Relationships Among Ecologically Responsible Behaviors

A telephone survey of ninety-six randomly selected adults of a Southern California community asked about their participation in ecologically responsible behaviors. Fifteen different behaviors were analyzed in terms of: the extent of individual participation in each; the extent to which behaviors within conceptual categories were related; the extent to which all of the behaviors were related; and the extent to which participation in each was related to attitudes about energy conservation. The extent of participation in most of the behaviors was low; only recycling and consuming behaviors were significantly correlated within their respective categories; there was no single factor underlying all of the behaviors; and the attitude-behavior relationship was significant for only six of the behaviors. Implications for further research and conservation efforts are discussed.