Feelings for the Suffering of Others and the Environment: Compassion Fosters Proenvironmental Tendencies
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Feelings for the Suffering of Others and the Environment : Compassion Fosters Proenvironmental Tendencies. / Pfattheicher, Stefan; Sassenrath, Claudia; Schindler, Simon.
In: Environment and Behavior, Vol. 48, No. 7, 01.08.2016, p. 929-945.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Feelings for the Suffering of Others and the Environment
T2 - Compassion Fosters Proenvironmental Tendencies
AU - Pfattheicher, Stefan
AU - Sassenrath, Claudia
AU - Schindler, Simon
PY - 2016/8/1
Y1 - 2016/8/1
N2 - Recent research has shown that compassionate feelings for the suffering environment promote conservation of nature. We extend this notion and relate compassion for suffering humans to proenvironmental tendencies. The proposed relation should hold true as compassion elicits moral actions and judgments across different moral domains which should also be applicable to the environment. Therefore, we expect compassion for other humans to relate positively to proenvironmental tendencies. Two studies were conducted to test this assumption. Study 1 included three independent samples (final N = 2,096) and several measures of proenvironmental tendencies. Results revealed that compassion was indeed positively related to proenvironmental values, proenvironmental intentions, and reported donations to nature or environmental organizations. In Study 2, we experimentally tested and found a causal path between compassion for humans and proenvironmental intentions. Implications for climate change and protection of nature are discussed.
AB - Recent research has shown that compassionate feelings for the suffering environment promote conservation of nature. We extend this notion and relate compassion for suffering humans to proenvironmental tendencies. The proposed relation should hold true as compassion elicits moral actions and judgments across different moral domains which should also be applicable to the environment. Therefore, we expect compassion for other humans to relate positively to proenvironmental tendencies. Two studies were conducted to test this assumption. Study 1 included three independent samples (final N = 2,096) and several measures of proenvironmental tendencies. Results revealed that compassion was indeed positively related to proenvironmental values, proenvironmental intentions, and reported donations to nature or environmental organizations. In Study 2, we experimentally tested and found a causal path between compassion for humans and proenvironmental intentions. Implications for climate change and protection of nature are discussed.
KW - compassion
KW - conservation
KW - environment
KW - environmental concern
KW - morality
KW - proenvironmental tendencies
KW - Psychology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84977561121&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0013916515574549
DO - 10.1177/0013916515574549
M3 - Journal articles
AN - SCOPUS:84977561121
VL - 48
SP - 929
EP - 945
JO - Environment and Behavior
JF - Environment and Behavior
SN - 0013-9165
IS - 7
ER -