Prof Hoang Van Hung, Ph.D Abstract: The viability of the planet to sustain life amidst development on both economic and industrial fields must be preserved at all cost However, environmental changes and its risks are currently the most serious concern of all individuals especially the researchers They argue that the causes of these extreme phenomena are not only associated with scientific issues, but also with the individual’s behavior towards the environment Thus, various researches have been taken out to consider the solutions for the role of human behavior to develop pro-environmental consciousness The positive and negative emotions analysis in this study not only affects their own experiences with the environment, but it also tests the possibilities of engaging into eco-friendly ways Thus, this study investigates the role of emotion in developing proenvironmental behavior in the influence of environmental changes, particularly natural disasters Furthermore, results have shown that emotion significantly affects the changes of the participants’ willingness to be engaged in pro-environmental manners This explains that emotion in developing environmentally-friendly behavior is a contributing variable as a stepping stone to environmental sustainability Eco-friendly attitudes are also confirmed important in building behavior intentions and acceptance of nature, this assessment makes the development of desired outcome possible when good relationship with the environment is already inhabited Likewise, the study showed excellent significant result of the emotion-arousing video manipulation and ecological footprint, thus, emotion is a factor in considering the start and development of one’s sustainable way of living Keywords: Number of Pages: Date of Submission: Environmental sustainability; Emotion; Environmental changes; Climate change; pro-environmental behavior Forty-eight (48) pages September, 2015 iii DEDICATION To my parents and brother; Reynaldo, Leonor & Jhovan Especially to my grandfather; Alejandro My greatest motivation through hardships, I love you and I did it to the best of my abilities while your heart beats linger, for it is as always as it is: As if listening to raindrops; as if feeling a distinct tone; as if learning how to crawl iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT “You'll have a tale or two to tell of your own when you come back.” –Gandalf; The Hobbit This quote played a huge inspiration for me during the timeline of this research Things sometimes did go mad and I was ready enough and yet, still terrified Fortunately, more people came and very little gone Through the time of hardships on this research, I take hold of the Lord’s guidance and trust Thus, first and foremost, I express my deepest and solid gratitude to our Almighty God for providing me the strength and courage as the time gone by; for taking me away from doubts and indifferences; and most definitely for leading my path to live by His plan The unconditional love and support of my parents, Reynaldo & Leonora Recide, and my brother, Jhovan Rey Recide, gave me strength to love in return; to continue what I have started that lead to the amazingly successful completion of this study Likewise to the people who never doubted my capabilities to gain success, especially my research supervisor, A/Prof Dr Hoang Van Hung and my Lao Cai and Thai Nguyen families Thank you for the additional knowledge, worthy indications, comments and unending guidance To the Advanced Education Program, Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry and the University of California, Davis director and staff for permitting me to undergo with this research in the first place, for giving welcomingly great opportunities towards attaining productive abilities hindering failure v The novelists that gave me life and journey through words, for teaching me the values of life; strengthen my writing skills and my cognitive mind that played a very wide role for this research—J.R.R Tolkien, J.K Rowling, S Collins, V Roth, & C Clare; you were most wonderfully amazing And of course, Andrés Ceballos y DVICIO [Oye, sé que algún día nos veremos Pronto.] for overwhelmingly being a part of my huge circle of inspiration The good things of my life happened with you all and the best yet to come Thank you truthfully and whole-heartedly The Researcher Shelah Marie D Recide vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .1 LIST OF TABLES .2 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .3 PART I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research Rationale 1.2 Objectives of the Study 1.3 Research Questions .7 1.4 Significance of the Study 1.5 Hypothesis 1.5.1Null hypothesis .9 1.5.2.Alternative hypothesis 1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Research 1.7 Time and Place of the Study 1.8 Assumption of the Study .9 1.9 Definition of Terms 10 PART II LITERATURE REVIEW 11 2.1 Environmental Changes and Natural Disasters 11 2.1.1 Human Vulnerability to Environmental Changes due to Climate Change.13 2.2 Environmental Sustainability and Environmental Changes 14 2.3 Emotion and Natural Disasters .16 2.4 Emotion and Environmental Sustainability 17 PART III METHODS 21 3.2 Research Location 