Social theories of environmental reform - Environmental Reform in the Information Age - page 59

Arguably, one could even add a third category to environmental
reform studies in the 1970s, be it that this category was stronger psy-
chology - instead of sociology or political science - based: research on
environmental values, attitudes and behaviour. Strongly rooted in psy-
chological models and theories a new line of investigation developed
in the 1970s, relating changes in environmental values and attitudes
of individuals to behavioural changes. Ajzen and Fishbein's ( 1975 ;
1977 ) model of reasoned action formed the basis for much fundamental
and applied research, trying to relate polling and surveys on environ-
mental values with concrete environmentally (un)sound behavioural
actions and changes in social practices. In sociology, Dunlap's ( 1980 )
dichotomy of Human Exemptionist Paradigm (HEP) and the New Eco-
logical Paradigm (NEP) formed a strong model for survey research,
although it was initially developed to criticise the mother discipline for
failing to take environmental dimensions into account in explaining
social behaviour.
Reviewing in retrospect these contributions to social science research
on environmental reform, one can draw several conclusions. First, with
Fred Buttel ( 2003 ) one can conclude that in the 1970s and 1980s
the majority of the environmental social science studies were not
focused on explaining environmental reform, but, rather, on under-
standing the continuity of environmental degradation. Second, among
the relatively few environmental reform studies conventional polit-
ical and civil society institutions received most attention, whereas
economic institutions and organisations, or mixes (hybridisations) of
institutions/organisations, were almost absent. This was, of course,
related to the actual state of environmental transformations in OECD
countries during the 1970s and 1980s. Third, although during that
period neo-Marxist perspectives dominated the sociology/political sci-
ences of environmental devastations, no clear single dominant theoret-
ical perspective emerged among the variety of environmental reform
studies. Fourth, although these traditions in studying environmental
protest, politics and attitudes originate in the 1970s, they still have
a strong position in contemporary social sciences research on the
environment as the programs of, for instance, the annual, two-yearly
or four-yearly conferences of, respectively, the American (ASA), the
European (ESA) and the International Sociological Association (ISA)
illustrate.