Identity is a fundamental concept in social psychology; however, its application in conservation education has been limited. This study examines the impact of naturalist identity on biodiversity conservation behaviors, focusing on both direct and indirect pathways mediated by a sense of obligation. Using a mixed-methods approach, we developed and validated a 10-item Naturalist Identity Scale (NIS) using a total of 824 valid responses from naturalists and college students, demonstrating strong psychometric properties and cross-group comparability. Results from 198 naturalists revealed that naturalist identity significantly predicts biodiversity-related actions, with a sense of obligation partially mediating this relationship. Consequently, the study provides a reliable scale for measuring naturalist identity and suggests that a stronger naturalist identity is associated with a higher frequency of biodiversity actions. Our findings emphasize the importance of identity in fostering conservation behaviors and offer practical insights for environmental education strategies.
Meng et al. (Mon,) studied this question.