Dissertationen zum Thema „Pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours“

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a variety of factors on environmental attitudes and behaviors. Studies have addressed a number of issues that are related to environmental matters. This examination extends the research in this area by incorporating educational attainment, political ideology, gender, marriage and family formation, religiosity and subjective spirituality, race and ethnicity, as well as several sociodemographic influences. The 2010 General Social Survey is selected for the analysis because it is the most recent data available and contains items pertaining to environmental concern and behavior, and the independent and control variables. Directions for future research in the area will be discussed.
ID: 031001455; System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.; Mode of access: World Wide Web.; Adviser: David Gay.; Co-advisers: Jana Jasinski, James Wright.; Title from PDF title page (viewed July 3, 2013).; Thesis (M.A.)--University of Central Florida, 2012.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 38-42).
M.A.
Masters
Sociology
Sciences
Applied Sociology

This study investigated primary, secondary and tertiary students' attitudes towards environmental issues, their involvement in environmental activities, and the environmental values which underlie their concerns about caring for the environment It explored developmental changes in environmental attitudes, behavioural involvement and values as students pass through childhood and adolescence into early adulthood. The study also examined relationships among values, attitudes and behavioural actions, and aimed to determine whether values are better predictors of behavioural actions than are attitudes in the area of environmental conservation. A Rasch psychometric model of modem test theory for Likert-style questionnaires was applied to examine and improve the internal consistency and validity of three measuring scales, namely, an environmental attitude scale (EAS), an environmental behaviour scale (EBS) and an environmental value scale (EVS), all three of which were constructed for this investigation. After a preliminary and a pilot study using cross-sectional designs, final results from three groups of subjects totalling 423 students (148 primary school year 7 students, 151 high school year 10 students and 124 university first year students) who completed the 30-item EAS, the 15-item EBS and the 10-item EVS, showed that the items from the EAS and the EBS conformed satisfactorily with the Rasch model, and although the EVS was satisfactory for the purpose of the thesis, it requires further refinement. This study did not provide evidence to support the theoretical argument that values, rather than attitudes, are better predictors of environmental behaviour; however, it demonstrated that values remained consistent across six different environmental issues and across the three age groups, which provides some support for Rokeach's postulation that values transcend situations and underlie people's attitudes and behaviour towards specific objects and situations. Results from formal statistical analyses indicated that: (a) there was a developmental shift towards more positive environmental attitudes from primary school aged students through high school students to university students; however, further analysis revealed that the positive shift towards pro-environmental attitudes with increasing education levels was evident among female subjects only; (b) with respect to environmental behavioural involvement, primary school students participated more actively in environmental activities than high school and university students; this reversed trend was evident particularly with primary school male students; (c) responses to the EVS remained constant across the three age levels; (d) female students in all three age groups were significantly more pro-environment than male students on all three scales; (e) more primary school students (particularly male students) chose economic benefit as their main reason for participation in pro-environmental activities than did the other two groups of subjects; (f) primary school students thought they obtained their information about the environment mainly from school education while high school and university students received their information mainly from the mass media. Implications arising from this study suggest that: (a) a longitudinal panel study following a cohort of students from pre-adolescence through adolescence or even through early adulthood should be carried out in order to better understand any changing relationships among environmental attitudes, behaviours and values; (b) subjects from different socio-economic backgrounds and geographical areas should be examined to establish the generalizability of the findings from this study; (c) further exploration of the possible contribution of an environmental values education to changes in attitudes and behaviours with respect to the environment is required; (d) an investigation into the use of media as a means of developing positive environmental attitudes and values should be carried out; and (e) financial incentives seem to play a significant role in the decision of young people to get involved in environmental activities and this may need to be taken into account if a context to facilitate active participation is desired.

Medicines have a large carbon footprint, and the aim of this research was to identify ways to reduce the carbon footprint of medicines in hospital pharmacy departments. Factors affecting pharmacists' and pharmacy technicians' engagement with pro-environmental behaviours regarding medicines' disposal in Australian and UK hospitals were explored. Environmental attitudes, environmental knowledge, environmental concern, and organisational factors that either help or prevent appropriate disposal of unwanted medicines and their packaging were investigated. Currently, many pharmacists believe medicines' disposal is outside their current scope of practice. Organisation-wide environmental education programs are needed to increase awareness and improve behaviours.

Today it has become critical that people adapt their behavior and lifestyles to environmental constraints. Teachers are supposed to teach pupils to accept personal responsibility in regard to these problems. The pedagogies of Waldorf and public schools have different outlooks on nature, hence it was hypothesized that Waldorf and public teachers would differ in regard to pro-environmental behavior and factors explaining such actions. An e-questionnaire measuring pro-environmental behavior, biospheric and altruistic values, feelings of personal responsibility, and pro-environmental attitudes was filled out by 68 Waldorf teachers and 73 public teachers from different municipalities in Sweden. The results suggest that Waldorf teachers report higher biospheric values (partial eta² = .46, p < .001), more pro-environmental behavior (partial eta² = .39, p < .001), more feelings of personal responsibility, (partial eta² = .32, p < .001), and higher altruistic values (partial eta² = .12, p < .001), than public school teachers do. There were a few limitations in reliability and possibly with social desirability. However, the present study paves the way for an understanding of how pedagogy can be of help in preventing further environmental problems.

The purpose of this study is to examine the potential for yoga to contribute to sustainability objectives via pro-social and environmental attitudes and behaviours. It locates core principles and concepts embedded within the meaning of the term interconnectedness in both western and eastern histories of ideas, with particular emphasis on yoga, integralism, and ecological theory. It evaluates and investigates yoga's potential toward recognition or realisation of a non-dualist paradigm of interconnectedness that might invoke social and environmental change. It explores how a tripartite model of yoga understands interconnectedness at a deeper level than the mechanistic worldview, and could support proactive measures toward a more fair, just, and sustainable world. It locates cultural barriers to yoga's potential for a pro-environmental and pro-social worldview and lifestyle, suggesting options to advance yoga's ecological values by improved education and scholarship. To access suitable models, the study learnt and practiced traditional teachings, applied them to contemporary issues and sought perspectives from under-represented sources. To answer research questions on how yoga can benefit contemporary issues, it also critically reflected on how scholarship impacts upon the communities from which the knowledge is obtained. The project contributes new knowledge on interconnectedness, its meaning and historic cultural context. It contributes a novel epistemic and methodological framework consistent with traditional knowledge, particularly relevant for progress on culturally appropriate scholarship in yoga studies. The project is the first of its kind to deeply explore the meanings of the word interconnectedness. It is one of the most committed attempts to date to seek out a doctrinal model from the traditions that can embrace both transcendent and immanent aspects of yoga in both theory and practice toward a coherent eco-yoga model. In doing so it engages with a wide lacuna between rhetorical appeals to yoga as a sustainability praxis and mind body intervention by supplementing existing theory with some of the traditional knowledge to explain how yoga works, and how it can help to meet sustainability objectives like cultivating an interconnected worldview. The project calls to seriously examine the legacy of colonial classification systems and methodological issues in the representation of yoga cultures. It appeals for the review of academic conventions among yoga scholars and for the prioritisation of sincere regard for the impact of scholarship on yoga’s intangible cultural heritage value, particularly considering yoga’s protection under UNESCO.

The most devastating effects of climate change may be avoided if humans reduce activities that produce greenhouse gases and engage instead in more sustainable ecological behaviors. The current mixed methods study of 279 undergraduate students explored whether environmental worldview, belief in climate change, knowledge of climate change, personal efficacy, and intention to address climate change influenced participants’ engagement in ecological behavior. Results indicated that those with a stronger intention to address climate change and a more ecocentric worldview reported significantly more ecological behavior. Next, the study examined whether participants’ intentions to address climate change mediated the relationship between their belief in climate change and engagement in ecological behavior and whether intentions mediated the relationship between efficacy and ecological behavior. Intentions to address climate change did not mediate the relationship between belief and ecological behavior but fully mediated the relationship between efficacy to address climate change and ecological behavior.

Ten whale watches were completed between October 2014 and January 2015 using a quasi-experimental design with and without balloon debris retrievals. A link to a post-trip electronic survey was sent two weeks after whale watch tours to adult participants who volunteered to take part in this study. This study showed how witnessing the retrieval of marine debris while listening to a conservation message did have an effect on the reported intended pro-environmental behaviors. Overall, those who were exposed to the balloon retrieval mentioned conservation themes within the open-ended questions more than the control group. This study suggests that pro-environmental changes intended behaviors, attitudes and knowledge did occur and may have produced thoughts and actions in individuals who are now more enlightened and aware about marine debris issues. Contrary to changes in attitudes and intended behaviors, there were no noticeable impacts on reported actual behavior changes from the participants after the whale watch tour.

Reports from the IPCC have been consistent in their findings: climate change is happening and human activity is the cause. The temperature of the earth’s climate has been steadily rising since the industrial revolution, with profoundly negative consequences for the natural environment. Britain is amongst the top 10 global contributors towards climate change, producing more CO2 per capita than China, and yet little is known about the relationship the British public have with the natural environment. Drawing upon DEFRA’s 2009 Survey of Public Attitudes and Behaviours Towards the Environment, a nationally representative sample of the UK, this study aims to (1) explore environmental attitudes in the DEFRA sample; (2) identify the types of environmental concern that exist in the UK and; (3) examine how environmental concern is associated with pro-environmental behaviours. The overall goal is to develop a better understanding this attitude-behaviour relationship. The thesis has 3 main findings. First, environmental concern is formed of three environmental attitudes: (a) a cognitive appraisal of plant and animal welfare (ecocentric attitude); (b) welfare of the human race (human-centric attitude); and (c) a prioritisation of the self, alongside dismissal of environmental problems (denial).Second, members of the British public can be assigned to one of four groups based on their environmental concern: Pro-environment, Neutral, Disengaged and Paradoxical (the latter 2 groups are apathetic towards environmental issues though in different ways).Third, when examining behaviour variation across these environmental concern groups, it was found, unsurprisingly, that membership of the pro- environmental group is strongly predictive of pro-environmental behaviour. What was surprising was that pro-environmental concern predicts a variety of behaviours, both easy and challenging (i.e. easy behaviour such as recycling household waste as well more challenging behaviour such as an increase use of public transportation over driving), whereas previous studies have typically found such behaviours to be unaffected by attitudes. Membership of the Neutral group also predicts pro-environmental behaviours, although this relationship is weaker and exists for fewer measures of behaviour. Disengaged and Paradoxical forms of concern are not significant predictors of behaviour. Upon examining the effect of socio-economic status (SES) on group membership and this attitude-behaviour relationship, it was found that SES does not moderate the attitude-behaviour relationship, but it does influence group membership. Respondents with higher SES were more likely to belong to neutral or pro-environment groups. After reviewing these findings, it is concluded that environmental attitudes do clearly predict behaviour, but a large portion of the UK population do not possess environmental attitudes strong enough to do so (the Disengaged and Paradoxical groups amount to 36% of the population). Future studies should focus on these apathetic groups in an attempt to understand them, determine effective methods of engagement and identify factors that increase the probability of members transitioning out of these groups.

