Concepts for Exploring the Social Aspects of Human–Wildlife Conflict in a Global Context

This article develops an approach for exploring the social and cultural aspects of human–wildlife conflict in a global context. The proposed micro-macro level model integrates the cognitive hierarchy theory of human behavior and materialist theory of culture. This model guides research of human behavior in these situations and yields information that can aid conflict prevention and mitigation on the local level and offer suggestions for effective coordinated global, national, or regional efforts. Past applications of the micro (individual level) component and preliminary research and potential areas of future exploration for the macro (cultural level) component are discussed. Cross-cultural research will be highly useful in advancing an understanding of human–wildlife conflict.