DIFFERENCES IN ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY BETWEEN MATERIALISTIC GROUPS

Abstract

The current study investigated the hypothesis that groups scoring High, Medium, and Low on Environmental Responsibility would have significantly different materialism profiles using the Materialism Values Scale and the Possession Satisfaction Inventory. Two hundred seventy-one undergraduate students completed the ECOSCALE and the measures of materialism for partial course credit. The results indicated that the three groups had significantly different materialism profiles. More specifically, the High Environmental Responsibility group scored significantly lower than the Low Environmental Responsibility group on the three subscales of the MVS and the PSI, and significantly lower than the Medium Environmental Responsibility group on two of the MVS subscales and the PSI. These results provide further support for the contention that the groups scoring differently on Environmental Responsibility differ in the way they view others and the environment as evidenced by the differences in their personality, values, and materialism profiles.