För att uppnå nationella och internationella klimatmål och minska den negativa mänskliga klimatpåverkan, samt för att undvika att jordens temperatur stiger ännu mer, behövs ett miljövänligare tankesätt kring hållbarhet och miljöutmaningar. Trots många miljösatsningar i samhället är det viktigt att framhäva och få en uppfattning om individens attityder och beteenden till miljömässig hållbarhet för att lättare påverka individer att agera klimatvänligt. Syftet med denna studie är att få en bild av högskolestudenters attityder och beteenden relaterat till olika miljörelevanta områden och aktiviteter som har en negativ miljöpåverkan, samt vilka bakomliggande faktorer som är av central betydelse för att förstå just dessa beteenden. Studien framhåller tidigare forskning om beteenden relaterat till miljö med koppling till studenter, jämförelsevis mellan kvinnor och män, i relation till media, sociodemografiska och socioekonomiska faktorer. Dessa faktorer belyses även i denna studie och relateras till just de intervjuade studenternas inställning, tankar och beteenden kring miljömässig hållbarhet. Studien utgår från hermeneutiken som tolkningsmetod och med kvalitativa intervjuer som metod för insamling av material. Sammanlagt har åtta personer intervjuats, varav fyra kvinnor och fyra män. Relevanta teorier som theory of planned behaviour, norm activation model och value belief norm theory med ursprung ur socialpsykologin används för analys av empirin. Empirin resulterade i åtta teman som belyser respondenternas olika attityder och beteenden och tankar kring miljömässig hållbarhet. Som tidigare forskning påvisat bekräftar även denna studie att attityder och beteenden inte alltid hänger ihop. Resultatet visar att attityder och beteenden påverkas på två olika sätt. Dels genom personers uppväxt och omgivning men också genom en påverkan från samhället från sociala medier, trender och förebilder.
In order to achieve national and international climate goals and reduce the negative human impact on the climate, as well as to avoid increasing the temperature of the Earth, more environmentally friendly thinking about sustainability and environmental challenges is needed. Despite many environmental initiatives in society, it is important to emphasize and get an idea of the individual's attitudes and behaviors towards environmental sustainability to more easily influence individuals to act climate friendly. The purpose of this study is to get a picture of university students' attitudes and behaviors related to different environmentally relevant areas and activities that have a negative environmental impact, as well as underlying factors that are crucial to understand these behaviors. The study highlights previous research on behavior related to environment and students, comparatively between women and men, in relation to the media and socio-demographic and socio-economic factors. It is these factors that also are highlighted in this study and are related to the attitudes, thoughts and behaviors of the interviewed students regarding environmental sustainability. The study is based on hermeneutics as an interpretation method and with qualitative interviews as a method of collecting material. A total of eight people have been interviewed, including four women and four men. Relevant theories such as the theory of planned behavior, norm activation model and value belief norm theory derived from social psychology are used to analyze the empiricism. The study resulted in eight themes highlighting respondents' different attitudes and behaviors and thoughts about environmental sustainability. As previous research has shown, this study also confirms that attitudes and behaviors do not always coincide. The result shows that attitudes and behaviors are influenced in two different ways. Partly through a person’s childhood and social surrounding, but also through an impact of society from social media, trends and role models.

Although several sustainability implementation frameworks have been proposed, researchers have not yet proposed theories or models to help organisations speed up the rate of sustainability diffusion and narrow the gap between what is known and what is put into use. This study sought to fill this gap by proposing a sustainability diffusion model. The model was developed from an exhaustive review of the corresponding literature. It uses Rogers' (1962) diffusion of innovations theory and Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behaviour as a theoretical foundation. The model was tested and its structural architecture was validated in three different sustainability contexts; namely, duplex printing in UK universities; sustainable computing in service-based businesses; and sustainability culture in UK universities. The primary data was analysed statistically using SPSS, and structural equation modelling (SEM) in particular was used to validate the structural architecture of the proposed model. The SEM results indicate that the structural architecture of the theory of planned behaviour is well-founded. All the hypotheses that underline the theory's paths were supported. In contrast, the structural architecture of the diffusion of innovations theory was weakly supported. Some of the paths were rejected in at least two occasions. For example, the relationship between pro-sustainability knowledge and attitude was neither statistically significant nor directional. Moreover, several components of the 'verified' model turned out to be statistically insignificant or were rejected altogether. These were knowledge, perceived self interest, perceived persuader legitimacy, perceived consequences, perceived argument quality, trialability and perceived source credibility. Accordingly, once these constructs were removed and the model was restructured in accordance with the results of SEM analysis, an entirely new version of the 'sustainability diffusion model' emerged (See Figure IX-2). The architecture of the new model suggests that in order to speed up the rate of sustainability diffusion, change agents must emphasise the relative advantage, compatibility, subjective norm and the urgency of the pro-sustainability initiative under implementation and de-emphasise any complexities or risks associated with its operationalisation. Unexpectedly, the new version of the proposed model relies more on Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behaviour as a theoretical foundation than on Rogers' (1983) innovation-decision process model. In other words, the new model maintained almost all the features of the theory of planned behaviour, but it only absorbed some, but not all, of the components of Rogers' innovation-decision process model. Nevertheless, the new model maintained its holistic nature. It still takes into account both the person-specific and innovation-specific factors that influence the diffusion, adoption and actualisation of pro-sustainability behaviours/initiatives.

The original work of Thurstone ( 1928) on the measurement of attitude has been continued by many researchers. Although Thurstone immediately cautioned against the prediction of behaviour from attitude, and argued that the measurement of attitude in its own right was important, many researchers have studied the relationship between attitude and behaviour. Their general conclusion is that, except in specific situations where the behaviour and attitude are linked in particular ways, attitude and behaviour are not strongly correlated, and therefore, have suggested that they are different din1ensions. Duncan (1985) presents the hypothesis that attitude and behaviour, rather than representing two different dimensions of some construct, can be conceptualised as manifestations of the same underlying disposition but at different levels of intensity. Duncan further suggests that attitude is "easier" than behaviour. This study was designed to focus on the relationship between attitude and behaviour towards land degradation of farmers in the Central Wheatbelt of the State of Western Australia, and between attitude and behaviour towards urban pollution in Perth, the capital of this state. Land degradation and urban pollution are significant problems for the Central Wheatbelt and the metropolitan area of Western Australia, respectively. Farmers and urban dwellers were invited to complete written surveys on these issues. The key responses were agreement or disagreement to statements reflecting attitudes and reported behaviour. Demographic information and information regarding the level of commitment of the respondents to the attitude was also gathered. In the study of attitudes through responses to statements, there are two main response mechanisms. In one, there is an ideal direction and it is expected that the more positive the attitude, the more likely a particular responses. For example, the responses may be Disagree (D) or Agree (A) which are scored O and 1 respectively. Then, the greater the probability of the Agree response (scored 1), and the higher the score across more than one statement, the more positive the inferred attitude. The models that are used for analysing such responses have a monotonic form and are termed cumulative. In the second, there is an ideal point, and the closer a statement is to the person's ideal point, the more likely it is that the person will choose the Agree response, and the further away the statement is from the ideal point in either direction (more positive or more negative), the more likely a Disagree response. In this case, the total score across statements cannot be used directly to infer attitude. The models that are used for analysing such responses are single-peaked and are termed unfolding. In both kinds of analyses, persons and statements are located on an attitude continuum. Duncan's hypothesis, that attitude and behaviour may be located on the same continuum. suggests that in some studies, at least, the fact that they are found not to be related may be a methodological artefact. In the present study, the statements in the scale reporting behaviour with respect to environmental issues were written explicitly according to the cumulative response mechanism, and the statements in the scale reflecting attitude were written according to the unfolding response. However, in part to explore the matter of methodological artefacts, both scales were analysed according to both the cumulative and unfolding models, after the data were configured to suit each analysis. The study found that, as Duncan bad suggested, attitude and behaviour could be placed on the same continuum, as different manifestations of the same construct. However, the further contention that attitude is "easier" than behaviour appeared too simple according to these data. The data appear to support the contention that attitude alone is not sufficient to explain behaviour, and that attitude and level of involvement may be more effective. The demographic information collected explained some but not all assumptions about the relationship between attitude and behaviour. One particularly noteworthy result was that the correlation between attitude and behaviour was very low (order of 0.1) in the urban sample while moderate (order of 0.5) in the rural sample. It is suggested that part of this difference between rural and urban relationships between attitude and behaviour is explained by the differing situations of the two groups - farmers' attitudes and behaviour to land degradation relate directly to their livelihood. This has implications, not only for the seriousness with which the environmental degradation is viewed, but also for their responses which are an integral part of their working conditions. In contrast, for urban dwellers most behaviours relating to dealing with urban pollution are not directly related to their livelihood and must be carried out in their leisure time. To the degree that this observation explains the difference in the relationship between attitude and behaviour between the two groups, to that degree it shows that the relationship between attitude and behaviour is moderated by other related factors. Studies that test this relationship between attitude and behaviour towards the environment are issues for further research.

Sustainability is an area of growing pertinence as our future and the future of our planet depends on its acceptance and application. Determining patterns in pro-sustainable attitudes and behaviors, and revealing motivations behind these behaviors have important implications for the future of sustainability education. The primary objective of this study is to discover the relationships between educational experience and sustainability attitudes and behaviors in elementary school students. A secondary objective is to determine the motivation behind pro-sustainability behaviors and to establish the role this plays in educational programs. The study utilizes mixed methodology through two modes of data collection: 1. Student surveys, and 2. Teacher questionnaires. The surveys are self-report and were analyzed quantitatively to determine patterns. Ninety seven students (63 from a school with sustainability based curriculum, Sustainability Academy at Barnes (SAB), and 34 from a general curriculum school without a specific sustainability focus, CP Smith) in grades 3-5 completed a 20 question survey which measured sustainability attitudes and behaviors. Students involved in a sustainability education program scored higher on every indicator, and highest and lowest indicators for attitude and behavior were the same for both schools, showing distinct areas of strengths and needs. The average mean scores for attitudes were higher than the average mean scores for behavior for both schools. SAB students had a significantly higher amount of correlations between attitudes and behaviors than C.P Smith students did. The questionnaires are qualitative and are structured, with open ended responses. The questionnaires were completed by the five teachers of the SAB students who completed the survey. The eighteen questionnaire questions are focused on what sustainability means to the teachers, how it is used in their curriculum, and perceived student sustainability attitudes/behavior. Social justice was the most mentioned concept relating to sustainability. Other important factors were: community, opportunity, adult role models, and socio-economic barriers to sustainable attitudes and behaviors. Students from the sustainability focused program seemingly hold both sustainability based attitudes and behaviors as a higher priority; however, the schools had the same areas of needs. Future sustainability education curriculum would benefit from focusing on transportation and alternatives to consumption. Also, attitudes towards recycling/reusing and borrowing have shown to be closely tied to attitudes in other areas of sustainability; therefore, strengthening attitudes in these areas will likely affect attitudes across sustainability. A cross curricular sustainability program with a focus on social justice issues and experiential learning, experienced with strong role models, appears to develop students with more advanced sustainability attitudes and behaviors than programs with no sustainability curriculum.

