Environment and Behavior

A simple model was tested in which attitudinal factors and external conditions act in combination to influence behavior. The model predicts that behavior is a monotonic function of attitudes and external conditions and that the strength of the attitude-behavior relationship is a curvilinear function of the strength of the external conditions, with extreme values setting boundary conditions on the applicability of attitude models. The model also allows for interactions in which perceived costs enter into the attitudinal process. Evidence is taken from a natural experiment in recycling in which collection bins for curbside pickup had been provided to 26% of 257 survey respondents. Consistent with the model, main effects of attitudes and external conditions were found, as was an interaction effect in which the Schwartz norm-activation model predicted recycling behavior only for households without bins. Interactive models such as the one developed here can yield better policy-relevant analyses by clarifying the relationships between external and internal influences on behavior change.

In environmental literature it is argued that three different value orientations may be relevant for understanding environmental beliefs and intentions: egoistic, altruistic, and biospheric. Until now, the distinction between altruistic and biospheric value orientations has hardly been supported empirically. In this article, three studies are reported aimed to examine whether an egoistic, altruistic, and biospheric value orientation can indeed be distinguished empirically by using an adapted value instrument. Also, it is examined whether these value orientations are differently and uniquely related to general and specific beliefs and behavioral intention. Results provide support for the reliability and validity of the value instrument. All studies replicated the distinction into three value orientations, with sufficient internal consistency. Furthermore, when altruistic and biospheric goals conflict, they seem to provide a distinct basis for proenvironmental intentions. The value instrument could therefore be useful to better understand relationships between values, beliefs, and intentions related to environmentally significant behavior.

Three studies examine the effects of exposure to nature on positive affect and ability to reflect on a life problem. Participants spent 15 min walking in a natural setting (Studies 1, 2, & 3), an urban setting (Study 1), or watching videos of natural and urban settings (Studies 2 & 3). In all three studies, exposure to nature increased connectedness to nature, attentional capacity, positive emotions, and ability to reflect on a life problem; these effects are more dramatic for actual nature than for virtual nature. Mediational analyses indicate that the positive effects of exposure to nature are partially mediated by increases in connectedness to nature and are not mediated by increases in attentional capacity. The discussion focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the exposure to nature/well-being effects.

The predictive power of the Ajzen, Triandis, and Schwartz models are compared in the context of car use for university routes. Two hundred fifty-four students filled out a questionnaire designed to measure the components of the three models. In the prediction of intention to use a car, results indicated that one variable from the Trinandis model—role beliefs—increased the explanatory power offered by the components of the Ajzen model. In the prediction of self-reported car use, one variable of the Triandis model—car use habit—significantly increased the predictive power of the Ajzen model. The central variable of the Schwartz model—personal norm—exerted no significant effect either on intention or on behavior. The implications of the findings for interventions to reduce the car use of students for university routes are discussed.

Experimental and survey data were gathered from residents of a large urban neighborhood with a community wide curbside recycling program in order to determine the extent to which recycling could be conceptualized as altruistic behavior. Results confirmed that recycling behavior is consistent with Schwartz's altruism model, according to which behavior is influenced by social norms, personal norms, and awareness of consequences. Data further showed that a block-leader program, in which residents encouraged their neighbors to recycle, influenced altruistic norms and increased recycling behavior. Prompting and information strategies were also introduced into the community recycling program as experimental interventions in order to com- pare their effects with the block-leader approach. Results showed that prompting and information increased recycling behavior but did not affect norms and attitudes. Further- more, all the intervention strategies influenced behavior independently of the measured norms; block leaders had the most substantial impact, prompts had the next greatest impact, and information had the least.

Three waste management behaviors (waste reduction, reuse, and recycling) were examined with the use of a conceptual framework developed by the author. It was posited that environmental values, situational characteristics, and psychological factors all play a significant role in the prediction of waste management behavior, within the context of a core intention-behavior relationship. The framework was tested in a self-report questionnaire of 673 residents of Exeter, UK. It was found that the predictors of reduction, reuse, and recycling behavior differed significantly, with reduction and reuse being predicted by underlying environmental values, knowledge, and concern-based variables. Recycling behavior was, in contrast, characterized as highly normative behavior. The use of the approach taken for investigating other environmental behaviors is examined.

This article builds on Ajzen's theory of planned behavior and on Stern et al.'s value-belief-norm theory to propose and test a model that predicts proenvironmental behavior. In addition to relationships between beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors, we incorporate Inglehart's postmaterialist and Schwartz's harmony value dimensions as contextual antecedents at the national level. Structural equation modeling analyses of a 27-country sample provide almost full support for the mediation model. Postmaterialistic values, but not harmony, affect environmental concern; in turn, environmental concern, perceived threat, and perceived behavioral control affect willingness to sacrifice, which then affects a variety of proenvironmental behaviors. The findings emphasize the contribution of cultural conditions to the shaping of individuals'actions vis-à-vis environmental issues, alongside individual-level social-psychological variables.

The purpose of this article is to provide a background to the analytical techniques and related terminology used commonly in space syntax studies. The basic premises of space syntax are presented, its methodological procedures described, and certain key terms defined. Finally, issues relating space syntax studies to questions of spatial cognition are discussed.

In the domain of travel mode choice behavior, the interaction between ecological norm orientation and the external aspects “fare” and “subway station range” was investigated in an experimental field study. The ecological norm orientation is conceptualized based on the Schwartz theory on altruistic behavior, which is then applied to the environmental context. In a random sample of 160 persons, fare was experimentally manipulated by distributing free public transport tickets, whereas the station range was varied by selecting test participants at different distances from a station. Within the norm activation model, the mobility-specific personal ecological norm proves to be the strongest predictor of travel mode choice as recorded in standardized questionnaires. Reducing the fare by distributing free tickets has a quantitatively similar effect. The results suggest that the “economy-plus-moral” formula best describes the fact that the integrative mechanism (external factor fare plus normative ecological orientation) is the determinant of travel mode choice.

Agriculture is vulnerable to climate change and a source of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Farmers face pressures to adjust agricultural systems to make them more resilient in the face of increasingly variable weather (adaptation) and reduce GHG production (mitigation). This research examines relationships between Iowa farmers’ trust in environmental or agricultural interest groups as sources of climate information, climate change beliefs, perceived climate risks to agriculture, and support for adaptation and mitigation responses. Results indicate that beliefs varied with trust, and beliefs in turn had a significant direct effect on perceived risks from climate change. Support for adaptation varied with perceived risks, while attitudes toward GHG reduction (mitigation) were associated predominantly with variation in beliefs. Most farmers were supportive of adaptation responses, but few endorsed GHG reduction, suggesting that outreach should focus on interventions that have adaptive and mitigative properties (e.g., reduced tillage, improved fertilizer management).