Draft:Environmental identity

Environmental identity (EID) is a component of one's self-identity that involves feeling connected to the natural world. It is considered a sub-identity, similar to personal, social, and place identities.

First proposed by Susan Clayton, EID is defined as a sense of connection to the non-human natural environment that influences how we see and interact with the world, emphasising the importance of nature in shaping who we are.

Many people value nature and prefer it to built environments for the benefits it provides, such as improved self-confidence, physical fitness, curiosity and calm. This could be linked to Biophilia hypothesis of evolutionary psychology, which claims that people are naturally drawn to nature because for most of our history we have been living in natural environments.

Ryan and Deci proposed that the desired qualities of everyone’s identity are autonomy, relatedness and competence. In her research Clayton argues that these qualities can be achieved through interaction with the natural environment, therefore, nature may have the potential to foster a strong and positive sense of self.

EID is seen as a predictor for pro-environmental behaviour and greater concern for the environment. Environmental identity also emerged as a significant predictor for both environmental and social empathy, indicating that our perception of ourselves as interconnected with nature significantly impacts our relationships with the natural world and others in a positive way.

In terms of personality traits, only Openness factor from the Big Five model was found to be a predictor of Environmental Identity. Otherwise it seems people can identify themselves with nature regardless of their personality.

Environmental identity (EID) scale
The initial scale, proposed by Clayton in 2003 was composed of 24 items with a seven-point Likert scale as an answer format and measured five different aspects of EID:
 * the salience of identity, which is based on the extent and importance of interaction with nature;
 * identification based on how much someone considers themselves as being a part of nature;
 * the ideology of supporting environmental education and sustainable lifestyle;
 * positive emotions identified by enjoyment obtained in nature.
 * the autobiographical component including memories of interacting with nature.

Because the scale was initially based on the sample of US college students, it had to be reassessed to test its validity across different types of population and cultures. The EID scale was revised in 2021 after being tested in five countries (Peru, Russia, Switzerland, Taiwan and USA) using a sample size of 1717 participants. The main modifications made to the original scale involved adjusting the wording of certain items to enhance clarity and applicability. The updated version now presents a more inclusive perspective on human-nature connections, encompassing various representations of experiences in both rural and urban environments. The revised scale consists of 14 items and its reliability and validity have shown to be satisfactory.