Distal and proximal determinants of the public acceptance of energy technologies

Abstract

The social and public acceptance of energy policies, infrastructures and applications has become an important matter of research in environmental social science. It is important to understand how individuals and interest groups form an attitude on energy technologies and why they take action in favor or against such technologies. Although many studies have shed light on factors influencing public acceptance of energy technologies, most studies focused on a limited set of factors, mainly perceived risk and perceived benefit, knowledge and trust. Recent efforts to establish a comprehensive model of key factors influencing technology acceptance have identified a set of psychological factors but forgotten the potential role of prior values and beliefs. Based on previous studies and our findings on public perception of two energy technologies, we propose that public attitudes toward energy technologies are a function of perceived risk and perceived benefit, affect and trust, prior values and beliefs. Following the cultural cognition theory, we consider that object-specific attitudes often connect individuals' values to their perceptions of energy technologies and energy policy-relevant issues.