21 3.3 Research Approach .22 3.4 Data Collection .22 PART IV RESULTS 30 4.1 General Quantitative Result 30 4.2 Differences on Current Pro-Environmental Behavior 32 4.4 Environmental Concern 36 vii 4.5 Behavioral Change Intention/Willingness 39 PART V DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 43 REFERENCES 46 APPENDIX I APPENDIX II viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Research Approach 22 Figure Research Procedures 24 Figure Mean Effect of Video Treatments to Environmental Behavior 37 Figure Mean scores for the Importance of Environmental Issues 38 Figure Willingness of the Participants for Environmental Sustainable Way of Living 40 my moral code” These statements were synthesized as the highest average score from the environmental attitude survey In completion to this research, it is therefore concluded that the role of emotion in developing pro-environmental actions is limited based on the individual awareness of the environmental events and natural disasters—if the video is not effective enough to manipulate emotion, changes wouldn’t be seen Both ways, this study showed excellent significant result of the emotion-arousing video manipulation and ecological footprint, thus, emotion is a factor in considering the start and development of one’s sustainable way of living Likewise, it is highly recommended for the future cognitive researchers to further continue this study by monitoring the participants’ behaviour for a period of time in order to ensure and witness the interval and changes from non-sustainable actions into proenvironmental practices 45 REFERENCES Allport, G.W (1998) The Historical Background of Social Psychology In G Lindzey & E Aronson (Eds.), The Handbook of Social Psychology New York, NY: Oxford University Press ISBN 978-0195213768 Chalecki, E.L (2002) Environmental Security: A Case Study of Climate Change http://pacinst.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/02/env_security_and_climate_change.p df Chawla, L (1999) Life Paths into Effective Environmental Action The Journal of Environmental Education, 31(1), 15-26 doi: 10.1080/00958969909598626 Chawla, L (2001) Significant Life Experiences Revisited Once Again: Response to Vol 5(4) ‘Five Critical Commentaries on Significant Life Experience Research in Environmental Education’ Environmental Education Research, 7(4), 451-461 doi 10.1080/13504620120081313 Clark, L & Watson, D (1999) The PANAS-X: Manual for the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-Expanded Form Iowa Research Online Retrieved from http://ir.uiowa.edu/ Clayton, S (2003) Environmental identity: A conceptual and an operational definition In S.Clayton & S Opotow (Eds.), Identity and the Natural Environment (pp 45-65) Cambridge, MA: MIT PRESS Crispe, I (2012, September 4) Can Human Emotions cause Natural Disasters? News Retrieved from http://www.3news.co.nz/ 46 Deutsche Welle (2009, August, 25) More Natural Disasters Due to Climate Change? From http://www.dw.de/more-natural-disasters-due-to-climate-change/a-4598063 Dietrich, H (2013) The Role of Emotion in Environmental Decision Making Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research: Department of Psychology Paper 55 Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/psychdiss/55 Granath, A (2014) Environmental Assessment: Final Report and Recommendation Retrieved from https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/system/files/documents/files/EFA%20Envi ronmental%20Assessment%20June%202014.pdf Guillamont, P., (2011) The concept of structural economic vulnerability and its relevance for the identification of the Least Developed Countries and other purposes (Nature, measurement, and evolution) Retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/cdp/cdp_background_papers/bp201 1_12.pdf Jamieson, D (2014) Reason in a Dark Time: Why the Struggle against Climate Change Failed and What it Means for Our Future New York, NY: Oxford University Press Koger, S.M (2013) Psychological and Behavioral Aspects of Sustainability Sustainability, 5(7), 3006- 3008.doi :10.3390/su5073006 Kollmuss, A & Agyeman, J (2002) Mind the gap: Why people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior? Environmental Education Research, 8(3), 239-260 47 Lane, H (2000) Sustainable Development versus Economic Growth: A Case Study on Natural Disaster in Nicaragua The Journal of Environment Development, 9(2) 175-182 doi: 10.1177/107049650000900205 Oskamp, S (2000) Psychological Contributions to Achieving an Ecologically Sustainable Future for Humanity Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 373-390 Pearson, E (2013) Conservation Psychology: A Gap in Current Australian Undergraduate Psychology Education? Sustainability, 5, 1266-1281 doi: 10.3390/su5031266 Ranada, P (2013, November 14) What made Tacloban so vulnerable to Haiyan? Retrieved from Rappler.com Riebeek, H (2005) The Rising Cost of Natural Hazards Retrieved March 17, 2015 from http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/RisingCost/rising_cost6.php Schreiner, C (2012) The Role of Emotion in Understanding and Promoting Sustainability and Eco-Friendly Behavior (Environmental Studies Undergraduate Student Theses, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, United