Sources of Environmentally Destructive Behavior: Individual, Organizational and Institutional Perspectives

Abstract

Our specific focus is a multi-level analysis of the destructiveness of taken-for-granted belief and behavior. First, we consider how individuals are guided in their perception of environmental problems through cognitive biases. Second, we consider how individuals are influenced in these perceptions and biases by the organizations of which they are a part. Finally, we consider the institutions that persist and guide our awareness of our connections and impact on the environment. Only by identifying these core, taken-for-granted beliefs (or myths) that lie on these three levels can we understand the persistence of environmentally destructive behavior and move beyond our predisposition toward actions that lead us to destroy the environment.