Resource description:
Sustainability transformations critically depend on understanding, assessing and monitoring the plural values of nature held across societies. However, while conceptual frameworks increasingly acknowledge a plurality of values, reliable and practical indicators to assess these values remain scarce. We introduce the Plural Values of Nature (PVN) scale, integrating intrinsic, instrumental, and relational values into one multi-dimensional scale. This psychometric scale consists of 11 items and is designed to capture both distinctiveness and overlap of values. Using a seven-step process that includes literature review, expert evaluation, qualitative and cognitive interviews, quantitative pre-testing, pilot testing and final validation, the scale is refined and validated across five European countries using general-public samples (N = 1007). The final 11-item PVN showed a stable three-factor
structure and generally good reliability across countries, with comparable factor loadings but not absolute score levels. Analysis shows predictive and incremental validity, adding 6.7–13.3 percentage points of explained variance beyond the RNEP and explaining an additional 5.7–13.6 percentage points in local restoration attitudes and management actions beyond country differences. Based on the development and validation of the PVN, we discuss methodological and conceptual issues and unpack the plurality of values of nature. Descriptive profile analyses further showed that multiple value dimensions commonly co-occur within individuals. As a concise survey-based social indicator, the PVN scale can be used to take stock of the plural values that societies hold regarding the future development of nature, to examine their associations with environmental attitudes, and to monitor value patterns over time within comparable contexts.
Author/Contact:
Arjen E. Buijs, Sabrina Dressel, Jette B. Jacobsen, Tim M. de Kruiff, Laura C. Quintero-Uribe, Angus Monro Smith, Christian Gamborg.
DOI reference:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indic.2026.101576
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