Living the Green Life

237 Pages·2017·1.32 MB·English

Wilfrid Laurier University
Scholars Commons @ Laurier
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
2015
Living the Green Life: A Mixed-Methods Examination of the
Relationship between Generativity and Environmental
Engagement in Emerging and Mid-Life Canadian Activists and
Nonactivists
Susan Alisat
Living the Green Life: A Mixed-Methods Examination of the Relationship between
Generativity and Environmental Engagement in Emerging and Mid-Life Canadian Activists and
Nonactivists

By
Susan Alisat
Master of Arts, Wilfrid Laurier University, 1992

DISSERTATION

Submitted to the Department of Psychology
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for
Doctor of Philosophy
Wilfrid Laurier University
© Susan Alisat 2015
Living the Green Life - ii

Abstract
This dissertation examined the role of the personality features of identity and
generativity for the composition of personal narratives and engagement in an environmental
domain. Although generativity has been highlighted as a key feature of environmentalism, this
work extends the understanding of that link by examining its relationship with, and its
emergence in, personal narratives of environmental activists and nonactivists. Narratives were
analyzed at three distinct levels, in order to develop a thorough understanding of how
generativity might intersect with an environmental personal narrative identity.
In the first study, I examined stories in terms of the features of generative commitment
scripts. Significant commitment themes for environmental engagement could be empirically
grouped into three broader factors, each of which distinguished activists from nonactivists:
personally feeling some special connection with nature, having significant relationships with
influential people, and having developed a set of guiding personal values.
In the second study, I examined narratives for specific motive themes reflecting key
generative desires of agency and communion: the desire of individuals to make a difference in
the world, and to pass it along for the benefit of others. Narratives in this study were drawn
from both the environment and the work domains. The stories of activists contained
significantly more agentic and communal motive themes than those of nonactivists. Work
stories contained more agency themes than environment stories. The stories of male activists
contained more agency themes than the stories of male nonactivists in the environmental
domain but not in the work domain. For male (but not female) activists, it would seem that the
environmental domain is particularly salient in terms of feelings of productivity in comparison
with nonactivists.
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The focus of the third study was on more structural and discourse characteristics of the
narratives. An index of reflective engagement in environmentalism was constructed, based on
a composite rating of story quality for the narrated meaning of the event for the participant,
the descriptive vividness of the story, and the expressed impact of the events described on the
person’s life. Generative concern was found mediate the relationship between environmental
identity and reflective engagement in the narratives.
Across these studies, a key finding seemed to be the critical role that generativity plays
in the expression of the personal narrative within the environmental domain. The studies each
focused on different features of generativity, and yet together, highlighted the importance of a
generative feeling of care and concern for the next generation for the expression of the life
story in this domain.
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Acknowledgements
While I was completing the requirements for my degree, and working on the various
components of this document, I was enmeshed in the process, and was very much focused on the
immediate tasks. Completing the defense of this document has allowed me to step back and consider
the wider process. The past five and a half years have been a time of tremendous growth in my
understanding of this area, in particular, as well as the research process, and academic life more
generally. I am grateful for conversations with so many individuals who contributed to this growth in
various ways.
To our research participants, thank you for sharing your stories; without those stories, this
project would not have been possible. I know the process felt long, but I hope that the opportunity to
reflect on your experiences might have been as enjoyable for you as it was for me to read your stories.
To my current and former lab mates, I am grateful for your numerous contributions this this
project. Thank you for your shared conversations about the challenges (and rewards) of graduate
school. It was always reassuring to know that I wasn’t alone. Thank you for providing feedback on
posters and presentations emerging from this project, along the way; you have encouraged and
broadened my thinking. To the interviewers (both in Ontario and in BC), thank you for patiently listening
to participant stories, and for carefully prodding to ensure the stories were complete. To my fellow-
coders, Elise and Sonia, thank you for working with me to ensure that we were coding these many codes
consistently; this was a large commitment, and I appreciate your help with this very important task.
Thank you Kendal and Ty, for helping me to run the MPlus analyses (and so quickly!), and for helping me
to understand the outputs.
To my friends, Heather, Kyle and Doreen, thank you for encouraging me through this process
and for always reminding me that I would get there, even when the end seemed so distant.
To my committee, Drs. Nancy Freymond, Joan Norris, and Manuel Riemer, thank you for
encouraging me to stretch my thinking in new directions and to think about my research through a
Living the Green Life - v

different lens. Thank you, Dr. Monisha Pasupathi for joining me on this journey as my external
examiner; your insights and comments encouraged me to clarify my thinking around these conceptual
issues. Thank you, Dr. Michael Pratt for your guidance throughout this entire process; I value our
conversations and I know that this project would not be what it was without your guidance.
To my family, Phil, Tyler, Justin and Kaitlyn, thank you for your patience while I was focused on
this project. Yes: now it’s finished.
Living the Green Life - vi