States of America) Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/envstudtheses/98 Tharan, D (2004) India Case Study: Analysis of National Strategies for Sustainable Development Retrieved from https://www.iisd.org/pdf/2004/measure_sdsip_india.pdf UNEP (2002) Assessing Human Vulnerability due to Environmental Change: Concepts, Issues, Methods and Case Studies ISBN: 92-807-2366-9 Wraith, R & Gordon, R (2006) Historical Article: Human Responses to Natural Disasters The Australian Journal of Emergency Management, 21(1) 48 APPENDIX I The following are the survey materials used in the study Both the Low-fear and High-fear groups completed the same set of survey aside from the video presentation PANAS-X Questionnaire Direction: Indicate your emotion at the current time using the scale below: 1-not at all or very slightly Inspired Distressed Alert Scared Excited Nervous Strong Unfriendly Active Enthusiastic 2-a little 3-moderately 4-quite a bit 5-extremely Upset Determined Afraid Guilty Happy Lonely Irritable Ashamed Proud Interested Environmental Identity Scale (EID) Direction: Rate the items below using the 5-point Likert Scale 1-Strongly disagree 2-Disagree 3-Neither agree nor disagree (undecided) I spend a lot of time in natural settings (woods, mountains, desert, lakes and ocean.) Engaging in environmental behaviors is impor tant to me I think of myself as a part of nature,not separa te from it If I had enough time or money, I would certai nly devote some of it to working for environmental causes 4-Agree 5-Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Agree Unde cided Disagree Strongly Disagree When I am upset or stressed, I can feel better by spending some time outdoors “communicating with nature” 6.Living near wildlife is important to me; I woul d not want to live in a city all the time I have a lot in common with environmentalists as a group I believe that some of today’s social problems could be cured by returning to a more rural lifestyle in which people live in harmony with the land I feel that I have a lot in common with other species 10 My own interests usually seem to coincide with the position advocated by environmentalists 11 Being a part of the ecosystem is an important part of who I am 12 I feel that I have roots to a particular geographical location that had a significant impact on my development 13 I feel that my own interests will sometimes be in conflict with the goals of preserving the environment 14 Behaving responsibly toward the earth – living a sustainable lifestyle – is a part of my moral code 15 Learning about the natural world should be an important part of every child’s upbringing 16 In general, being part of the natural world is an important part of my self-image 17 I don’t pay much attention to environmental issues 18 I would rather live in a small room or house with a nice view than a bigger room or house with a view of other buildings 19 I really enjoy camping and hiking outdoors 20 Sometimes I feel like parts of nature – certain trees, or storms, or mountains – have a personality of their own 21 I would feel that an important part of my life was missing if I was not able to get out and enjoy nature from time to time 22 I take pride in the fact that I could survive ou tdoors on myown for a few days 23 I have never seen a work of art that is as beautiful as a work of nature, like a sunset or a mountain range 24 I like to garden 25 I feel that I receive spiritual sustenance from nature 26 I keep mementos from the outdoors in my room, like shells or rocks or feathers 27 I don’t really care what part of the country I l ive in I don’t pay much attention to my surroundings 28 When I am in a natural setting the needs and demands of others seem to fade away and I can think about what is important to me New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Direction: Rate the statements below by ticking ( ) on the scale that satisfies your own perspectives The 5-point Likert Scale indicates 1-Strongly disagree 3-Undecided 5-Strongly Agree 2-Disagree 4-Agree We are approaching the limit of the number of people the Earth can support Humans have the right to modify the natural environment to suit their needs When humans interfere with nature, it often produces disastrous consequences Human cleverness/creativity will ensure that we not make the Earth uninhabitable Humans are seriously abusing the environment The Earth has plenty of natural resources if we just learn how to develop them Plants and animals have as much right as humans to exist in this world Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree The balance of nature is strong enough to cope up with the impacts of modern industrial nations Despite our special abilities, humans are still subject to the laws of nature 10 The so-called “ecological crisis” facing humankind has been greatly exaggerated 11 The Earth is like a spaceship with very limited room and resources 12 Humans are meant to rule over the rest of nature 13 The balance of nature is very delicate and easily upset 14 Humans will eventually learn enough about how nature works to be able to control it/ 15 If things continue on their present course, we will soon experience a major