Effects of labeling on wildlife conservation education

Abstract

Since illegal wildlife trade poses challenges to biodiversity and public security, improving people’s wildlife conservation through environmental education has become an important issue. This study analyzes the intervention effect of labeling in wildlife conservation education and explores the underlying mechanism by targeting adolescents. Specifically, it is found that (1) the labeling in wildlife conservation education can improve teenagers’ willingness to protect wildlife; (2) the environmental self-identity is highly correlated with wildlife conservation.

Keywords

• Label effect
• Environmental self-identify
• Illegal wildlife trade
• Cognitive dissonance theory
• Attitude change