THE FACTORS OF IMPACT ON ECOLOGICAL CONSCIOUSNESS OF CITIZENS: A REVIEW OF FOREIGN LITERATURE

Abstract

Environmental problems and the urgency of their solution requires changes in the environmental perception of citizens, the study of environmental consciousness and the factors influencing it. The formation of environmental values in the society and raising the environmental awareness of the population is an important task of the state environmental policy. The article deals with the works of foreign scientists devoted to the study of environmental consciousness. The problem of different scientific approaches to the consideration of the concept of "ecological consciousness" is actualized, the analysis of foreign scientific literature on this issue is carried out. The importance of environmental beliefs, as well as their relationship with socio-demographic characteristics, is emphasized. In particular, factors such as education, age, gender, and political ideology have been consistently identified as factors that correlate with environmental concerns. It is emphasized that young and well-educated people are most concerned about the environment, and the close relationship between social status, awareness and social participation underscores such a crucial role as ideology. It is shown that in foreign scientific literature there is a problem in defining the term "ecological consciousness" and separating it from other, similar in terms of content. The study of environmental consciousness has sometimes evolved under other names, such as "environmental sensitivity" or "environmental concern".

Factors of influence on the environmental awareness of citizens are studied, including socio-demographic (education, age, gender, population density in a certain territory and population division into urban and rural residents) and political and economic (income level, GDP per capita, political situation and country's economic level). Recommendations are given to raise the level of environmental awareness of citizens.