Explaining environmental behavior with values, worldviews, and self-construal: Different sides of the same coin?

Values, worldviews, and self-construal are strong correlates of pro-environmental behavior. In this brief empirical note, we argue that these constructs overlap conceptually and share underlying dimensions. Using an international sample of 11,964 individuals, we demonstrate that values, worldviews, and self-construal can be reduced to two dimensions, self-focus and other-focus, capturing 67% of variance. In the context of climate policy support, we then show via linear regression models and machine-learning techniques that a model solely using these two dimensions and a model using values, worldviews, and self-construal as predictor variables perform equally well in explaining and predicting policy support. The other-focus dimension was particularly influential, explaining 88% of the model’s variance. While acknowledging the potential for more granular understanding when using separate constructs, our findings suggest that scholars do not sacrifice explanatory accuracy when focusing on the constructs’ underlying dimensions, particularly the other-focus dimension. • Values, worldviews, and self-construal share underlying dimensions: Self-focus and other-focus • These dimensions perform equally well in explaining and predicting climate policy support • The other-focus dimensions is particularly influential, explaining 88% of variance • Future research may focus on these underlying dimensions instead of the constructs per se