TY - JOUR

T1 - A little parsimony goes a long way

T2 - Aversive (‘dark’) personality and pro-environmentalism

AU - Hilbig, Benjamin E.

AU - Zettler, Ingo

AU - Moshagen, Morten

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 Elsevier Ltd

PY - 2024/6

Y1 - 2024/6

N2 - Individual differences in pro-environmentalism (connectedness to nature, pro-environmental attitudes, and pro-environmental behavior) have been attributed to various personality traits and, most recently, socially/ethically aversive (aka ‘dark’) traits in particular. However, the empirical picture linking such traits to pro-environmentalism is scattered and has produced contradictory findings. We propose a more parsimonious and consistent explanation of individual differences in pro-environmentalism through the D factor, the common core of all aversive traits. Across 12 studies (total N = 13,882) we show substantial and consistent negative correlations (−0.56 ≤ r ≤ −0.26) between D and connectedness to nature, pro-environmental attitudes, and pro-environmental behavior. Moreover, the ‘dark tetrad’ traits (Machiavellianism, Narcissism, Psychopathy, and Sadism), alone or in their common combinations (as a triad or tetrad), never explained more total variance in either of these criteria than D alone. Finally, the extent to which any dark tetrad trait was negatively associated with pro-environmentalism was entirely due to D. These findings bear implications for the broader nature of pro-environmentalism and theoretical parsimony in research on individual differences in pro-environmentalism.

AB - Individual differences in pro-environmentalism (connectedness to nature, pro-environmental attitudes, and pro-environmental behavior) have been attributed to various personality traits and, most recently, socially/ethically aversive (aka ‘dark’) traits in particular. However, the empirical picture linking such traits to pro-environmentalism is scattered and has produced contradictory findings. We propose a more parsimonious and consistent explanation of individual differences in pro-environmentalism through the D factor, the common core of all aversive traits. Across 12 studies (total N = 13,882) we show substantial and consistent negative correlations (−0.56 ≤ r ≤ −0.26) between D and connectedness to nature, pro-environmental attitudes, and pro-environmental behavior. Moreover, the ‘dark tetrad’ traits (Machiavellianism, Narcissism, Psychopathy, and Sadism), alone or in their common combinations (as a triad or tetrad), never explained more total variance in either of these criteria than D alone. Finally, the extent to which any dark tetrad trait was negatively associated with pro-environmentalism was entirely due to D. These findings bear implications for the broader nature of pro-environmentalism and theoretical parsimony in research on individual differences in pro-environmentalism.

KW - Connectedness to nature

KW - D factor

KW - Dark traits

KW - Personality

KW - Pro-environmental attitudes

KW - Pro-environmental behavior

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85190751484&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102291

DO - 10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102291

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85190751484

VL - 96

JO - Journal of Environmental Psychology

JF - Journal of Environmental Psychology

SN - 0272-4944

M1 - 102291

ER -