ecological catastrophe Ecological Footprint Direction: Encircle the letter that represents your answers Each letter corresponds to scores to determine your ecological footprint score DIET AND FOOD CHOICES 1.) How often you eat meat or other animal products (i.e milk, cheese, eggs)? a) Never I’m vegan b) I don’t eat meat or eggs at all but I eat some dairy products c) I don’t eat meat, but I eat eggs and dairy products d) I eat meat and other animal products several times a week e) I eat meat and other animal products every day 2.) How often you eat fast food or eat out (this includes the school cafeteria)? a) Never d) Often (a few times a week) b) Rarely (a couple of times a month) e) Almost every day or every day c) Occasionally (once or twice a week) 3.) How often you eat processed foods (i.e frozen foods or prepackaged foods)? a) Never d) Often (a few times a week) b) Rarely (a couple of times a month) e) Almost every day or every day c) Occasionally (once or twice a week) 4.) How often you try to buy food that you know was produced or grown locally? a) Never d) Often (a few times a week) b) Rarely (a couple of times a month) e) Almost every day or every day c) Occasionally (once or twice a week) 5.) How often you drink bottled water? a) Never, I use a refillable water bottle d) Often (almost every day) e) I drink more than one bottle a day b) Rarely (a couple of times a month) c) Occasionally (once or twice a week) SHELTER/HOME LIFE 6.) I shut off the lights when I leave a room a) Always d) Almost never b) Usually e) Never c) Sometimes (about half and half) 7.) How often you separate your garbage from recyclables? a) I never put recyclable items in the garbage b) I rarely put recyclable items in the garbage (no more than once a week) c) I occasionally put recyclable items in the garbage (a few times a week) 8.) How long you usually shower for? d) I frequently put recyclable items in the garbage (every day or almost every day) e) I don’t recycle at all a) Less than minutes d) 15 to 20 minutes b) to minutes e) 20 minutes or longer c) 10 to 15 minutes 9.) When you shower you turn off the water while shaving, washing your hair, etc? a) Yes 10.) b) No Which statement best describes you? a) When it’s too hot or cold in the house, I change my clothing rather than turn the heat or air conditioning up b) When it’s too hot or cold in the house, I turn up the heat or the air conditioning rather than change my clothing TRANSPORTATION 11.) Which method of transportation best describes how you USUALLY get to school? d) I get a ride with one or more of my friends a) I walk b) I ride my bike c) I take public transportation (bus, subway, etc.) or a school bus 12.) Which would best describe the most frequently used vehicle in your household? a) We don’t have a vehicle b) Hybrid vehicle or compact car When you go out with friends, how you USUALLY get to your destination? d) I get a ride with one or more of my friends a) I walk b) I ride my bike c) I take public transportation (bus, subway, etc.) 14.) d) small Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) or van e) large Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) or van c) large or mid-size car 13.) e) My parents drive me or I drive myself e) My parents drive me or I drive myself How many cars members of your household have? a) none c) two e) four or more b) one d) three 15.) How many times a year you fly in a plane? a) once b) twice 50 c) four d) five or more times LIFESTYLE CHOICES 16.) Do you buy clothes, shoes or other items just because you want them, even if you don’t really need them? a) no b) yes 17.) Do you use rechargeable or disposable batteries in your electronics? a) I don’t use batteries b) rechargeable c) disposable 18.) Do you dispose of your used batteries appropriately? a) I don’t use batteries b) Yes, I make sure they go to the proper hazardous waste transfer station c) No, I just throw them in the regular garbage 19.) When you shop for new clothes you buy new or “previously owned” (i.e used)? a) I always buy “used” clothes b) Sometimes I buy new, other times I buy used c) I always buy new clothes 20.) When one of your electronic items breaks what you usually do? a) Get it fixed b) Throw it away and go out and buy a used one c) Throw it away and go out and buy a new one Environmental Concern and Behavior Change Question 1: How important are the environmental issues to you? Rate the items below using the 5-point Likert Scale 1-Unimportant 3-Moderately Important 5-Very Important 2-A little important 4-Important Very Important Important Moderately Important A little Important Unimportant Pollution Global Warming Overpopulation Natural Resource Depletion Waste Disposal Climate Change Loss of Biodiversity Deforestation Ocean Acidification 10 Ozone Layer Depletion 11 Acid Rain 12 Water Pollution 13 Urbanization/Urban Sprawling 14 Public Health Issue 15 Genetic Engineering Question How much did the video affect your current environmental behavior? Please rate your answer 1=Not at all 2= A little 4= Somewhat 3= It’s a normal thing for me 5= Too much Question Are you willing to change your behavior into more environment-friendly knowing the consequences of natural disasters? Why?