Environmental Concern Scale
Also known as: ECS, Environmental Attitudes Inventory
The Environmental Concern Scale (ECS) measures the degree to which individuals worry about and feel affected by environmental problems, pollution, and ecological degradation. Originally developed by Weigel and Weigel (1978), the ECS focuses on emotional and affective responses to environmental issues—anxiety, worry, and perceived personal threat from pollution—rather than abstract values or beliefs. The scale is widely used in public opinion research, conservation communication effectiveness studies, and assessing emotional responses to environmental threats like climate change and air pollution.
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When to use it
Use the ECS when assessing effectiveness of environmental communication campaigns designed to raise concern about specific threats (pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss), measuring emotional responses to environmental news or events, tracking public opinion shifts following environmental disasters, comparing environmental worry across demographic groups or nations, and assessing risk perception in samples exposed to environmental hazards. Particularly valuable in understanding why some individuals act on environmental concerns while others do not—emotional engagement is necessary but not sufficient for behavior change. Also used in research on eco-anxiety and environmental grief.
Strengths & limitations
- Measures affective and emotional dimensions of environmental attitudes that predict openness to environmental information and motivation to seek knowledge about environmental issues
- Simple and direct language; respondents readily understand and answer concern-related items, reducing measurement error from comprehension difficulties
- Sensitive to contextual influences; concern naturally fluctuates with environmental news, pollution events, or recent nature experiences, making the scale responsive to real-world environmental conditions
- Moderate internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.70–0.78); adequate for group-level comparisons despite item heterogeneity reflecting multiple environmental problem domains
- Historical data available from public opinion surveys; enables tracking of long-term trends in environmental concern across decades
- Measures stated worry and concern, not knowledge or understanding of environmental mechanisms; high concern scores may reflect fear-based cognition rather than informed environmental literacy
- Vulnerability to transient influences; concern rises sharply after environmental disasters or media coverage but may decline rapidly afterward without sustained educational effort, limiting longitudinal stability
- May not predict behavior; abundant research shows environmental concern and stated pro-environmental intentions (concern) often fail to translate into actual behavior change due to convenience, cost, and social conformity pressures
- Item specificity varies; early versions asked about general 'pollution' while newer versions target climate change, fracking, or other specific issues, limiting comparability across versions and time periods
- Potential ceiling effects in highly concerned populations (e.g., environmental activists) where most items cluster at the top of the scale, reducing discriminative power
Frequently asked
Does the Environmental Concern Scale predict who will vote for environmental policies or candidates?
Yes, with moderate strength (r = 0.40–0.60). Higher ECS scores predict support for environmental regulation, clean energy investment, and candidates with strong environmental records. However, concern is mediated by political ideology, trust in institutions, and perceived personal cost—politically conservative voters with high concern may not vote for environmental candidates if they perceive regulatory costs.
Should I use ECS or NEP to measure environmental attitudes?
Use both if possible. NEP measures worldview and beliefs (ecocentric vs. anthropocentric); ECS measures emotional salience and worry. Someone can hold ecocentric beliefs (high NEP) without emotional engagement (low ECS), or feel deeply worried (high ECS) without clearly articulated environmental philosophy (moderate NEP). Together, they paint a fuller picture.
How do I interpret high concern in someone who takes no environmental action?
Concern is a precondition but insufficient for behavior change. Explore barriers: perceived behavioral control (can I actually change?), social norms (are relevant others doing it?), perceived effectiveness ('Will my action matter?'), and structural constraints (cost, convenience). High-concern low-action individuals often face practical barriers or learned helplessness rather than lack of motivation.
Can environmental worry (high ECS) be harmful to mental health?
Moderate concern (25–35 on most scales) is associated with better environmental engagement and protective health behaviors. Extreme worry (chronic ecoanguish, solastalgia) can predict anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. If measuring ECS in vulnerable populations, pair with mental health screening and provide psychoeducational resources about managing environmental distress adaptively.
Sources
- Weigel, R. H., & Weigel, J. (1978). Environmental concern: The development of a measure. Environment and Behavior, 10(1), 3–15. DOI: 10.1177/0013916578101001 ↗
- Dunlap, R. E., & Jones, R. E. (1992). Environmental concern: Conceptual and measurement issues. In R. E. Dunlap & Y. Michelson (Eds.), Handbook of environmental sociology. Greenwood Press. link ↗
How to cite this page
ScholarGate. (2026, June 3). Environmental Concern Scale. ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/en/environmental-psychology/environmental-concern-scale
Which method?
Set this method beside its closest kin and read them side by side — the library lays the books on the table; the choice is yours.
- CCASEnvironmental Psychology↔ compare
- NEP ScaleEnvironmental Psychology↔ compare
- PEBSEnvironmental Psychology↔ compare