The
Self-Sacrificing Minority and Saving Victims of Environmental Problems
as a Social Conflict Situation
H. Nonami |
This
research investigated the effects of a minority member opting for
pro-environmental behavior in spite of his or her loss of personal
benefits in a situation of social conflict between beneficiaries
and a victim. In the experiment, a minority factor (one or no self-sacrificing
minority) and a damage factor (serious or no damage to a victim)
were controlled in a game simulating sea pollution. Under the serious-damage
condition, the rate of pro-environmental behavior was hypothesized
to be higher in the one-minority case than in the no-minority case,
but the differences between one-minority and no-minority case would
become smaller under the no-damage condition. The results supported
this assumption. A self-sacrificing minority was less influential
under the no-damage condition. Moreover, the path-analyses suggested
that a minority would affect the evaluation of cost and social desirability
of pro-environmental behavior.
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