Exploring the Influence of Nature Relatedness and Perceived Science Knowledge on Proenvironmental Behavior

Obery, Amanda; Bangert, Arthur W.

doi:10.3390/educsci7010017

Cited by 38 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…It is only by encouraging them to connect with nature, and enhancing knowledge of natural environments and environmental issues, that elicits concern and empathy for nature and environmental issues as well as their responsibility for the environment. Previous research has pointed out that being frequently exposed to nature not only produces a pleasant mood and distinct sense of well-being but also promotes sustainable behaviors and responsible environmental behaviors [79][80][81].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Will the Future Be Greener? The Environmental Behavioral Intentions of University Tourism Students

et al. 2018

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Sustainable tourism is essential for tourism sector development. Environmentally responsible behaviors and behavioral intentions are important prerequisites for sustainable tourism. This research explores the behavioral intentions of university tourism students and significant factors affecting these behavioral intentions. The questionnaire survey method was applied to university students from the tourism departments of nine universities in Taiwan. A total of 390 valid questionnaires were collected. The pro-environmental behavioral intentions of the students ranged from moderate to high. Environmental knowledge positively affected behavioral intentions and positively influenced environmental sensitivity and environmental responsibility. Furthermore, environmental sensitivity and environmental responsibility exerted a full effect in mediating the relationship between environmental knowledge and behavioral intentions. Hence, increasing students' environmental knowledge will enhance their behavioral intentions. However, by improving students' sensitivity and responsibility, their intentions to protect the environment can be more effectively elevated. Development implications and recommendations for sustainable tourism and higher education are provided.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Will the Future Be Greener? The Environmental Behavioral Intentions of University Tourism Students

et al. 2018

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“…Items can either refer to PEB in general (e.g., "I participate in pro-environment behaviors. ", Obery & Bangert, 2017) or specify the characteristics of a particular PEB in question (e.g., "In the past month, when I am at home I recycle paper. ", Maki & Rothman, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring pro-environmental behavior: Review and recommendations

Lange

Dewitte

2019

Journal of Environmental Psychology

474

254

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Any scientific attempt to understand, predict, or promote pro-environmental behavior requires an adequate measurement tool for the assessment of pro-environmental behavior. The multidisciplinary interest in pro-environmental behavior has generated a large variety of such tools, ranging from domain-general and domain-specific self-report measures, field observations conducted with the help of informants, trained observers, or technical devices, to behavioral tasks for use in the laboratory. The present review discusses this broad spectrum of existing approaches to the measurement of pro-environmental behavior, their strengths and weaknesses, as well as possibilities to improve upon them. From this review, we deduce several recommendations for the development, selection, and application of measures in proenvironmental behavior research. We conclude by stressing the importance of established and validated measures for a cumulative science of pro-environmental behavior.

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“…Items were averaged, and higher scores indicated stronger subjective connectedness to nature. This validated instrument has been used in several previous environmental psychology studies (Nisbet et al 2013;Obery and Bangert, 2017;Whitburn et al 2020). We also asked several pilot-tested questions regarding typical exposure to nature such as duration and frequency of visits to natural environments.…”

Section: Online Questionnairementioning

confidence: 99%

Germaphobia! Does our Relationship with, and Knowledge of Biodiversity Affect our Attitudes Towards Microbes?

Robinson

Cameron

Jørgensen

2021

Preprint

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Germaphobia - a pathological aversion to microorganisms - could be contributing to an explosion in human immune-related disorders via mass sterilisation of surfaces and reduced exposure to biodiversity. Loss of biodiversity and our connectedness to nature, along with poor microbial literacy may be augmenting the negative consequences of germaphobia on ecosystem health. In this study, we created an online questionnaire to acquire data on attitudes towards, and knowledge of microbes. We collected data on nature connectedness and interactions with nature and explored the relationships between these variables. We found a significant association between attitudes towards microbes and both duration and frequency of visits to natural environments. A higher frequency of visits to nature per week, and a longer duration spent in nature per visit, significantly associated with positive attitudes towards microbes. We found no association between nature connectedness and attitudes towards microbes. We found a significant relationship between knowledge of "lesser known" microbial groups (e.g., identifying that fungi, algae, protozoa, and archaea are microbes) and positive attitudes towards microbes. However, we also found that people who correctly identified viruses as being microbes expressed less positive views of microbes overall - this could potentially be attributed to a COVID-19 effect. Our results suggest that basic microbial literacy and nature engagement may be important in reducing/preventing germaphobia. The results also suggest that a virus-centric phenomenon (e.g., COVID-19) could increase broader germaphobia. As the rise of immune-related disorders and mental health conditions have been linked to germaphobia, reduced biodiversity, and non-targeted sterilisation, our findings point to a feasible strategy to potentially help ameliorate these negative consequences. A greater emphasis on microbial literacy and promoting time spent in nature could be useful in promoting resilience in human health and more positive/constructive attitudes towards the foundations of our ecosystems - the microorganisms.

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Exploring the Influence of Nature Relatedness and Perceived Science Knowledge on Proenvironmental Behavior

Cited by 38 publications

References 47 publications

Will the Future Be Greener? The Environmental Behavioral Intentions of University Tourism Students

Will the Future Be Greener? The Environmental Behavioral Intentions of University Tourism Students

Measuring pro-environmental behavior: Review and recommendations

Germaphobia! Does our Relationship with, and Knowledge of Biodiversity Affect our Attitudes Towards Microbes?

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