This study explores the impacts of an experiential, environmental school program (Intertidal Marine Biology) at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre that is linked to the British Columbia Grade 11 Biology Curriculum. Little is known about the socio-cultural characteristics of participants that may influence their behaviours about, and attitudes towards, marine environmental issues after participation. This is reflected across the field of informal environmental education, and while this study is focussed on a unique program, the results offer insight into the field of experiential, informal, and environmental education in general. This research is based on a two-stage, mixed methods approach. The first stage comprised of an assessment of students’ environmental attitudes and behaviours using a specially developed questionnaire instrument that was administered to 129 students from three different schools. The second stage involved face-to-face student interviews with a sub-sample of stage 1 students. The variables that were examined included year of participation, school, gender, ethnicity, birthplace, parent’s birthplace, hobbies, museum visitation, Ocean Wise use, most enjoyable component, and least enjoyable component of the program. These were broadly conceived to be socio-cultural variables that may have an impact on a student’s attitudes and behaviours following engagement in the program. The results of this study were based on these independent socio-cultural variables, which were tested against the dependent measures of attitude and behaviour. Many of the socio-cultural variables were demonstrated to be statistically significant in influencing students’ perceptions of their own attitudes and behaviours after the program. Students consistently showed an increase in their positive environmental attitudes and behaviours after participation in the program. When measured against the socio-cultural variables, student attitudes and behaviours were influenced by factors including school, gender, birthplace, parent’s birthplace, parent’s birth country, favourite hobbies, and museum visitation. However, ethnicity and year of participation proved not to be significant in this study. The results of this study indicate that socio-cultural variables play an integral role in the attitudes and behaviours of students. This knowledge is an important factor for informal educators to consider when designing experiential, environmental programs.

To help protect the environment people need to change current non-environmental behaviours into more sustainable behaviours. By understanding habits for pro-environmental behaviours, people can strive toward building a more sustainable future. The goal of this thesis was to identify different types of repeated pro-environmental behaviours and how to best foster strong habits for pro-environmental behaviours. To achieve this purpose we combined the theoretical framework of habits (Bargh, 1994; Verplanken, 2006) with the theoretical framework of self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985; 2000) to address current gaps in the habit literature. The present thesis is comprised of two articles. The first article determined if the proposed indicators of habits (i.e., behaviour frequency, habit strength, and behaviour interference) could identify different patterns of repeated pro-environmental behaviours predicted by habit and self-determination theory using cluster analysis. The three studies provided support for the three proposed types of repeated behaviours: weak habits, repeated behaviours with interference, and strong habits. These results were very robust since the same pattern was found across three studies, three samples, and three different target behaviours. The second article used the groups (i.e., weak habit, repeated behaviour with interference, and strong habit) in exploratory multinomial logistic regression analyses to identify factors related to pro-environmental behaviours which distinguished between the different types of repeated behaviours. Once again, the same three types of repeated behaviours were found across these three studies, with three new samples and two different target behaviours. Three predictors fairly consistently identified differences between the groups: autonomous motivation toward the environment, perceived importance of the environment, and the frequency of other pro-environmental behaviours. The implications of the thesis findings are discussed in relation to self-determination theory and the study of habits.

This research project focused on developing a better understanding of the role of consumer and management in mainstream hotels in achieving sustainability. The structure of this research is initiated by providing more information about the main research background, followed by a literature review and development of the models used. The research design is presented with the models. Results of three studies are explained and discussed. The main research question to be answered is ‘What is the role of consumer and management in creating sustainability in a hotel context?’ The literature review on stakeholder theory in strategic green management suggested a multi-perspective involvement (company and customers) in establishing green management in hotels. The hotel consumer literature review found a high extent of Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) approaches used to conceptualise individual Pro-Environmental Behaviour (PEB) in existing models. However, fewer studies clearly pointed out that the inclusion of hotel green attributes contributes to a better explanation of customer loyalty in hotels. There is also scarcity in the inclusion of behavioural elements and mindfulness in existing PEB models. This research includes a novel feature of mindfulness, domestic green habits (behaviour), and hotel green attributes (context) as an alternative approach to explain individual PEB in hotels. In accordance with stakeholder theory, this research examines co-operations between hotel management and customers to establish business sustainability and provide win-win-win solutions for customers, company, and the natural environment. This research is designed on the pragmatist paradigm. A sequence of mixedmethods design (qualitative – quantitative – qualitative) was selected as the strategy of inquiry. In the first qualitative phase, two customer focus group discussions were conducted to develop some questionnaire items. After the pilot study, a survey targeting 3-star to 5-star hotel users was conducted in Indonesia (n=324). A similar survey was also carried out in Australia (n=339). Hotel management interviews (n=26) were also conducted to develop better understandings on hotel pro-environmental management from managers’ perspectives. The empirical studies presented in this research suggest that the proenvironmental collaboration between consumer and hotel management maintains a significant role in achieving sustainable hotel business. The study of individual PEB in hotels suggests that mindfulness significantly impacts consumer PEB in hotels. Hotel green attributes are found to be prominent in facilitating green behaviours in hotels. The study of the influence of hotel green attributes on customer loyalty suggests that the establishment of hotel green attributes supports customer’s positive attitudes towards the hotel’s brand and exhorts customer loyalty. The significance of green attributes in hotels conforms to the results of manager interviews. The green typology developed from the management interviews suggests high-level motivation, wide scope, very good processes and monitoring, and enhanced levels of customer communication enables best practice pro-environmental management. Exploring PEB in hotels from different perspectives contributes a green collaboration concept between consumer and hotel management to the hotel sustainability literature. A typology of hotel green management is presented to predict the extent of green practices in mainstream hotels. The green management criteria of the typology contribute insights to the actualisation of green management in mainstream hotels, and detailed standards to achieve best green practices in hotels. Supporting the stakeholder theory, staff participation and customer communications are necessary to achieve best green management practices. The novel concept of mindfulness and the behavioural approach to determining consumer PEB in hotels contribute a new perspective to the consumer behaviour literature. This research contributes to hotel management literature by providing insights on the prominent role of hotel green attributes in the actualisation of customer PEB in hotels. Findings of this research add deeper understandings of the role of hotel green attributes and customer experience in generating customer loyalty in hotels. Practically, this research mainly points to green collaboration between stakeholders (managers, staff, and consumer) that can be applied in hotel management. The green management typology criteria developed from this research can be applied to measure the extent of a hotel’s green practices. It can also assist hotel managements by providing a valid reference to enable best green practices in their hotels. Results of this research encourage hotel managers to involve the staff in formulating a green strategy and communicate the green strategy to their customers. Noting the positive impact of hotel green attributes and good hotel customer experience on loyalty, findings of this research deliver a novel approach for hotel management to gain a better understanding of their customers and to improve customer loyalty in their hotel. The inclusion of behavioural aspects and mindfulness in determining hotel PEB challenges and encourages the enactment of PEB among hotel customers.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Dept of Marketing
Griffith Business School
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This thesis investigates the roles of individual, household and country in individuals’ proenvironmental behaviours and aims to understand the relationship between environmental attitudes and behaviours using a multilevel modelling approach. The first and second papers analyse factors influencing individuals’ environmental behaviours in the United Kingdom using data from Wave 4 of the Understanding Society, UK Household Longitudinal Study. General environmental behaviour, as well as home-, transport- and purchasing-related behaviours are studied. The main focus is to highlight the role of the household on these individual behaviours. To account for the complex hierarchical structure of the survey data, where households are clustered within interviewers and geographical areas, both studies propose, for the first time, a cross-classified multilevel modelling approach. Results show that household, interviewer and area have significant effects on the reported environmental behaviours. The findings also suggest that individuals’ personal and environmental values have significant impacts on their behaviours. The third paper examines cross-national differences in individuals’ environmental behaviours by exploring how individual- and country-level factors influence their behaviours and how the relationship between personal environmental attitudes and behaviours varies across countries using a multilevel modelling approach. Analysis is conducted on the 2010 Environmental module of the International Social Survey Programme, a cross-national survey that deals with environmental behaviours and attitudes. General environmental behaviour, as well as home-, purchasing-, transport- and recycling-related behaviours are considered. Results show that both individual- and national-level variables have substantial effects in explaining different types of environmental behaviours. The inclusion of the random slope on environmental attitude also provides evidence that the effects of individuals’ environmental attitudes on their environmental behaviours vary significantly across nations.

Environmental problems relating to transportation have increased in severity in many cities within Canada. Reduction in emissions generated from the transport sector will require far reaching technological advances as well as behavioral shifts by the population. This study is carried out with a focus on influencing youths to increase the use of sustainable transportation. Studying the attitudes of young people towards the environment is important given they will be the ones affected by environmental issues arising from our current actions and consequently will be the individuals who will ultimately have to come up with resolutions. In preparation to address future transportation issues, it is critical to conduct researches with a focus on children and young people as attitudes toward the environment begin to develop in childhood. This study surveyed over 1000 students from 11 secondary schools in Richmond, Canada and Vancouver, Canada. The purpose of the survey is to examine the relationship between environmental knowledge, environmental attitudes and travel behavior. Structural equation models (SEMs) were used to quantify environmental attitudes as latent variables, as well as to examine the relationship between environmental knowledge, attitudes and travel behavior while controlling demographic and socioeconomic variables. The results indicate that 1) Students who have better knowledge on environmental issues hold higher levels of proenvironmental attitudes; 2) Students who use active transportation, public transit and school buses to/from school have stronger pro-environmental attitudes than students who travel to/from school by car; 3) Environmental attitude is found to be a mediating variable between environmental knowledge and travel behavior; and 4) Environmental knowledge has a significant impact on the relationship between environmental attitudes and travel behavior. Based on these findings, it is evident that continual improvement of the environmental education curriculum is needed. It is recommended that the curriculum should not be limited to knowledge-based education on transportation. Rather, it should include activities that will help induce a positive environmental attitude. It was also found that social media and school courses are major sources of environmental information for the students. Therefore, educational institutes, government, environmental NGOs should continue to leverage these channels to effectively disburse information.

