Gender disparities in opposition to radical pro-environmental social change: the role of perceived threat

Abstract

This article examines how men and women respond to social change proposed by radical pro-environmental sources of influence. Recent literature reports recurring lower pro-environmentalism in men, potentially due to the systemic changes it implies. Moreover, radical pro-environmental social change is perceived as a threat, more so by men than women. Theories describing opposition to such change predict that individuals outright oppose threatening stimuli to resist radical change. Therefore, in responding to radical pro-environmental policies proposed by a radical source, we hypothesise that men are more likely than women to oppose these policies to cope with perceived threat. Study 1 (N = 235) tested whether men's higher opposition to such policies is associated with their heightened threat perception; Study 2 (N = 536) extended this by examining whether men's lower pro-environmental attitudes and intentions are associated to anticipating radical pro-environmental change as a threat. Results from both studies show that the gender gap in both specific and general operationalisations of pro-environmental attitudes is associated with men’s (relative to women’s) higher perception of radical pro-environmental social change as a threat. The implications of considering threat as a cog in psychosocial underpinnings of pro-environmental gender differences are discussed considering status quo maintenance theories.