New study casts doubt on Germans' awareness of biological diversity

There seems to be no doubt that the German population appreciates biological diversity. The Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU) and the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) regularly reaffirm this when the results of studies on nature awareness conducted since 2009 are published. These studies also assess a societal indicator that records the attitudes, willingness to behave and knowledge of Germans on the subject of "biological diversity". Previous results indicate a pronounced awareness of nature. For example, the data collected in 2019 shows that 44% of the German population is aware of the importance of biological diversity, 60% have a positive attitude towards it, and as many as 63% express intentions to work for its protection.

A recent study now reveals that these results are skewed in complex ways by social desirability. This means that respondents do not give their answers based on their actual attitudes and behavioural intentions, but align them with prevailing cultural norms. They thus answer in the way they think interviewers expect them to. This could have been suspected before, but by using a method based on machine learning, it is now possible for the first time to systematically detect the complex biases by statistical means.

A recent study now reveals that these results are skewed in complex ways by social desirability. This means that respondents do not give their answers based on their actual attitudes and behavioural intentions, but align them with prevailing cultural norms. They thus answer in the way they think interviewers expect them to. This could have been suspected before, but by using a method based on machine learning, it is now possible for the first time to systematically detect the complex biases by statistical means.

The new study uses this innovative method to show that this bias effect influences surveys on biological diversity in a dynamic way. The effect does not appear to occur equally for all respondents, but seems to be specifically related to the age of the interviewees. This leaves it uncertain which aspects of biological diversity are actually important to the German population and which are not. Statements about the societal relevance of biological diversity that refer to the population as a whole should be critically questioned based on the results of this study.

Reference (In German, English abstract included):

Krause T, Jetzkowitz J (2023) Sozial erwünschtes Bewusstsein für biologische Vielfalt? Ein neuer Zugang zu einem bekannten Problem mit normativ aufgeladenen Befragungsthemen, Soziale Welt 74 (2), 245–272, DOI: 10.5771/0038-6073-2023-2-245

The authors of the study:

Thomas Krause, Forschungsstelle Glücksspiel der Universität Hohenheim

Jens Jetzkowitz, Thünen Institute for Rural Studies