We investigate whether there are green returns to education, where formal education encourages pro-environmental behaviours using nationally representative surveys on environmental issues in Thailand. To establish the causal relationship between education and green behaviours, we exploit the instrumental variables strategy using the supply of state primary schooling i.e. the corresponding number of teachers per 1000 children, which varies over time and across regions as the instrument, while controlling for regional, cohort and income effects. We find that more years of schooling lead to a greater probability of taking knowledge-based environmentally-friendly actions a great deal, but not cost-saving pro-environmental actions. In addition, the paper finds no significant impact of formal education on concern about global warming nor the willingness to pay for environmental tax.

The degradation of the environment and climate change represent some of the most important environmental issues affecting our society today, and we need to better understand what can be done in order to mitigate the negative effects of human activity on the environment. The present program of research proposes to examine, through three studies, how the frequency of pro-environmental behaviours (PEB) and harmful-environmental behaviours (HEB) are related to self-determined (SDM) and non-self-determined motivation (NSDM), stages of change (SOC), the satisfaction versus the frustration of basic psychological needs as defined by Self-Determination Theory, and nature relatedness. In Study 1 (N = 377), a scale was created to measure two distinct types of environmental behaviours, PEB and HEB, and the relationships between these types of environmental behaviours and SDM and NSDM were examined. Results demonstrated that both types of behaviours loaded on two distinct factors when conducting an exploratory factor analysis, that they were associated differently with environmental motivation, and that levels of motivation were different according to the reported frequency of adoption of PEB and HEB. In Study 2a (N = 266) and 2b (N = 529), the role of stages of change (SOC) was introduced to determine whether environmental motivation and behaviours were different across SOC and to examine whether SOC played a mediating or moderating role in the relationship between environmental motivation and behaviours. Results indicated that people in the later SOC displayed higher levels of SDM and PEB while people in the earlier stages reported higher levels of NSDM and HEB. It was also observed that SOC partially mediated the relationship between environmental motivation and behaviours. In Study 3 (N = 507) nature relatedness was compared to the satisfaction and frustration of basic psychological needs proposed by SDT to examine their respective roles in the association of motivation, SOC, PEB and HEB. Results revealed that nature relatedness was incremental to need satisfaction and frustration with regard to levels of SDM. Also, nature relatedness was an important determinant of SOC and both types of environmental behaviours. As for the proposed model, it was demonstrated that high levels of nature relatedness were associated with higher PEB and lower HEB through partial mediation by SDM and SOC, while need frustration was linked to a higher reported frequency of HEB through mediation by NSDM. Overall this thesis expands on SDT research by highlighting the importance of including HEB in conjunction with PEB and by demonstrating the prominent roles that SOC and nature relatedness could play in the motivational process associated with environmental action.

To better understand the value of those who engage in environmental stewardship of natural areas, we studied volunteer steward's motivation to participate, their sustainable behaviors and attitudes toward stewardship-related constructs. Specifically, we designed and conducted a survey of volunteers who work as stewards in urban natural areas in Portland, Oregon. We hypothesize that as volunteer frequency increases: participants will be more motivated to participate for environmental reasons, volunteers will be more likely to feel a strong connection to the stewardship site, participants will be more likely to engage in public pro-environmental behaviors, and their level of environmental literacy will increase. Participants were sampled using a face-to-face survey methodology over the course of late winter and spring of 2012 during 18 different Portland Parks and Recreation sponsored stewardship events. We examined the motivations, attitudes and behaviors of the volunteers, and devised appropriate management implications for those organizing volunteer efforts. We equated a three-tiered typology of environmental literacy, based upon the frequency of volunteer participation, and analyzed our survey data using a principal component analysis, generalized linear models, and a qualitative coding analysis. The most frequent participants showed a higher likelihood of participation in public environmental behaviors, whereas participants at all frequency levels were also likely to participate in private environmental behaviors, such as removing invasive plants in one's yard. Volunteers across all frequencies of participation were motivated to engage in stewardship events by a desire to help the environment. By understanding volunteers' motivations and linked behaviors, park managers may gain insights about the recruitment, retention, and messaging of volunteers upon whom they may depend to achieve restoration goals. We recommend considering volunteers' motivations and benefits derived from participation in messaging to recruit and retain volunteers. Additionally, park managers should take advantage of educational opportunities linked to stewardship events, such as training programs and chances for volunteer mentorship.

Green marketing is, in a sense, an oxymoron in that it merges the seemingly contradictory concepts of marketing, which focuses on facilitating and encouraging consumption, and environmental concern, which focuses on environmental conservation. Green advertising represents an important marketing tool for communicating an organisation’s green image and is the driving force behind fostering environmental awareness and environmentally friendly behaviour. As with any type of advertising, an important determinant of the success of green advertising is consumers‟ attitudes towards green advertising and corresponding environmental concerns and behaviour. The last decade has shown a staggering number of marketers targeting the green segment of the population with green advertising, with increasing green advertisements manufacturers are informing their customers about the pro-environmental characteristics of their products and services. Green advertising is an essential tool in an organisation’s overall environmental marketing strategy; one which possibly leads to achieving superior performance and assists in creating a sustainable competitive edge. An in-depth understanding of the relevant consumer behavioural aspects of a target market is tantamount to formulating successful marketing strategies. This holds true with the formulating of green marketing advertising strategies, which aim at encouraging consumption in an environmentally sustainable manner. There is a dearth of published literature on the South African Generation Y‟s consumer behaviour in general and none that specifically focuses on the environmental concern, attitudes towards green advertising and environmental behaviour of the significantly sized black Generation Y cohort. The Generation Y cohort is defined as individuals born between 1986 and 2005. In terms of South Africa, Generation Y individuals accounted for 40 percent of the South African population, with black Generation Y individuals making up 84 percent of this generational cohort. In addition, the black Generation Y cohort of South Africa makes up approximately 33 percent of the whole population, resulting in a highly attractive market segment. Individuals attaining tertiary qualifications are of particular interest to marketers since they are likely to enjoy higher earnings and a higher social status, which together is likely to make them opinion leaders amongst their peers. The primary objective of this study was to investigate black Generation Y students‟ environmental concern, attitudes towards green advertising and environmental behaviour within the South African context. The target population of the study was defined as full-time black Generation Y students, aged between 18-24 years, enrolled at South African registered public higher education institutions (HEIs). The sampling frame comprised the 23 registered South African public HEIs. Using a judgement sampling method, this was narrowed down to four HEIs located in the Gauteng Province - two of which are country-based and two of which are city-based. For this study, a convenience sample of 400 full-time black Generation Y students who were enrolled at these four South African HEIs during 2012 was drawn. The relevant primary data was obtained using a self-administered questionnaire. Lecturers at each of the four HEIs were contacted and requested to distribute the questionnaire to their students either during class or after class. The self-administered questionnaire was hand delivered to these lecturers. The questionnaire requested respondents to indicate on a five-point Likert scale the extent of their agreement/disagreement with items designed to measure their environmental concerns, their attitudes towards green advertising as well as their current environmental behaviour patterns. In addition, the students were asked to provide certain demographic data. The findings of this study indicate that South African black Generation Y students are environmentally concerned, have a positive attitude towards green advertising and report behaving in a pro-environmental manner. Previous research found gender to be a significant factor in displaying concerns for the environment. However, this study determined that gender played no significant role towards the black South African Generation Y cohort environmental concerns and attitudes. Similarly, the study found no significant difference between black Generation Y students who were based at city HEIs and black Generation Y students who were based at countryside HEIs. Insights gained from this study will help both marketing academics and practitioners understand current black Generation Y consumer attitudes towards environmental concerns, green advertising attitudes and the significance of their pro-environmental behaviour.
Thesis (MCom (Marketing management))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

 The majority of Americans profess to hold pro-environmental attitudes and intend to engage in environmentally friendly behavior. Yet their actions tell a different story. The goal of this study was to explain the gap between widely held pro-environmental attitudes and the lack of corresponding individual and collective behavior. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods and applying the principles of grid-group cultural theory, cognitive sociology, and identity theory I examined the meanings people ascribe to the environment, how they think about behavior relative to the environment, and justifications for the performance of environmentally significant behavior. I administered an on-line survey to a nationally representative sample of individuals. By applying grounded theory methods to the textual data generated by open-ended survey questions I developed a model of environmentally signficant behavior which describes the underlying factors that influence the performance of pro-environmental behavior. Individuals develop environmental socio-cognitive schemas based on the ways in which they use the six cognitive acts (perceiving, focusing, classifying, signifying, remembering, and timing) in thinking about the environment. They use these environmental socio-cognitive schemas to filter and interpret environmental discourse, construct a body of environmental knowledge, and guide environmentally significant behavior. According to this study, the explanatory link between pro-environmental attitudes and pro-environmental behavior lies in the concept of proximity. Performance of pro-environmental behavior is driven by the distance individuals perceive themselves to be from environmental issues. Attitudes toward the environment remain abstractions whereas behavior is situational. Individuals from different cultural groups hold different ideas about the relationship between humans and nature, the extent and severity of environmental issues, and how those issues should be addressed. The findings from this study provide a foundation for developing effective strategies for influencing environmentally significant behavior. This study is important because environmental issues are real, their potential impact is substantial, and time is of the essence in addressing them.

This article examines the relationships among adolescent environmental behaviors and self-efficacy, knowledge, and attitudes. It was hypothesized that adolescents who demonstrate more proenvironmental attitudes are more likely to demonstrate proenvironmental behaviors. It was further hypothesized that perceived self-efficacy would have a moderating effect on the environmental attitude-behavior relationship in that the relationship between proenvironmental attitudes and behaviors would be stronger among adolescents with high levels of self-efficacy. Participants were 848 students from three academically achieving high schools on the West coast. Hierarchical regression analyses were used for all subsequent analyses. Results indicated that proenvironmental attitudes significantly predicted proenvironmental behaviors and that environmental knowledge was a significant moderator for the relationship between environmental attitudes and environmental behaviors. This was especially true for males.

The 5 factor model of personality, including the traits of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism, is a well-established theoretical model for describing how personality is structured. Hirsh (2010) demonstrated the big 5 personality traits, excluding extraversion, were correlated with pro-environmental attitudes. The purpose of this quantitative study was to replicate previous findings, and discover if there was a correlation with a person's pro-environmental behaviors and the big 5 personality traits. A total of 100 participants from an online participant pool completed a survey, which included the Environmental Concern Scale to measure concern and attitudes about the environment, and the General Ecological Behavior scale and the Self-Reported Pro-environmental Behavior Scale to measure participants' pro-environmental behaviors. Bivariate correlations and multiple regression were performed to determine the predictive relationship between personality traits and pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. The trait of openness was significantly correlated with both pro-environmental attitudes, r(91) = .36, p < .01, and behaviors r(93) = .41, p < .01. Agreeableness was also significantly correlated with pro-environmental behaviors r(93) = .26, p <. 05. Multiple regression revealed that trait of openness was found to be a significant predictor of pro-environmental concern F(5, 87) = 3.69, p < .005, and behaviors F(5, 89) = 4.04, p < .002. The implications for positive social change include a better understanding for psychologists of which of the Big 5 personality traits are more likely to contribute in the participation preserving the environment.

