Psychological drivers of conservation policy support: A systematic scoping review of quantitative evidence

In light of the current biodiversity crisis, broader and stricter conservation policies are increasingly required. As is the case of other environmental policies, public support for conservation measures often is a necessary condition for their success. Identifying which factors are associated with citizens’ support for conservation policies is thus crucial for policy-making. To do so, we conducted the first scoping review of studies empirically investigating the effect of psychological factors on conservation policy support, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR). After completing data screening, 66 studies were included in the review and the results were synthesized using both a narrative approach and descriptive statistical analyses. Among the reviewed sources, we found that representational factors (i.e. beliefs, perceptions) have received the most attention from scholars, and normative factors (i.e. social norms) the least. Moreover, wildlife value orientations, knowledge about conservation and environmental issues, and general policy attitudes are the psychological factors most robustly associated with conservation policy support. These results can inform policy makers aiming to improve the design and success of conservation measures.