To develop the low-carbon society, in addition to the efforts by industrial and commercial sectors, promotion of people’s pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) has become one of the key issues. Some PEBs have been investigated in previous studies, however, the targets were limited to particular behaviors ( i.e. , recycling, water saving, electricity saving). The holistic view of understanding the characteristics of PEBs has remained insufficient. In this study, we selected 58 daily PEBs from various fields and investigated people’s practice rates and attitudes in Seoul and Tokyo. The questionnaire surveys were conducted and 2393 (Seoul) and 2220 (Tokyo) valid responses were analyzed. Most PEBs had significantly different practice rates between Seoul and Tokyo. It can be concluded that the surrounding conditions, such as policy and infrastructure, have some influences on these differences. The positions of the reasons to practice or not to practice PEBs were visualized using multiple correspondence analys e s. The results indicated that the monetary reason wa s the common factor for many PEBs, while some PEBs showed different reasons. The socio-demographic effects were not significantly different between the two regions. Commonly, women and older people showed more activities on PEBs.
KeywordsPro-Environmental BehaviorsPractice RateMultiple Correspondence AnalysisReason for Behavior
Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea, “The National Consciousness Census for Environmental Conservation,” 2008. http://webbook.me.go.kr/DLi-File/pdf/2009/11/183579.pdf
P. W. Schultz, “Knowledge, Information, and Household Recycling: Examining the Knowledge-Deficit Model of Behavior Change,” In: T. Dietz and P. C. Stern, Eds., New Tools for Environmental Protection: Education, Information, and Voluntary Measures, The National Academic Press, 2002, pp. 67-82.
A. Kollmuss and J. Agyman, “Mind the Gap: Why Do People Act Environmentally and What Are the Barriers to Pro-Environmental Behavior?” Environmental Education Research, Vol. 8, No. 3, 2002, pp. 239-259. doi:10.1080/13504620220145401
D. Abrams, K. Ando and S. Hinkle, “Psychological Attachment to the Group: Cross-Cultural Differences in Organizational Identification and Subjective Norms as Predictors of Workers’ Turnover Intentions,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 24, No. 10, 1998, pp. 1027-1039. doi:10.1177/01461672982410001
M. Aoyagi-Usui, H. Vinken and A. Kuribayashi, “ProEnvironmental Attitude and Behaviors: An International Comparison,” Human Ecology Review, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2003, pp. 23-31.
J. I. M. De Groot and L. Steg, “Value Orientations and Environmental Beliefs in Five Countries: Validity of an Instrument to Measure Egoistic, Altruistic and Biospheric Value Orientations,” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 38, No. 3, 2007, pp. 318-332. doi:10.1177/0022022107300278
K. Ando, S. Ohnuma and E. C. Chang, “Comparing Normative Influences as Determinants of Environmentally Conscious Behaviours between the USA and Japan,” Asian Journal Of Social Psychology, Vol. 10, No. 3, 2007, pp. 171-178. doi:10.1111/j.1467-839X.2007.00223.x
K. Ando, S. Ohnuma, B. Anke, E. Matthies and J. Sugiura, “Determinants of Individual and Collective Pro-Environmental Behaviors: Comparing Germany and Japan,” Journal of Environmental Information Science, Vol. 38, No. 5, 2010, pp. 21-32.
M. Cordano, S. Welcomer, R. F. Scherer, L. Pradenas and V. Parada, “A Cross-Cultural Assessment of Three Theories of Pro-Environmental Behavior: A Comparison between Business Students of Chile and the United States,” Environment and Behavior, Vol. 43, No. 5, 2011, pp. 634-657. doi:10.1177/0013916510378528
R. B. Cialdini, R. R. Reno and C. A. Kallgren, “A Focus Theory of Normative Conduct: Recycling the Concept of Norms to Reduce Littering in Public Places,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 58, No. 6, 1990, pp. 1015-1026. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.58.6.1015
J. Hornik, J. Cherian, M. Madansky and C. Narayana, “Determinants of Recycling Behavior: A Synthesis of Research Results,” Journal of Socio-Economics, Vol. 24, No. 1, 1995, pp. 105-127. doi:10.1016/1053-5357(95)90032-2
J. J. Lindsay and A. Strathman, “Predictors of Recycling Behavior: An Application of a Modified Health Belief Model,” Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 27, No. 20, 1997, pp. 1799-1823. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1997.tb01626.x
P. W. Schultz, “Changing Behavior with Normative Feedback Interventions: A Field Experiment on Curbside Recycling,” Basic and Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 21, No. 1, 1998, pp. 25-36.
