Measuring endorsement of the new ecological paradigm: A revised NEP scale

Dunlap and Van Liere 's New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) Scale, published in 1978, has become a widely used measure of proenvironmental orientation. This article develops a revised NEP Scale designed to improve upon the original one in several respects: (1) It taps a wider range of facets of an ecological worldview, (2) It offers a balanced set of pro- and anti-NEP items, and(3) It avoids outmoded terminology. The new scale, termed the New Ecological Paradigm Scale, consists of 15 items. Results of a 1990 Washington State survey suggest that the items can be created as an internally consistent summated raring scale and also indicate a modest growth in pro-NEP responses among Washington residents over the 14 years since the original study.