Free Public Species Naming to Promote Proenvironmental Behavior?

Publication Date

2013

Document Type

Article

Issue

1

Abstract

To examine the impact of naming rights on support for environmental protection, we provided a high school class the opportunity to name a species of a parasitoid wasp after hearing a lecture on the extent and loss of biodiversity, with special focus on species description and climate change. Two other classes received the same presentation but were not able to name the species. Results showed a small impact on behavior, when controlling for environmental identity, with the experimental group scoring higher than the other two groups. This effect did not persist at a retest 4 months later. Other analyses showed, however, that environmental concern and concern about effects on the ecosystem had a significant effect on behavior at time 2 even when controlling for behavior at time 1. Implications for educational interventions are discussed. © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

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