Ideological and Demographic Correlates of Proecology Behavior

Previous studies of the ideological and demographic characteristics of environmentalists have used attitude measures to distinguish persons with a pro-ecology orientation. Concerns about attitude-behavior correspondence, however, have provoked criticism that such ideological and demographic profiles may have little meaning for predicting variation in behavioral commitment to protecting and enhancing environmental quality. To examine this issue, a survey including measures of sociopolitical ideology and a variety of demographic attributes was administered to a random sample of residents of a medium-sized New England town. Later, a subsample of 44 men and women (drawn from the 91 survey respondents) was given the opportunity to participate in a series of ecology projects carried out over a 5-mo period. Results indicate that Ss exhibiting high participation were more liberal in their social, economic, and religious philosophies, better educated, and higher in occupational status--the same pattern of attributes previously linked to attitudinal concern about ecological issues. (18 ref)