Thesis advisor: Brian Gareau
This study examines how attitudes of environmental concern affect the behavior of students on the Boston College (BC) campus. Conventional wisdom suggests that attitude would determine behavior, but past studies have been unable to find a connection between environmental attitude and behavior. This suggests that there are other factors at play, in addition to environmental concern. Using survey and in-depth interview data, this study focuses on the influence of the following factors: monetary cost, convenience, habit and visibility of consequences. The findings suggest that attitude itself does influence environmental behavior, but that the aforementioned factors play an important role in either increasing or decreasing the rate of behavior. I conclude by suggesting that the impact of cost as a barrier to behavior speaks to the importance of structural change in order to increase the rate of green behavior
Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2010
Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: Sociology Honors Program
Discipline: Sociology

This present study seeks to determine the bases of our attitudes toward environmental issues. Is it what we think and believe (cognition) about the environment that determines our attitudes or is it what we feel (affect) that informs us. Previous literature indicates that in some areas affect may be a better predictor of attitudes than cognition. Furthermore the environmental education literature suggests that affect may be a key entry point for environmental education Using Zanna & Rempel's (1988) attitude structure model, the present study seeks to replicate and extend the work of Eagly, Mladinic and Otto (1994) using a free response method to elicit beliefs and affects to three environmental issues. Sixty six participants (N=66) were asked to rate their attitudes, and elicit their own beliefs and emotions about the environmental issues. Results from standard regression analyses confirmed that beliefs and affects significantly predicted attitudes toward logging of native forests, emotions predicted attitudes toward restriction of vehicle emissions and beliefs predicted attitudes toward urban development. Hierarchial regression results indicate that even after taking into account the role of cognition, affect significantly contributes to the amount of variance explained in attitudes toward the restriction of vehicle emissions and the logging of native forests. The results indicate that attitudes can be differentially predicted from beliefs and affects and that overall affect and beliefs play an equally important role in the prediction of attitudes toward environmental issues. Directions for future research are highlighted and discussed in light of the specific results obtained by the present study.

Social or environmental labelling- Consumers’ knowledge, attitudes and preferencesEngelska nyckelord: labelling, social or environmental labelling, eco-labelling, sustainability, transparency, fashion consumer, visual/verbal communication, consumer buying behaviour, green consumerism.Sammanfattning på engelska: In the recent years the Swedish fashion retailers have increased their range of various social or environmental labels on their garments which in return has created confusion amongst the fashion consumers. Currently, there are approximately fourteen different third-party labelling standards in Sweden and a diverse range of self-controlled labelling standards. The reason for this increase can partly be explained by the increasing pressure from various actors to act more sustainably and ethically, and companies having realized a competitive advantage by adopting sustainable strategies. This study provides a preliminary exploration into the types of social and environmental labels that are available on the Swedish market and consumers’ knowledge, attitudes and preferences regarding these labels. Based on two focus group discussions held at two different occasions, respondents indicated that environmental labelling of clothing could influence their purchase decision positively if product related attributes (design and quality) have the same standard as non-sustainable clothing. Although consumers’ knowledge about the social or environmental labels is relatively low, they have an increased interest to learn more about the various labels and the potential environmental impact the fashion industry may cause. However, the growing involvement of taking social or environmental issues into consideration does not always lead to consumers actually purchasing eco-friendlier clothes, and thus these two “identities” are not yet compatible with each other.Additionally, consumers respond differently to positive and negative labelling, where negative labelling seems to have a stronger effect on their feelings and may influence their purchase decision. When it comes to the design of the label, visual and verbal communications are additives and a label should also have a numerical rating system, which states how sustainable a garment is in comparison to other garments. Furthermore, the logo should be more coherent with the fashion industry in terms of colours and illustrations. Moreover, consumers think that there is a lack of information at the point of purchase regarding the social and environmental labels and this should be addressed with either QR-code or by providing a simple brochure.
Program: Textilt management, fashion management

Today the world faces some of the most unprecedented environmental challenges ever seen. Many of these challenges are driven by human behaviour. Subsequently, solutions involving human behavioural change are essential to mitigate the environmental threats faced. Although many people express concern about environmental issues and report intentions to engage in pro-environmental activities, often these two factors do not align with behaviour. One possibility for this discrepancy is that environmental goals are not always salient during decision-making contexts. Based on theories which propose that goals can be automatically activated, this thesis aims to investigate whether environmental goals can be automatically activated to produce pro-environmental goal consistent behaviour. It also aims to explore some of the psychological mechanisms involved in the pursuit of environmental goals. These aims are explored across five quantitative experiments which form the three empirical chapters of this thesis. The first empirical chapter comprises three experiments which examine whether environmental goal priming influences environmental behaviour and whether goal pursuit is driven by changes in the automatic evaluation of goal relevant objects. The second empirical chapter investigates whether environmental goal priming enhances attention to environmental product labelling. Lastly, the third empirical chapter explores the efficacy of behavioural feedback as a tool to enhance environmental behaviour. The findings from this thesis reveal that environmental goals can be automatically activated and that this can lead to behaviour consisted with the primed goal. Environmental goals also exhibit features typical of goal pursuit, such as persistence over time. This thesis also provides evidence that environmental labelling is partly goal-dependent, as participants who report stronger motivation to protect the environment devote greater eye gaze towards environmental labelling. Finally, this thesis provides evidence that negative feedback is an effective tool in promoting compensatory environmental behaviour. A key conclusion of this research is that while environmental goals are important, to be effective in promoting pro-environmental behaviour they must be salient during decision-making. Techniques which focus on activating environmental goals may therefore be an important tool to facilitate more sustainable consumer behaviour.

This thesis focuses on pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors and the interactions between recycling behavior, food buying attitudes, food buying behaviors, and ecological beliefs. Following an introductory chapter, I present an article-length paper on recycling behavior to be submitted to Environment and Behavior. Data for this study came from a telephone survey of Tennessee residents (N=270). Using OLS regression analysis, I find that recycling behavior is significantly related to access to recycling facilities. I do not find a significant interaction effect between access to recycling facilities and willingness to recycle. I conclude by suggesting that pro-environmental policies need to make structural resources more available to all in order to promote recycling (and protect the environment in general). Positive attitudes alone do not get us very far. My additional thesis research goal of developing an accurate measure of ecological food buying attitudes and behaviors needs further work.

Climate change is a pressing problem and substantial reductions in the greenhouse gas emissions that cause it are necessary to avert the worst impacts predicted. The UK has targeted an 80% reduction from 1990 emissions levels by 2050. This thesis investigates how to promote behavioural changes that will reduce emissions associated with individuals’ lifestyles, which comprise a significant proportion of the UK total. The thesis begins by appraising whether and how climate change communications, specifically films, can succeed in changing attitudes and behaviour. The impacts on viewers of the film The Age of Stupid were assessed using a fourstage panel survey. Increased concern, motivation to act, and sense of agency felt immediately after seeing the film did not persist, but respondents reported some behavioural changes. The longer-term follow-up suggests that behavioural intentions do not necessarily translate into action, but also revealed issues concerning the reliability of participants’ causal attributions of their behaviour. These and other challenges of conducting longitudinal studies of behavioural change related to climate change communications are discussed. The thesis then uses a model of behavioural change transposed from health psychology to analyse the processes of change employed or depicted by four climate change films, in order to identify more generally the strengths and limitations of films as means to promote mitigation action, and to demonstrate the potential utility of the model in the field of proenvironmental behaviour change. The issue is then considered from the opposite angle, with an examination of what has motivated individuals who have already adopted lower-carbon lifestyles. Qualitative research reveals that protecting ‘the environment’ per se is not the primary value stimulating most interviewees’ action; typically they were more concerned about the impacts of climate change on people in developing countries. Although analysis of a survey instrument showed that biospheric values are important to the participants, they tended to score altruistic values significantly higher. Thus it may not be necessary to promote biospheric values to encourage lower-carbon lifestyles. The final element of the work involved researching the opinions of members of Carbon Rationing Action Groups, seeking to understand what can be learned from their experiences of living with a carbon allowance, and the implications that the findings may have for potential government policies, especially personal carbon trading. The thesis concludes that, given the scale of action required, the difficulties individuals face when considering whether and how to adopt lower-carbon behaviours, and the limited impact of initiatives such as Carbon Rationing Action Groups and The Age of Stupid beyond a relatively small circle of people who tend to exhibit particular traits (such as a preference for frugality), significant UK emissions reductions will necessitate far-reaching legislation that will impact on everyday practices and behaviour.

