Environmental attitudes, risk assessment, and contrast effects in perceptions of environmental and animal rights activism

Abstract

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, environmental extremist groups, or ecoterrorists, constitute the largest domestic terrorist threat in the United States. The aggressive tactics adopted by such groups as the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front raise important questions about the effects of such action on the public's perceptions of environmental activist groups and their activities. The Perception of Behavior Procedure (PBP) was developed to test for contrast effects in perceptions of different examples of behavior. The PBP also allows for testing between two contrast effect models, the standard-of-comparison model and the set/reset model. Contrast effects in perceptions of animal rights and environmental activism strategies were investigated. It was hypothesized that individuals would have different perceptions of a target scenario of activism depending on whether they compared the target scenario to an extreme (i.e., violent), moderate, or conservative example of protest. It was also hypothesized that endorsement of activism strategies would be positively correlated with attitudes toward environmental preservation. In addition to completing surveys assessing environmental attitudes and risk assessment for environmental degradation, respondents in two different studies were given a pair of scenarios (a target and a comparison) to read and rate. Study 1 (N = 293) dealt with general pro-environmental activism and Study 2 (N = 251) dealt with animal rights activism. Analyses revealed that for both types of activism, exposure to extreme forms of activism made less extreme forms of activism more acceptable. In addition, pro-environmental attitudes were positively correlated with acceptability of activism strategies, although attitudes accounted for only 2-3% of the variance versus 30% for the contrast manipulation in Study 1, and 2-7% for attitudes versus 16% for contrast effects in Study 2. A third study dealing with anti-abortion activism was also conducted to determine if the effects found in Studies 1 and 2 generalized to activism in a different area. In Study 3 (N = 291), data analyses revealed the same contrast effects in perceptions of anti-abortion activism, which indicates that the effects are not specific to environmental or animal rights activism. Results for all three studies also supported the standard-of-comparison model over the set/reset model in accounting for the contrast effects. These findings indicate that it is possible that actions undertaken by ecoterrorists -- though such actions may not be condoned by the public -- may serve the purpose of leading the public to see more moderate forms of activism in a more favorable light, and that this situational factor appears to have far more impact on perceptions than do attitudes.