Environmental Conservation as an Expression of Prosociality

In recent years, some foreign studies on environmental psychology have suggested that pro-environmental actions should be viewed as an expression of prosociality. However, in the Russian literature, a traditional view has remained: actions aimed to benefit other people are usually regarded as prosocial behavior, whereas nature conservation actions are considered to be pro-environmental behavior. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between actions aimed to benefit other people and nature conservation actions in a Russian population. The study involved 841 respondents. Two scales were used to quantify (1) actions aimed to benefit other people and (2) nature conservation actions. In this study, Rasch model, which is one of the modern test theory models, was used. The findings revealed that the relationship between respondents’ environmental behavior and prosocial behavior was statistically significant (r = 0.35, p < 0.001). This aligns with the results of previous studies conducted in Germany and Chile, using identical scales and the Rasch model. Consequently, the results of this investigation complement the findings of foreign studies which claim that environmental behavior is a manifestation of prosociality. Based on these conclusions, it is proposed that the traditionally separated teaching of prosocial and environmental subjects should be combined into a single educational approach. An integrated approach will contribute to a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary effort to create a society that is both ecologically and socially sustainable.