Abstract The extraction and usage of energy give rise to immense environmental problems which helps to accelerate climate change. Energy is an important resource for the community and there are a variety of different types of energy sources available, that are either classified as renewable or non-renewable energy sources. The usage of renewable energy sources cause less environmental impact than the usage of non-renewable energy, which in turn means that the energy’s strain on the environment is strongly affected by the type of energy source used. The aim of the study is to describe to what extent attitudes towards renewable energy are affected by whether the individual is male or female, by examining the hypothesis regarding how women have a closer connection to nature and to a larger extent shows on an pro-environmentally friendly behavior than men, and if it also can be detected on issues related to renewable energy and thus imply that women have a friendlier approach towards renewable energy than men. A number of ecofeminist believe that women have a stronger bond with the nature through her embodiment as a woman and by her maternal role, which according to previous research also leads to the fact that women shows on a more extensive environmental behavior.Through a qualitative research method in the form of semi-structured interviews has three female and three male respondents been asked questions with regards to the environment, individual responsibility and energy. All of the respondents have an understanding of the environmental problems that exist and what they are caused by, and that individual responsibility is of great significance for a reduced environmental impact, which enabled further evaluation of all respondents' views on renewable energy. Differences and similarities can be seen between women's and men's attitude towards renewable energy, but in the end, the similarities are too great and the differences too vague in order to be able to verify that women’s closer connection to the nature and their pro-environmental behavior means that they have a more positive attitude towards renewable energy than men. There is therefore no basis in my study to claim that attitudes towards renewable energy are affected by whether the individual is female or male.
Sammanfattning Utvinningen och användningen av energi ger upphov till stora miljöproblem och bidrar till att påskynda klimatförändringen. Energi är en viktig resurs för samhället och det finns en mängd olika typer av energikällor att tillgå, som antingen kategoriseras som förnybara eller icke-förnybara energikällor. Förnybara energikällor ger upphov till mindre miljöpåverkan än icke förnybara energikällor, vilket i sin tur innebär att energins belastning på miljön starkt påverkas av vilken typ av energikällas om används. Syftet med undersökningen är att redogöra för i vilken utsträckning attityden gentemot förnybar energi påverkas av om individen är kvinna eller man, genom att undersöka om hypotesen som handlar om att kvinnor har en närmare koppling till naturen och visar på ett miljövänligare beteende än män också kan påvisas vid frågor som rör förnybar energi och således innebära att kvinnor är mer vänligt inställda till förnybar energi än män. En rad ekofeminister menar att kvinnor har ett starkare band till naturen genom sitt förkroppsligande som kvinna och genom sin modersroll, vilket enligt tidigare forskning också leder till att kvinnor visar på ett mer omfattande miljövänligt beteende. Genom en kvalitativ forskningsmetod i form av semi-strukturerade intervjuer med tre kvinnliga respektive tre manliga respondenter har frågor kring miljö, individuellt ansvar och energi ställts. Samtliga respondenter har en förståelse för vilka miljöproblem som finns och vad de orsakas av samt att ett individuellt ansvarstagande får stor betydelse för en minskad miljöpåverkan, vilket möjliggjort för en fortsatt utvärdering av samtliga respondenters syn på förnybar energi. Skillnader och likheter kan utläsas mellan kvinnornas och männens attityd gentemot förnybar energi, men i slutändan är likheterna alltför stora och skillnaderna alltför vaga för att kunna verifiera att kvinnors närmare koppling till naturen och att deras miljövänliga beteende medför att de har en positivare attityd gentemot förnybar energi än män. Därmed finns det inte någon grund i min undersökning för att hävda att attityden gentemot förnybar energi påverkas av om individen är kvinna eller man.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 19, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Consumers today are becoming more aware of how their behavior and use of resources affect the environment. It is becoming increasingly important for companies to understand consumer’s attitudes in order to predict their behavior. Extensive research has been conducted on the attitude-behavioral relationship in various fields of study. However, no research has been made on the attitude towards environmentally friendly automobiles and how it affects purchase intentions. Our research has been made in collaboration with Volvo Car Corporation, which in 2010 was acquired by Geely Automobile. The acquisition meant that an opportunity presented itself on the Chinese market, which today is the largest automobile market in the world. The thesis will focus on young Chinese consumer’s attitude toward the environment and how this may affect their purchase intentions towards environmentally friendly automobiles. The basis for our reasoning is that the factors environmental values, environmental knowledge and responsibility feelings make up an individual’s environmental attitude. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how environmental values, environmental knowledge and responsibility feelings affect purchase intentions towards environmentally friendly automobiles among young Chinese consumers. We have used a quantitative approach in our collection of empirical data. With the help of a web-based self-completions survey we managed to send out the questionnaire to all Chinese students studying at Jönköping University and received a high response rate of 65%. We based the design of the survey on a model from Kaiser, Ranney, Hartig and Bowler (1999). The major findings from our research conclude that the used model does not substantially explain purchase intentions of environmentally friendly automobiles. Our research suggests that the factors environmental knowledge and responsibility feelings are not significant when predicting intentions to purchase environmentally friendly automobiles. However, the factor environmental values proved to be strongly correlated when predicting intentions to purchase environmentally friendly automobiles.

This study examines the psychological, social and environmental predictors of sexually aggressive and assaultive behaviors reported by a sample of 466 males at one institution. Emphasis was placed on determining the impact of Greek affiliation and place of residence on self-reported aggressive and assaultive behaviors. A questionnaire was administered which incorporated demographic and background characteristics, environmental characteristics and attitudes towards women and relationships. Analysis of variance was used to determine statistically significant differences among five residential groupings on selected variables. A series of interlocking multiple regression analyses was then performed to determine the predictive influence of factors explored in this study. Results indicate that "peer harassment," including verbal aggression and unwanted touching, was reported by the total sample with great frequency. More severe behaviors were reported with less frequency, however, slightly more than 5% of the men in the total sample reported committing at least one act which met the legal criteria for sexual assault in the academic year preceding the study. Although statistically significant differences among residential groups emerged, attitudes and living environment characteristics found predictive of sexually aggressive and assaultive behaviors were found in all living environments. "Worst" behavior reported was predicted best by rape myth acceptance followed by environmental and background characteristics including the number of sexual partners one had, sexual speculation about women, alcohol consumption and perceived level of impact one had on their environment. Institutions are encouraged to examine the level of sexual violence against women on campuses and marshal the efforts of student personnel administrators as well as faculty in an effort to reduce the prevalence of such behavior.

This dissertation consists of three journal articles that explored the effectiveness of a digital game, called EnerCities, in producing pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors by using a mixed-methods study approach. The first study was conducted as a quasi-experimental study among undergraduate students in the United States. Based on the Attitudinal Learning Instrument (ALI), this study found that the attitudinal learning gained from EnerCities influenced participants’ pro-environmental behavioral intentions significantly. This learning was retained until five weeks after game play according to the qualitative results of the study. The second study, conducted in India, used EnerCities to study the differences in attitudinal learning among high school students who played the game collaboratively or individually, using the ALI and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Results showed that the attitudinal learning and its effect on pro-environmental behavioral intentions between collaborative and individual players was similar. This study also showed that EnerCities had significantly impacted the environmental attitudes and behaviors of the game players when compared to students who did not play any game, although all students had studied environmental studies through traditional instructional methods since elementary school. The third study, conducted among high school students in India, compared the environmental attitudes between game players and students who did not play any game based on the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale. Both the unidimensional and multi-dimensional properties of the NEP were considered. It was found that EnerCities had impacted game players’ environmental attitudes significantly. All the three studies showed that digital games are more effective in promoting attitudinal (cognitive, affective, behavioral and social) learning compared to traditional instructional methods. This supports the implementation of digital games as a pedagogical tool in influencing environmental attitudes and behaviors.

Spirituality and environmental friendliness (i.e., nature connectedness, environmental attitudes and behaviours) are inextricably linked. They share the common basis of transcendence (Grouzet, 2011; Grouzet et al., 2005). However, the relationship between the two lacks empirical support. The current study employed experimental and daily diary methods to investigate the influence of spirituality upon environmental friendliness. Spirituality was marginally, but not significantly, increased through guided daily reflection among religious participants and slightly decreased among non-religious participants. This, subsequently, led to greater sense of connection to nature, but no other changes in environmental friendliness. These findings provide preliminary evidence of the relation between spirituality and environmental friendliness.
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0451
esl@uvic.ca

The theory of planned behaviour proposes that behaviour is predicted by behavioural intention which is, in turn, predicted by attitudes toward the behaviour, subjective norms regarding the behaviour and perceived control over the behaviour. Implied within this theory is that each of the three base components (attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control) influences intentions. However, despite being one of the most widely used theories in social psychology, few studies have investigated this basic premise. In addition, research on cognitive dissonance, public commitment, confirmation bias, implemental mindset, and the false consensus effect suggest that there may be a reverse-causal influence of intentions back on the base components of the theory. This potential reverse-causal sequence was tested in three studies. The first was correlational, the second was a lab-based experiment, and the third was a quasi-experimental field study. Study 1 employed a cross-lagged correlation design and showed that a reciprocal relation between intentions and base components was plausible. For the behaviour of supporting an environmental organization, Study 1 showed that attitudes were likely to influence intention-setting and that intention-setting subsequently influenced subjective norms. Study 2 employed a modified version of a free choice paradigm in which participants chose to set an intention to support one of two environmental organizations (using different support behaviours). Consequently participants rated the base components for the chosen organization higher and the rejected organization lower. However, this effect was primarily observed if participants were not initially committed to supporting an organization before the study began. Study 3 was a field study in which chemistry lab users who were exposed to an intervention that targeted behavioural intentions subsequently perceived more positive subjective norms (one aspect of subjective norms was changed). Together, the three studies demonstrate that a reverse-causal relation between intentions and base components is plausible and, thus, the theory of planned behaviour should be modified to include a reciprocal relation between these constructs. Intentions are most likely to influence base components that are least relevant to actual behaviour. When attitudes, subjective norms or perceived behavioural control are associated with actual behaviour, the one that is most strongly associated is least likely to change in response to setting an intention to engage in that behaviour. Other, less relevant, base components are more likely to change.
Graduate
0451
0621
0768

