The role of environmental identity and individualism/collectivism in predicting climate change denial: Evidence from nine countries

• Published in: Journal of environmental psychology 2022-12, Vol.84, p.101899, Article 101899
• Main Authors: Nartova-Bochaver, Sofya K., Donat, Matthias, Kiral Ucar, Gözde, Korneev, Aleksei A., Heidmets, Mati E., Kamble, Shanmukh, Khachatryan, Narine, Kryazh, Iryna V., Larionow, Paweł, Rodríguez-González, Diana, Serobyan, Astghik, Zhou, Chan, Clayton, Susan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Climate change denial; Collectivism; Culture; Environmental identity; Gender; Individualism
• ISSN: 0272-4944; 1522-9610
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101899

Climate change is a global problem which requires a global response. However, climate change denial in many countries inhibits the ability to respond effectively. This cross-cultural correlational study investigates some global, cultural, and personal predictors of climate change denial. The sample included 2,751 respondents from nine countries: Armenia, China, Cuba, Estonia, India, Poland, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine (Mage = 20.7, SDage = 4.0; 868 men, 1,883 women). The Environmental Identity scale, the Individualism–Collectivism scale, and the Denial of climate change scale were used. We found that, overall, climate change denial weakly negatively correlated with the country’s individualism but environmental identity did not, and that climate change denial was negatively predicted by environmental identity, gender (lower in women), horizontal collectivism and individualism, and positively by vertical individualism. However, these links varied across countries, forming specific patterns. The results obtained may be helpful in guiding ecological education and social policy. •In individualistic countries, people deny climate change less, compared with people from collectivistic countries.•Environmental identity is not connected with country-level individualism.•The higher people's environmental identity is, the less likely that they deny climate change.•The climate change denial level is predicted by personal vertical individualism, and negatively by personal horizontal collectivism and individualism.•Women deny climate change less compared to men.•The general model of CCD predictors is not consistent across nine countries.•Across countries, environmental identity was more consistently associated with lower climate change denial, whereas the role of personal individualism and collectivism fluctuated more widely.