The boundaries of global concern: How socioeconomic context shapes the link between global consciousness and environmental attitudes

Abstract

Abstract Climate change requires unprecedented international cooperation; yet growing protectionist sentiment poses a significant barrier to collective action. Global Consciousness (GC), a psychological orientation characterized by a connection to humanity and the world as a whole, has been theorized as a key driver of benevolent behaviors, including pro‐environmental attitudes. However, empirical evidence linking GC to environmentalism remains largely confined to specific contexts, leaving the generalizability of this relationship across diverse societies unclear. Leveraging data from the European Values Survey (EVS) and the World Values Survey (WVS), this study examines the link between GC and indicators of environmentalism: confidence, active membership in environmental organizations, and prioritizing environmental protection over economic growth. We further examine whether socioeconomic context moderates this relationship, hypothesizing that the effect of GC on environmental attitudes will be stronger in wealthier nations, as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI). Multilevel models revealed that, across 35 countries in Study 1 ( N = 40,259) and 86 countries in Study 2 ( N = 123,280), GC is consistently and positively associated with environmentalism. Crucially, this relationship is significantly moderated by HDI. These results indicate that the positive effect of GC on environmentalism is stronger in countries with higher socioeconomic progress, suggesting that GC more readily translates into actions when supported by macro‐level structural resources.