Text in English with abstracts and keywords in English, Sepedi, isiXhosa and isiZulu
Protected areas in South Africa are often surrounded by impoverished communities. Biodiversity must be conserved while improving community wellbeing. An increased understanding of key influences on pro-conservation attitudes and behaviour is essential for the future of successful conservation and the creation of realistic solutions for poor communities. Knowledge gaps exist regarding intangible benefits and losses, as well as the relationship between benefits, losses and pro-conservation attitudes and behaviour. Furthermore, there are less qualitative studies in this field than quantitative, nor are there many that include the perspective of park staff. This research followed a novel comparative multiple-method qualitative approach, using contrasting case studies and borrowing from grounded theory. Three nature reserves were selected, each involving two constituencies – (i) the local community and (ii) protected area staff. Individual interviews, focus group interviews, mapping, and adapted nominal grouping technique were used to collect data. The data were first analysed question-by-question for each case study, followed by cross-case analysis which resulted in meta-themes for each research objective. In each case study, benefits and losses were ranked to indicate their level of importance. Key tangible benefits were employment, access to natural resources and support for schools. Intangible benefits drew less focus, but comprise key influences, such as visiting the park, environmental education, information dissemination, and involvement. These benefits emerged again as aspects that would drew less focus, but comprise key influences, such as visiting the park, environmental education, information dissemination, and involvement. These benefits emerged again as aspects that would improve future positivity if more of each could be provided. Key losses were lack of/limited access to the reserve as visitors, insufficient employment, fear of wild animals and lack of involvement/interaction. Findings indicate that communities have a range of responsibilities towards the reserve (some of which are self-imposed), and a strong sense of custodianship. Exclusion from responsibility led to negative attitudes. Good relationships resulted in fewer poaching incidents, although locals are hesitant to report subsistence poaching. Areas of non-alignment between the perceptions of both constituencies highlight areas for rectification, such as parks acknowledging the losses perceived by communities; knowing which benefits are most important to communities; and highlighting benefits not mentioned by communities. The meta-themes were used to construct a data-derived ‘Theory of Influences on Pro-conservation Attitudes and Behaviour’, which indicates how relationship is shaped by benefits, losses, detractors and facilitators; and includes solutions to increase positive attitudes. To drive practical application of the theory, recommendations for park managers and local communities are provided. Finally, this study was integrated with existing literature to develop the ‘People-Parks Win-Win Framework’ – a comprehensive representation of the influences on people-park relationships – which has not been done before. The study makes methodological, theoretical and practical contributions. Its findings can facilitate people-park win-wins, aiding both biodiversity conservation and community wellbeing.
Mafelo ao a šireleditšwego ka Afrika Borwa gantši a dikaneditšwe ke ditšhaba tšeo di hlokago. Diphedi tšeo di fapafapanego di swanetše go babalelwa mola ka go le lengwe re kaonafatša go phela gabotse ga ditšhaba. Kwešišo ye e oketšegilego ya dilo tše bohlokwa tše di huetšago maikutlo ao a thekgago pabalelo ya diphedi le maitshwaro e bohlokwa go bokamoso bja pabalelo ye e atlegilego le go hloma ditharollo tše di kwagalago go ditšhaba tše di hlokago. Tlhokego ya tsebo e gona mabapi le dikholego le ditahlegelo tšeo di sa bonagalego, gammogo le kamano magareng ga dikholego, ditahlegelo le maikutlo ao a thekgago pabalelo ya diphedi le maitshwaro. Godimo ga fao, go na le dinyakišišo tše mmalwa ka ga boleng ka mo lefapheng le go fetwa ke dinyakišišo ka ga bontši, ebile ga go na le tše ntši tšeo di akaretšago maikutlo a bašomi ba ka dirapeng tša diphoofolo. Dinyakišišo tše di latetše mokgwa wa papetšo wa mekgwa ye mentši ya dinyakišišo ka ga boleng, ka go šomiša dinyakišišo tša seemo tšeo di thulanago le go adima go teori yeo e tlogago e theilwe ka mabaka. Mafelo a pabalelo ya diphedi a mararo a kgethilwe, le lengwe le le lengwe le akaretša bakgathatema ba babedi ka go lona – (i) setšhaba sa kgauswi le (ii) bašomi ba lefelo leo le šireleditšwego. Batho ka o tee ka o tee ba ile ba botšišwa dipotšišo, dihlopha tše di nepišitšwego le tšona di ile tša botšišwa dipotšišo, go hlaola, le mokgwa wo o fetošitšwego wa go hlopha ka maina di šomišitšwe go kgoboketša tshedimošo. Tshedimošo e thomile ka go sekasekwa go ya ka potšišo ye e botšišitšwego go dinyakišišo tša seemo, gwa latela tshekatsheko ya dinyakišišo tše di fapafapanego yeo e feleleditšego ka merero ye megolo go maikemišetšo a mangwe le a mangwe a dinyakišišo. Ka go dinyakišišo tše dingwe le tše dingwe tša seemo, dikholego le ditahlegelo di ile tša bewa ka maemo go laetša maemo a bohlokwa bja tšona. Dikholego tše bohlokwa tšeo di bonagalago di ile tša dirišwa, gwa ba le phihlelelo go methopo ya tlhago le thekgo ya dikolo. Dikholego tšeo di sa bonagalego di ile tša ba le šedi ye nnyane, eupša tša ba le dikhuetšo tše bohlokwa, tša go swana le go etela serapeng sa diphoofolo, thuto ya tikologo, go phatlalatša tshedimošo, le go kgatha tema. Dikholego tše di tšweletše gape bjalo ka dikokwane tšeo di tlago kaonafatša maikutlo a makaone a ka moso ge e le gore tše ntši tša tšona di tla abja. Ditahlegelo tše bohlokwa e bakilwe ke tlhokego ya phihlelelo/phihlelelo ye nnyane ya go tsena ka dirapeng tša diphoofolo ka baeti, tlhokego ya mešomo, go tšhaba diphoofolo tša lešoka le tlhokego ya go kgatha tema/tirišano. Dikutollo di laetša gore ditšhaba di na le maikarabelo a mehutahuta go dirapa tša diphoofolo (a mangwe maikarabelo ke a go ithaopa ga setšhaba), le maikutlo ao a tiilego a go di hlokomela. Go se akaretše ditšhaba go maikarabelo a go feleleditše ka maikutlo ao a sego a loka. Dikamano tše botse di feleleditše ka ditiragalo tše mmalwa tša go bolaya diphoofolo ke bao ba nyakago manaka a tšona, le ge e le gore badudi ba dikadika go bega go bolaya diphoofolo ke bao ba inyakelago nama ya tšona. Makala a go se sepelelane magareng ga maikutlo a bakgathatema ka bobedi a laetša fao go swanatšego go phošollwa gona, go swana le ge dirapa tša diphoofolo di dumela ditahlegelo tšeo di bonwago ke ditšhaba; di tseba gore ke dikholego dife tše di lego bohlokwa kudu go ditšhaba; le go laetša dikholego tše di sego tša bolelwa ke ditšhaba. Mereo ye megolo e ile ya šomišwa go hlama ‘Teori ya dikhuetšo ye e tšwago tshedimošong ka ga Maikutlo le Maitshwaro ao a Thekgago Pabalelo ya diphedi’, yeo e laetšago ka fao kamano e bopšago ke dikholego, ditahlegelo, disenyi le basepediši; ebile e akaretšago ditharollo tša go oketša maikutlo a makaone. Go tšwetša pele tirišo ye e phathagatšwago ya teori ye, balaodi ba dirapa tša diphoofolo le ditšhaba ba ile ba fiwa ditšhišinyo. Mafelelong, dinyakišišo tše di ile tša tsenywa ka gare ga dingwalwa tšeo di lego gona ka nepo ya go hlama ‘Melawanatheo ya Dirapa tša Diphoofolo tša go Thekgwa ke Batho tšeo di Holago Bohle’ – e lego kemedi ye e akaretšago bohle ka ga dikhuetšo tša dikamano tša dirapa tša diphoofolo tša go thekgwa ke batho – e lego seo se sego sa ka sa dirwa mo nakong ye e fetilego. Dinyakišišo tše tsenya letsogo ka ga mekgwa, teori le tirišo. Dikutollo tša tšona di ka nolofatša kholego ya bohle go dirapa tša diphoofolo tša go thekgwa ke batho, tša thuša bobedi pabalelo ya diphedi tšeo di fapafapanego le go phela gabotse ga setšhaba.
Imimandla ekhuselekileyo eMzantsi Afrika ikholisa ukungqongwa yimiphakathi ehluphekileyo. Indalo esingqongileyo kufuneka ilondolozwe lo gama kuphuculwa intlalontle yoluntu. Kubaluleke kakhulu ukwanda kokuqonda imiba enefuthe kwiindlela zokucinga nokuziphatha malunga nolondolozo lwendalo ukuze kubekho impumelelo ekulondolozeni indalo, kudaleke nezisombululo ezisebenzayo kwimiphakathi ehluphekileyo. Kukho izikhewu kulwazi olumalunga noncedo nelahleko, kwanolwalamano phakathi koncedo, ilahleko neendlela zokucinga nokuziphatha. Ngaphaya koko, zimbalwa izifundo ezingqiyame kakhulu kwingxoxo nengcaciso kunezifundo ezingqiyame kumanani, kwaye zimbalwa eziqwalasela izimvo zabasebenzi bamaziko ekugcinwa kuwo indalo. Olu phando lunesimbo esitsha esiqhutywa ngokuthelekisa iindlela zophando eziliqela, kusetyenziswa izifundo ezisekelwe kumava neengcingane/iithiyori ezaziwayo. Kukhethwe amaziko endalo amathathu apho kubandakanywe amacandelo amabini kwiziko ngalinye – (i) uluntu lwendawo kunye (ii) nabaqeshwa bommandla okhuselweyo. Ulwazi okanye idatha luqokelelwe ngezi ndlela zilandelayo: Kwaqhutywa udliwano ndlebe nabantu bengabanye, bengamaqela ekugxininiswe kuwo, kwalandeliswa ngokuthelekisa okuqikelelweyo nokwenzekileyo kunye nokudibanisa amaqela ukuze axukushe imiba ekuphandwa ngayo. Iinkcukacha zolwazi eziqokelelweyo zahlalutywa ngokuthi kuqwalaselwe iimpendulo zombuzo ngamnye kule yemizekelo yamava omntu ngamnye, kwalandeliswa ngokuthelekisa iimeko namava abantu ngabantu, nto leyo eyaveza imixholo ebanzi kwinjongo nganye yesifundo sophando. Kwisifundo samava ngasinye kwalandelelaniswa uncedo nelahleko ngokokubaluleka kwazo. Izinto eziluncedo ezaqwalaselwayo yaba yimpangelo, ukufikelela kwimithombo yendalo nenkxaso yezikolo. Uncedo olungabambekiyo zange luqwalaselwe ngokungamandla kodwa lunefuthe eliphambili njengokutyelela amaziko endalo, ukufundiswa ngokusingqongileyo, ukusasazwa kolwazi nokuthatha inxaxheba. Ezi ndidi zoncedo zaphinda zavela njengamanqanaba aya kuphucula ukuzijonga ngethemba izinto xa kunokwenziwa ukuba zibe khona. Ilahleko yaba kukunqongophala kwendlela yokufikelela kwiziko njengeendwendwe, ukunqaba kwamathuba empangelo, ukoyika izilo zasendle nokungabikho kwamathuba okuthatha inxaxheba. Okufunyanisiweyo kudiza ukuba uluntu lunoxanduva oluziindidi ezahlukeneyo kwiziko (olunye uxanduva bazinike ngokwabo), kwaye luzibona lungabagcini bendawo. Ukunganikwa uxanduva kwakhokelela ekucingeni gwenxa. Intsebenziswano yakhokelela ekuncipheni kweziganeko zokuzingela ngokungekho mthethweni, nangona abahlali bendawo bemathidala ukuxela abantu abazingelela ukuzondla. Iindawo zokuhlabana kwezimvo zamacala omabini zidulisa amanqanaba afanele ukulungiswa, njengokuba amaziko endalo ayiqonde imeko ebonwa njengelahleko luluntu lwendawo; aqonde nokuba zeziphi izinto ezibalulekileyo nezibonwa njengoncedo luluntu; acacise nezinto eziluncedo ezingabalulwanga luluntu lwendawo. Imixholo ebanzi (meta-themes) yasetyenziselwa ukuqweba ‘Ingcingane Yefuthe Elenzeka Kwiimbono Nokuziphatha’ (‘Theory of Influences on Pro-conservation Attitudes and Behaviour’), nebonakalisa ukuba izinto eziluncedo, ilahleko, iziphazamiso nabaququzeleli zilubumba njani ulwalamano. Kwakhona, le ngcingane iquka izisombululo zokwandisa iingcinga ezintle. Kunikwe iingcebiso kubaphathi beziko lendalo nakuluntu lwendawo ukuze kuphuhliswe iindlela ezibonakalayo zokusebenzisa le ngcingane. Okokugqibela, esi sifundo sixutywe noncwadi oselukho ngenjongo yokuphuhlisa ‘Isakhelo Sempumelelo Yentsebenziswano Kuluntu Namaziko Endalo’ (‘People-Parks Win-Win Framework’) – lo ngumbhalo oveza ifuthe lentsebenziswano yoluntu namaziko endalo – nto leyo ingazange ibekho ngaphambili. Esi sifundo sifaka igxalaba ngobuchule, ngengcingane nangomsebenzi ophathekayo. Okufunyaniswe apha kunakho ukudala impumelelo kwintsebenziswano yokuntu namaziko endalo, sincede ulondolozo lwendalo nentlalontle yoluntu.
Izindawo ezivikelekile eNingizimu Afrika kaningi zihaqwe yimiphakathi entulayo. Izinto ezahlukahlukene eziphilayo kufanele zilondolozwe kanti ngakolunye uhlangothi sibe sesifafaza ivangeli lempilo ephephile emiphakathini. Ulwazi oluningi lwemithelela esemqoka emayelana nommoya kanye nemikhuba yokulondoloza kwemvelo kubalulekile kwikusasa lokwakha uhlelo olluyimpumelelo lokulondoloza kwemvelo kanye nokwakha amasu empilo yangempela okusiza imiphakathi edla imbuya ngothi. Kukhona ukwedlulana okumayelana nezinzuzo ezingabonakali ngamehlo kanye nokulahlekelwa, kanye nobudlelwano obuphakathi kwezinzuzo, kokulahlekelwa kanye nemmoya kanye nemikhuba ehlose ukulondoloza imvelo. Ngaphezu kwalokho, kunezifundo ezincane zocwaningo olugxile kwizingxoxo kulo mkhakha, uma seziqhathaniswa nezifundo zocwaningo olugxile kumanani, kanti kunjalo-nje izifundo zocwaningo eziningi azixubi umqondo wabasebenzi. Lolu cwaningo luye lwalandela indlela embaxaningi yokuqhathanisa egxile kwizingxoxo, ngokusebenzisa izifundo zocwaningolotho eziphikisanayo futhi ziye zaqhubeka nokuboleka amasu kwimiqondo egxilile. . Kuye kwakhethwa iziqiwu zokulonda izilwane ezintathu, esinye nesinye isiqiwu sinezakhamuzi zendawo – (i) umphakathi oyizakhamuzi kanye (ii) nendawo evikelekile yabasebenzi. Kuye kwasetshenziswa izinhlelo zenhlolovo yomuntu ngamunye, ukumepha, kanye nezindlela zemibuzo eshicilelwe zemibono yamaqembu, konke lokhu kuye kwasetshenziswa ukuqoqa idatha. Okokuqala idatha iye yahlaziywa ngokwemibuzo ngamunye kolunye nolunye ucwaningolotho, okuye kwalandelwa yindlela yokuhlaziya eyaziwa phecelezi ngecross-case analysis okuyindlela edale ukuba kube nezindikimba ezibizwa ngemeta-themes zenhloso enye nenye yocwaningo. Kolunye nolunye ucwaningo, izinzuzo kanye nokulahlekelwa kuye kwabekwa ngokulandelana ukuze kuvezwe amazing okubaluleka. Izinzuzo ezisemqoka eziphathekayo kuye kwaba ukusebenza, ukwazi ukuthola imithombo yemvelo kanye nokuxhaswa kwezikole. Izinzuzo ezingaphathekiyo akugxilwanga kakhulu kuzo, kodwa nazo ziqukethe imithelela esemqoka, enjengokuvakashela izindawo zokungcebeleka, ukuhlinzekwa ngemfundo yezemvelo, ukusakazwa kolwazi kanye nokubandakanyeka. Lezi zinzuzo ziye zavela futhi njengezinto ezizothuthukisa ikusasa eliqhakazile uma ngabe konke lokhu kuyalandelwa. Ukulahlekelwa okuphawulekayo kuye kwaba ukusweleka/ukufinyeleleka kancane kwezivakashi esiqiwini sezilwane, ukuqashwa kwabasebenzi benani eliphansi, ukwesaba izilwane zasendle kanye nezinga lokusweleka kokubandakanyeka/nokungahlangani. Ulwazi olutholakele luveza ukuthi imiphakathi inezindima eziningi okufanele iziidlale kwiziqiwu ezilondoloza imvelo (ezinye izindima yilezo ezizibeke phezu kwamahlombe omphakathi) kanye nokuba nesasasa lokunakekela imvelo. Kanti ukungabandakanywa komphakathi kuye kwaholela ekutheni umphakathi ube nommoya ongemuhle kulezi ziqiwu. Ubudlelwano obuhle buye baholela ekutheni kube nenani eliphansi lezehlakalo zokubulawa kwezilwane, yize abantu bezindawo ezisondelene neziqiwu beba nokuthandabuza uma kufanele babike izehlakalo zokubulawa kwezilwane. Ukungasebenzisani phakathi kwezinhlanga ezimbili, izakhamuzi kanye namalungu eziqiwu zezilwane kuveza amaphutha okufanele alungiswe, anjengokuthi iziqiwu lezi zibe nolwazi ngokulahlekelwa komphakathi; zazi ukuthi ngiziphi izinzuzo ezibalulekile emphakathini; futhi ziveze izinzuzo ezingavezwanga wumphakathi. Izinhlaka phecelezi ezingama meta-themes zisetshenzisiwe ukwakha ithiyori esuselwe kwidatha, phecelezi ‘Theory of Influences on Pro-conservation Attitudes and Behaviour’, okuveza indlela ubudlelwano obakhiwa ngayo yizinzuzo, ukulahlekelwa, yizihibhe kanye nabancedisi; kanti lokhu kuxuba izixazululo eziqonde ukwengeza ummoya omuhle. Ukuze kusetshenziswe imiqondo ngendlela ebonakalayo , kuye kwalandelwa izincomo zabaphathi beziqiwi kanye nezakhamuzi eziseduze neziqiwu. Okokugcina, lolu cwaningo luye lwahlanganiswa nombhalo wobuciko obevele ukhona ukwakha phecelezi ‘People-Parks Win-Win Framework’ – uhlelo olubanzi oluxuba zonke izinhlaka olunemithelela yemibono yezinhlelo zobudlelwano babantu kanye neziqiwu zezilwane – okuyinto engakaze yenziwe ngaphambilini. Ucwaningo luye lwaba negalelo kwindlela yokucwaningo (methodological), kwimiqondo kanye namagalelo abonakalayo. Okutholwe wucwaningo kunganceda ukuhlela uhlelo lapho kuzuza abantu kanye neziqiwu, lokhu kunganceda zombili izinhlaka ukulondolozwa ephilayo ehlukahlukene kanti futhi kungadala inhlalakahle emphakathini.
Environmental Sciences
Ph. D. (Environmental Management)

