Repositioning Identity in Conceptualizations of Human–Place Bonding

In this investigation, we adapted identity theory to reassess a conceptualization of place attachment—conceived herein as an attitudinal construct used by environmental psychologists to describe people’s bonding to the physical landscape. Past work has conceptualized the construct in terms of three components: cognitive, affective, and conative elements. Based on the tenets of identity theory, we hypothesized that the cognitive component—reflected in the dimension place identity—is an antecedent of these other affective and conative facets. We empirically tested this reconceptualization using data collected from two spatial contexts in Southern California: residents living in the wildland–urban interface outside of San Diego and Los Angeles. Analyses of both data sets provided strong empirical support for our conceptualization of place and its associated measures. Rather than existing on the same temporal plane, we suggest that identification processes drive other affective and conative elements that underlie people attachments to physical environments.