Environmentalism: The Relation of Environmental Attitudes and Environmentally Responsible Behaviors Among Undergraduate Students

Abstract

The growing collective consensus among the public is to possess environmental attitudes, as the majority consider themselves to be “environmentalists.” However, does the public’s environmental attitudes or concern translate into environmentally responsible behaviors? This study sought to verify among undergraduate students the level of environmentalism—the relation of environmental attitudes and responsible behaviors. College students were targeted because they will be the future custodians, planners, policy makers, and educators of the environment and its issues. Environmental attitudes were analyzed using the revised New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale, and behaviors were measured with the Environmentally Responsible Behavior Index. Overall, college students in this sample were sympathetic toward the environment, and they supported the NEP ideology. However, except for recycling, students were not very participative in various environmentally responsible behaviors. Additionally, consistent with previous studies, the attitude-behavior relations were weak or modest at best.