Social scientists have increasingly turned their attention to the conceptualization and measurement of different facets of the self to better understand public concern for the environment. Despite significant progress in this area, theoretical and methodological issues remain that could impede further progress. This article addresses several of these issues by providing a conceptual framework that integrates key features from two major theories used to understand self-environment relations. The framework is then utilized within a multimethod research design that emphasized theoretical and methodological correspondence and precision to develop and assess a measure of ecological identity. The results provide solid evidence of the reliability and validity of the Ecological Identity Scale and the utility of the conceptual framework designed to support it. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that ecological identity influences a wide range of environmental behaviors both directly and indirectly via worldviews and social values. Recommendations for future research are offered.

Researchers attempting to identify and understand the so-called drivers of public concern for the environment and engagement in pro-environmental behaviors have conceptualized and modeled numerous theoretical constructs. This has made it hard to establish generalities across studies regarding the causal ordering of relationships between these constructs. This study reviews some of the major constructs employed within this area of research, and uses an information-theoretic approach to assess six models that position these constructs within different causal orderings to predict general pro-environmental behavior (G-PEB). The results indicate that environmental values and general environmental beliefs are distal drivers of engagement in G-PEB, and form the foundation—or primary motivational base—for environmental identity, concerns, attitudes, and norms that—directly and more proximally—influence this broad set of behaviors. This suggests that effective policies and interventions need to target both the proximal and distal influences on behavior, as well as the contexts and structures that support shared values and primary beliefs within a society or culture. Recommendations for ways that researchers could better understand individuals and their behaviors impacting the environment more deeply, both systematically and socio-ecologically, are suggested.