Caring for the earth: Environmental activism, identity and

1. Caring for the earth: Environmental activism, identity and generativity in youth versus midlife adults Research Team: Erika Mohle, Elise Bisson, Sean Mackinnon, Susan Alisat, Dr. Joan Norris and Dr. Michael Pratt Department of Psychology Introduction Discussion • Erikson’s (1963) model of ego development states that the 7th, midlife phase of the life cycle is characterized by stagnation vs. generativity • Individuals high on generativity are described as being more invested in the care of future generations as a legacy of the self • Currently, care for the environment of future generations is a vital societal domain for expressing generative concern • McAdams (2001), Lawford et al. (2005) and others have proposed that generativity may also be relevant to younger people Method Results • Young exemplars exceed non-exemplar youth on generative concern (LGS), and are at an equivalent level as their midlife exemplar counterparts • Exemplar youth demonstrate higher levels of identity maturity than their non-exemplar peers, equivalent to midlife adults • This indicates that environmental activism may be a catalyst for the expression of generativity among youth as well as for identity growth • 2 (Exemplar vs. Non-exemplar) x 2 (Youth vs. Midlife) Factorial Design • Youth: age 18-27, Midlife: age 28-60 • Exemplars showed sustained participation in environmental activities beyond everyday lifestyle choices. • Two-way Age Group X Activism ANOVAs • Hypothesis 1: As expected, exemplars in both age groups were significantly higher in generativity than non-exemplars (p < .05). See Table 1. • Hypothesis 2: As hypothesized, exemplar individuals scored significantly higher than their non-exemplar counterparts on Clayton’s environmental identity scale (p < .01) • Hypothesis 3: As expected, a significant interaction showed that non-exemplar youth were the least advanced in identity maturity (p < .05). See Table 2. References Hypotheses Adams, G. R., Bennion, L., & Huh, K. (1989). Objective measure of ego identity status: A reference manual. Unpublished manual, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario. Clayton, S. (2003). Environmental identity: A conceptual and an operational definition. In S. Clayton & S. Opotow (Eds.), Identity and the natural environment. (pp. 45-65). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Erikson, E. (1963). Childhood and society. (2nd edition). New York: Norton. Lawford, Heather, Pratt, Michael W., Hunsberger, B. & Pancer, S. Mark. (2005). Adolescent Generativity: A longitudinal study of two possible contexts for learning concern for future generations. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15, 261-273. McAdams, D. P. (2001). Generativity at midlife. In M. Lachman (Ed.), Handbook of midlife development. (pp. 395-443). New York: Wiley. McAdams, Dan P. & de St. Aubin, Ed (1992). A theory of generativity and its assessment through self-report, behavioral acts, and narrative themes in autobiography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 1003-1015. Mclean, Kate C. & Pratt, Michael, W. (2006). Life's little (and big) lessons: Identity statuses and meaning-making in the turning point narratives of emerging adults. Developmental Psychology, 42, 714-722. • Hypothesis 1: Main effect of exemplar status on generativity, but no age effect since exemplar youth will be equivalent to exemplar midlife on generativity • Hypothesis 2: Main effect of exemplar status on environmental identity, but no age effect • Hypothesis 3: An interaction on identity maturity (McLean & Pratt, 2006) since environmental exemplar youth will be accelerated in identity maturation compared to non-exemplar youth, but midlife adults will be advanced regardless