Do as I Say, Not as I Do. Special Section: Attitudes and Behavior in Social Psychology

Examines the observance of low to absent correlations between what a person says he/she would do and what he/she actually does later. Focus is on the degree of agreement between responses to attitude questionnaires and responses in situations in which the content of the questionnaires is relevant for the study of attitudes in general and for the study of environmental attitudes in particular. The low positive correlations between attitude and behavior suggest the need to evaluate the notion that it is necessary to change attitudes before behavior can be changed. A review of the recent say-do correspondence literature is followed by a comparison of attitude-behavior studies with say-do correspondence studies. A more empirical approach is urged for the future of environmental research that offers a unique arena for the study of attitude-behavior congruence.