The moral roots of environmental attitudes

Feinberg, M., & Willer, R. (2013). The moral roots of environmental attitudes. Psychological Science, 24(1), 56-62. doi:10.1177/0956797612449177

This article highlights three studies on the attitudes Americans have about the environment and examines the causes that lead to the political polarization of environmental issues. The first of the three studies found that liberals consider the environment issues in moral terms. The second study found that environmental discourse found in newspaper op-eds and public-service announcements is framed in moral concern centered on harm and care, which is a belief more embraced by liberals. The third study found that by reframing proenvironmental rhetoric in terms of purity, a different moral value embraced by conservatives, reduced the political polarization. This provides evidence for a need to reframe environmental discourse in different moral terms to reduce political polarization of environmental issues.