/Why Not Question Are you willing to the following? Practice proper waste disposal Recycle more Ride bike or walk more Participate it environmental activities Cut off the use of different appliances to conserve more energy Of course Yes Maybe I don’t know Not at all APPENDIX II THE PARTICIPANTS FOR THE STUDY The participants working on with environmental behavior assessment GROUP or High-Fear Group GROUP or Low-Fear Group Both groups viewing the filler task video [...]... goals The Country The study will bring huge possibilities of sustainable environmental growth without jeopardizing the viability of the Earth 1.5 Hypothesis 8 1.5.1 Null hypothesis The emotion of individuals due to environmental changes doesn’t have a significant relationship to the development of pro -environmental behavior 1.5.2 Alternative hypothesis The emotion of individuals due to environmental changes. .. the people involved the death of their loved ones, utter destruction and poverty Hence, it changes their personality and their behavior towards the environment 2.4 Emotion and Environmental Sustainability Different people have different emotional perspectives to the threats of environmental changes and sustainability Many have studied that emotional reaction and response to environmental degradation... using the Pearson’s R correlation analysis The significance between emotion and ecological footprint was also determined using one-way ANOVA in SPSS B.5 Video Manipulation After the series of survey regarding environmental attitude, the video manipulation test is conducted In the study, it tests the changes in emotion of the participants prior to the awareness of the drastic impacts of environmental changes. .. relationship to the development of pro -environmental behavior 1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Research The scope of this research is the role of emotion and human behavior on environmental changes and sustainability It will explore participants at diverse gender and age However, it is limited on the participants’ focus on the study Since the current study explores the inner thoughts and feelings, the. .. treatments and subjected into a series of surveys for emotional behavior and perspectives towards the environment; the relationship of nature to oneself and the participants’ environmental sustainable behavior 23 Figure 2 Research Procedures 24 B 1 Measuring emotion before the treatment (Pre-Video Emotion Test) The emotional state of the participants prior to the beginning of the study is important to determine... environmental issues; it also promotes the idea of extending education to an environment-aware 19 curriculum to further contribute to revealing human factors that causes success or failure of emotional perspectives to environmental changes (Koger, 2013) The study of the psychological factors of environmental exploitation and degradation is related to attitudes towards the environment creating pro -environmental. .. about the role of emotion in environmental decision making has confirmed the importance of environmental- friendly attitude in prediction to pro -environmental change in behavior Furthermore, she discussed those individuals who inhibit environmental- friendly attitudes are easier to be engaged in new behaviors in reducing the ecological footprint while increasing the chances of sustainable environmental. .. pneumonia The district of Ituri in North East of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is reported worldwide as the most active focus of the human pneumonic plague with a total of approximately 1000 cases each year (Gale, 2006) This disease is due to poor environmental condition and large scale of population displacement brought worse by changing weather conditions Climate change impacts the evolution of. .. about the devastating impacts of natural disasters while Treatment 2 is about a low-fear or a compelling video story of the victims of a tragic natural disaster The majority of the participants were girls (girls= 26; boys=21) The influences of the video treatments on the emotion of the participants and their environmental sustainable behavior were measured through a series of questionnaires regarding environmental. .. pro -environmental responses, Kollmus and Agyeman (2002) came into conclusion that some of these impacts are most likely aim the negative feelings and emotions of the victims and their negative psychological responses (e.g Distress, anger, fear, sadness) that prevents them to respond to environmental protection activities In their study, the denial or to refuse to accept and believe the reality to environmental ... relationship to the development of pro -environmental behavior 1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Research The scope of this research is the role of emotion and human behavior on environmental changes. .. by their emotion 4.4 Environmental Concern Now that the result of emotion and environmental tests made both significant and non-significant role in the study, the participants’ environmental concern... regarding environmental attitude, the video manipulation test is conducted In the study, it tests the changes in emotion of the participants prior to the awareness of the drastic impacts of environmental