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Residents’ support for wolf and bear conservation: the moderating influence of knowledge

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Abstract

This article examines the combined influence of cognitions (i.e., impact beliefs) and affect (i.e., feelings) on normative beliefs (i.e., support for management options) about wolves and brown bears. Data were obtained from stratified random face-to-face interviews (n = 1,611). The survey was conducted in the Abruzzo Lazio and Molise National Park (central Italy), where people have a long history of coexistence with large carnivores. Knowledge was hypothesized to moderate the relationships of beliefs and feelings on support for management actions. Path analyses supported the role of affect in mediating perceived impact beliefs and support for the protection of large carnivores. Knowledge moderated these relationships in the case of wolves but not brown bears. Residents of the national park had more knowledge about bears than wolves, which might partly explain both the stronger effect that knowledge had on the affective component and its lack of a moderating effect on the bear model. Overall, our findings show the positive attitude of residents toward large carnivores and support the idea of affect being more important than cognition in predicting normative beliefs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geography Department, Memorial University, St. John’s, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada

    Jenny Anne Glikman & Alistair J. Bath

  2. Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Jerry J. Vaske

  3. Department of Biology and Biotechnology, La Sapienza University, Viale dell’Università 32, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Paolo Ciucci & Luigi Boitani

Authors
  1. Jenny Anne Glikman
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  2. Jerry J. Vaske
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  3. Alistair J. Bath
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  4. Paolo Ciucci
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  5. Luigi Boitani
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Correspondence to Jenny Anne Glikman.

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Communicated by C. Gortazár

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Glikman, J.A., Vaske, J.J., Bath, A.J. et al. Residents’ support for wolf and bear conservation: the moderating influence of knowledge. Eur J Wildl Res 58, 295–302 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0579-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0579-x

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