Considerando a inconsistência identificada na sociedade entre elevadas atitudes próambientais e uma reduzida ação ambiental, este trabalho tem como objetivo o estudo de modelos conceptuais, no âmbito da psicologia social do ambiente, que permitam inovar as iniciativas de Educação Ambiental, com vista à promoção efetiva de comportamentos pró-ambientais. A partir da contextualização da Educação Ambiental em Portugal e na Europa e de processos psicossociais passíveis de considerar nas iniciativas com vista à promoção de comportamentos de conservação, o trabalho integra estudos realizados em comunidades escolares do 2º e 3º ciclo do ensino básico, em Lisboa. Estes estudos avaliam a influência da Educação Ambiental ativa para a promoção de comportamentos de conservação de energia e água e de separação de resíduos para reciclagem, utilizando o Jardim Botânico do Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência como instituição para aprendizagem fora da sala de aula. São também testados processos psicossociais com capacidade de promover a ação ambiental, como a utilização de um compromisso ou a influência de normas sobre a conservação de energia e água. Foi ainda examinada a ambivalência como barreira à prática de reciclagem e a influência intergeracional que os adolescentes exercem sobre o seu agregado familiar para promover essa ação. Os resultados permitem sugerir uma nova abordagem da Educação Ambiental com vista ao aumento da sua eficácia, através da utilização de instrumentos de comunicação sugeridos pelos processos psicossociais estudados, de forma a promover comportamentos de conservação junto dos adolescentes e dos seus agregados familiares.
Taking into account the persistent gap between high levels of pro-environmental attitudes and low levels of respective behaviour, this work is focused on conceptual models from the social and environmental psychology that may improve Environmental Education initiatives to promote conservation behaviours. The thesis first presents the background of Environmental Education in Portugal and Europe and associated psychosocial fators and processes, introducing studies developed with basic school groups (students from 11 to 15 years old) from Lisbon. Using the Botanic Garden of Lisbon University as a “learning outside school” institution, these studies investigated the influence of inquiry based environmental education initiatives to promote the engagement with climate change issues and related conservation behaviours. The studies tested the effect of psychosocial fators that may promote the environmental action, aiming to consider them in the development of Environmental Education initiatives. Such approach included the analysis about the use of commitments to promote energy and water conservation at home and about the influence of personal and social norms in the same behaviour. It also examined how attitudinal ambivalence works as a barrier to recycling behaviour and the intergerational influence played by teenagers to disseminate conservation behaviours through their families. Results showed that the proposed methodologies and communication tools regarding different environmental themes were effective in promoting environmental actions and their psychological predictors. Therefore, this work suggests a change to the approach of Environmental Education initiatives in order to use psychosocial processes to endorse the promotion of pro-environmental behaviours among teenagers and their families.

碩士
國立中山大學
教育研究所
106
This study aims to explore the relations among undergraduates’ conceptions of environmental education, environmental attitude and pro-environmental behavior in Taiwan. The research is divided in two parts. (1) This study explored the undergraduates’ conceptions of environmental education through the phenomenographic method and developed the “undergraduates’ conceptions of environmental education interview questionnaire” to interview the participant one by one. And, 40 undergraduates’ who came from different area and schools in Taiwan participated the qualitative interview. Finally, the study used the phenomenographic method to analysis the collected data. (2) This study also developed three questionnaires about the environmental education, each as “undergraduates’ conceptions of environmental education questionnaire”, “environmental attitude questionnaire”, and “pro-environmental behavior questionnaire”. The participated were 464 southern undergraduates’ in Taiwan in the survey study. Both the exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used in this study to examine the factor structure, validity, and reliability of three questionnaires. And then, the multiple regression analysis was used to predict the relationship among undergraduates’ conceptions of environmental education, environmental attitude, and pro-environmental behavior. This study main findings were summarized in the following: (1) The phenomenographic analysis identified five categories of undergraduates’ conceptions of environmental education, including ‘’Receiving information’’, ‘’Disseminating and communicating’’, ‘’Understanding’’, ‘’Awareness and reflect thinking’’, ‘’Solving the environmental problems and acting’’. (2) Senior grades’ undergraduates have higher score to have higher level conceptions of environmental education then lower grades’. (3) Non-technical colleges’ undergraduates have higher score on ‘’Subjective norm’’ and ‘’Transport actions’’ then technical colleges’. (4) The factors in the higher level of conceptions of environmental education were positively related to the factors of environmental attitude. (5) The factor ‘’Solving problems”could positively predict all factors in environmental attitude. And the factor ‘’Subjective norm’’ could positively predict all factors in pro-environmental behavior. (6) The factor ‘’Solving problems’’ and the factor ‘’Subjective norm’’ could positively predict the factor ‘’Transport actions’’ in pro-environmental behavior.