Table of Contents
Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... iv
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................. x
List of Figures .............................................................................................................................................. xii
Preface .......................................................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 1 - Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 4
Identity ................................................................................................................................................ 6
Narrative Identity ................................................................................................................................ 8
Environmental Identity ..................................................................................................................... 11
Generativity ....................................................................................................................................... 13
Generativity across the Lifespan ....................................................................................................... 14
Generativity and the Environment.................................................................................................... 15
Environmental Activism .................................................................................................................... 17
Guiding Framework ........................................................................................................................... 19
Mixed-Methods Approach ................................................................................................................ 21
Understanding the Narrated Identity ............................................................................................... 21
Overview ........................................................................................................................................... 24
Chapter 2 - General Methods ..................................................................................................................... 31
Participants ....................................................................................................................................... 31
Procedure .......................................................................................................................................... 32
Interview ..................................................................................................................................... 34
Measures .................................................................................................................................... 36
Chapter 3 –Commitment Themes in the Narratives of Environmental Activists and Nonactivists ............ 38
The Commitment Script .................................................................................................................... 38
Commitment Themes, Generativity and the Environment ............................................................... 41
Purpose and Hypotheses .................................................................................................................. 43
Method .............................................................................................................................................. 43
Participants ................................................................................................................................. 44
Procedure ................................................................................................................................... 44
Interview ..................................................................................................................................... 45
Measures .................................................................................................................................... 48
Narrative Coding ......................................................................................................................... 48
Results ............................................................................................................................................... 61
Preliminary Analyses................................................................................................................... 61
H1: Relationship between Narrative Commitment Themes and Generativity .......................... 63
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H2: The Relationship of Environmental Connection Themes with Commitment Themes ......... 65
H3: Commitment Themes in Stories told by Activists and Nonactivists .................................... 70
RQ: Differences in the Commitment Themes of Environmental Activists and Nonactivists when
Controlling for Generative Concern......................................................................................................... 73
Sample Stories ............................................................................................................................ 77
Discussion .......................................................................................................................................... 84
Limitations and Future Directions .............................................................................................. 93
Chapter 4 – Domain, Gender and Generativity as Factors in the Generation of Motive Themes in the
Stories of Environmental Activists and Nonactivists .................................................................................. 96
Generativity ....................................................................................................................................... 96
Across the Lifespan ........................................................................................................................... 97
Motivation for Actions: Agency and Communion ............................................................................. 98
Motivational Themes and Generativity ............................................................................................ 99
Motivations for Actions, Generativity and the Environment .......................................................... 100
Gender and Development ............................................................................................................... 101
Purpose and Hypotheses ................................................................................................................ 103
Method ............................................................................................................................................ 104
Participants ............................................................................................................................... 104
Procedure ................................................................................................................................. 105
Interview ................................................................................................................................... 106
Measures .................................................................................................................................. 107
Narrative Coding ....................................................................................................................... 108
Results ............................................................................................................................................. 111
Preliminary Analyses................................................................................................................. 111
RQ1: Relationship of Age with Generativity ............................................................................. 120
RQ2: Comparison of Generativity and Motivational Themes for Males and Females ............ 120
H1: Relationship of Age with Motivational Themes ................................................................ 121
H2: Relationship of Motivational Themes with Generativity ................................................... 122
H3: Comparison of Motivational Themes for Environmental Activists versus Non-Activists .. 124
Discussion ........................................................................................................................................ 138
Implications and Future Directions .......................................................................................... 140
Chapter 5 - Caring for the Earth: Generativity as a Mediator for the Prediction of Environmental
Narratives from Identity among Activists and Nonactivists ..................................................................... 143
Environmental Identity ................................................................................................................... 143
The Life Story as Identity ................................................................................................................. 143
Generativity ..................................................................................................................................... 146
Purpose and Hypotheses ................................................................................................................ 148
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Method ............................................................................................................................................ 149
Participants ............................................................................................................................... 149
Procedure ................................................................................................................................. 150
Measures .................................................................................................................................. 151
Results ............................................................................................................................................. 155
Preliminary Analyses................................................................................................................. 155
Differences in the Reflective Engagement of Narratives Told by Activists and Nonactivists (H1)
............................................................................................................................................................... 159
Environmental Identity and Reflective Engagement Mean (H2) .............................................. 161
Generativity, Environmental Identity and Reflective Engagement (H3) .................................. 161
Generativity as a Possible Mediator of the Relations between Environmental Identity and the
Reflective Engagement Mean (H4) ........................................................................................................ 162
Discussion ........................................................................................................................................ 165
Limitations and Future Directions ............................................................................................ 169
Chapter 6 – Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 171
Summary and Integration of Key Findings ...................................................................................... 171
Limitations ....................................................................................................................................... 179
Future Directions ............................................................................................................................. 182
Appendix A: Interview ............................................................................................................................... 185
Appendix B: Questionnaire ....................................................................................................................... 190
Appendix C : Commitment Theme Codes ................................................................................................. 196
Personal Advantage ....................................................................................................................... 196
Family Blessing ....................................................................................................................... 196
Childhood Attachments .......................................................................................................... 197
Helpers vs Enemies ................................................................................................................. 198
Suffering of Others ......................................................................................................................... 198
Awareness of Suffering ........................................................................................................... 198
Age of Awareness .................................................................................................................... 199
Guiding Values ............................................................................................................................... 199
Moral Steadfastness ................................................................................................................ 199
Making a Difference ................................................................................................................ 200
Sustain Commitment .............................................................................................................. 201
Redemption Sequences ................................................................................................................. 202
Contamination Sequences ............................................................................................................. 202
Prosocial Goals for the Future ...................................................................................................... 202
Appendix D: Generative Motives .............................................................................................................. 204
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Motivational Themes. ..................................................................................................................... 204
Agency Themes ......................................................................................................................... 204
Communion Themes ................................................................................................................. 205
Appendix E: Narrative Codes for Reflective Engagement ......................................................................... 206
References ................................................................................................................................................ 210