E. S. Iyer and R. K. Kashyap, “Consumer Recycling: Role of Incentives, Information, and Social Class,” Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2007, pp. 32-47. doi:10.1002/cb.206
R. A. Winett, J. W. Hatcher, T. R. Fort, I. N. Leckliter, S. Q. Love, A. W. Riley and J. F. Fishback, “The Effects of Videotape Modeling and Daily Feedback on Residential Electricity Conservation, Home Temperature and Humidity, Perceived Comfort, and Clothing Worn: Winter and Summer,” Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Vol. 15, No. 3, 1982, pp. 381-402. doi:10.1901/jaba.1982.15-381
J. S. Black, P. C. Stern and J. T. Elworth, “Personal and Contextual Influences on Household Energy Adaptations,” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 70, No. 1, 1985, pp. 3-21. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.70.1.3
P. C. Stern, “What Psychology Knows about Energy Conservation,” American Psychologist, Vol. 47, No. 10, 1992, pp. 1224-1234. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.47.10.1224
C. F. Clark, M. J. Kotchen and M. Moore, “Internal and External Influences on Pro-Environmental Behavior: Participation in a Green Electricity Program,” Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 23, 2003, pp. 237-246. doi:10.1016/S0272-4944(02)00105-6
W. Poortinga, L. Steg and C. Vlek, “Values, Environmental Concern, and Environmental Behavior: A Study into Household Energy Use,” Environment & Behavior, Vol. 36, No. 1, 2004, pp. 70-93. doi:10.1177/0013916503251466
S. C. Thompson and K. Stoutemyer, “Water Use as a Commons Dilemma: The Effects of Education That Focuses on Long-Term Consequences and Individual Action,” Environment and Behavior, Vol. 23, No. 3, 1991, pp. 314-333. doi:10.1177/0013916591233004
A. Hurlimann, S. Dolnicar and P. Meyer, “Understanding Behaviour to Inform Water Supply Management in Developed Nations—A Review of Literature, Conceptual Model and Research Agenda,” Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 91, No. 1, 2009, pp. 47-56. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.07.014
R. M. Willis, R. A. Stewart, K. Panuwatwanich, P. R. Williams and A. L. Hollingsworth, “Quantifying the Influence of Environmental and Water Conservation Attitudes on Household End Use Water Consumption,” Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 92, No. 8, 2011, pp. 1996-2009. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2011.03.023
E. Aoki, K. H. Kurisu, J. Nakatani and K. Hanaki, “Current State and Interregional Comparison of Citizen’s Environmental Behavior by 47 Prefectures,” Japan Journal of JSCE, Vol. 38, 2010, pp. 17-26.
K. Ueta and H. Koizumi, “Reducing Household Waste: Japan Learns from Germany,” Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, Vol. 43, No. 9, 2001, pp. 20-32. doi:10.1080/00139150109604512
K. H. Kurisu and A. P. Bortoleto, “Comparison of Waste Prevention Behaviors among Three Japanese Megacity Regions in the Context of Local Measures and Socio-Demographics,” Waste Management, Vol. 31, No. 7, 2011, pp. 1441-1449. doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2011.03.008
W. Abrahamse, L. Steg, C. Vlek and T. Rothengatter, “A Review of Intervention Studies Aimed at Household Energy Conservation,” Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 25, No. 3, 2005, pp. 273-291. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2005.08.002
R. B. Cialdini, “Crafting Normative Message to Protect the Environment,” Current Directions in Psychological Science, Vol. 12, No. 4, 2003, pp. 105-109. doi:10.1111/1467-8721.01242
P. W. Schultz, J. M. Nolan, R. B. Cialdini, N. J. Goldstein and V. Griskevicius, “The Constructive, Destructive, and Reconstructive Power of Social Norms,” Psychology Science, Vol. 18, No. 5, 2007, pp. 429-434.
J. M. Nolan, P. W. Schultz, R. Cialdini, N. J. Goldstein and V. Griskevicius, “Normative Social Influence Is Underdetected,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 34, No. 7, 2008, pp. 913-923. doi:10.1177/0146167208316691
S. Barr, “Strategies for Sustainability: Citizens and Responsible Environmental Behaviour,” Area, Vol. 35, No. 3, 2003, pp. 227-240. doi:10.1111/1475-4762.00172
K. Chan, “Mass Communication and Pro-Environmental Behavior: Waste Recycling in Hong Kong,” Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 52, No. 4, 1998, pp. 317-325. doi:10.1006/jema.1998.0189
L. Whitmarsh, “Behavioural Responses to Climate Change: Asymmetry of Intentions and Impacts,” Journal of Environmental Information Science, Vol. 29, No. 1, 2009, pp. 13-23.
L. M. Hunter, A. Hatch and A. Johnson, “Cross-National Gender Variation in Environmental Behaviors,” Social Science Quarterly, Vol. 85, No. 3, 2004, pp. 677-694. doi:10.1111/j.0038-4941.2004.00239.x