Attitudes Toward Wildlife Species Protection: Assessing Moderating and Mediating Effects in the Value-Attitude Relationship

Framed in the cognitive hierarchy approach, we examine (1) the mediating effect of general environmenrat atritudes and (2) the moderating effect of facrual wildlife knowledge on the relarionship berween values and specific wildlife attitudes (wildlife species prorec(ion). These relarionships are assessed across four wildlife consrinrent groups: (I) consumprive users (anglers and hunters), (2) birders (a nonconsumptive user group), (3) non-hunters, non-anglers, and nonbirders (nonusers), and (4) combined consumprive and nonconsumptive users (anglers, hunters and birders). Twelve hundred and rwenry residents of rhe Southern Appalachians completed a telephone sumey during Ihe summer of 1335. Overall, respondents demonstrated low knowledge but favorable attirudes regarding wildlife species protection. Resuhs provided panial support for a cognitive hierarchy in which general artirudes mediate the relationship between values and specific attitudes, and the existence of knowledge 3s 3n external moderating variables. Results are discussed in the context or information-processing theories and implications for developing effective fish and wildlife communicarion araregies are considered.