Orientational Identity – Socio-environmental Orientations as Characteristics of Identity

Abstract

Socio-ecological orientations and their significance of identity have been examined in this article. An empiric research was carried out in 2004, on the representative sample of Croatian population (N=1202) using individual polling. An instrument comprising 12 assertions for measuring environmental orientations has been applied. With a help of multivariant analysis, three basic components (sequence variable I) have been established: “anthropocentrism”, “techno-centrism” and “eco-centrism”, by which 56.4% of the variance is interpreted. Basic components have been transformed into slanting positions by using oblique transformation. Co-relational matrix has shown that factors are autonomous orientational concepts.
A comparison with earlier research (in 1988 and 1992) has shown the similarity in frequency distributions, and the comparison of latent dimensions has shown that during the last 15 years three basic orientations have appeared in the socio-environmental field, with key values – “man”, “technique” and “nature”. The results are interpreted in the context of modern socio-environmental problems in the world, as well as that of modernisation and transition changes in the Croatian society.
Socio-environmental held with three key orientational values (man, technique, nature) is a latent framework of specific identities, and so it has been named as “orientational identity”. Its fragments (factors) have been named “orientational dimensions” of identity.
The author sees the possibility of modelling instruments on two criteria: orientational identity and relational reference: toward oneself, toward others, toward the world, and God.