Reexamining the Theory of Planned Behavior in Understanding Wastepaper Recycling

Investigated (a) the applicability of I. Ajzen's (1988, 1991) theory of planned behavior (TOPB) in predicting wastepaper recycling intention and self-reported behavior, (b) the role of environmental knowledge in understanding wastepaper recycling after controlling for the constructs in TOPB, and (c) the role of past behavior in prediction, after taking into account the constructs in TOPB as well as environmental knowledge. 282 college students in Hong Kong completed a questionnaire designed to measure various constructs related to recycling behavior. The results reveal that TOPB significantly predicted both behavioral intention and subsequent wastepaper-recycling behavior self-reported a month later. Perceived difficulty predicted behavioral intention and moderated the intention-behavior link, whereas perceived control had no significant effect. These findings cast doubt on the unidimensional conceptualization of perceived behavioral control. By controlling for the TOPB constructs, general environmental knowledge significantly predicted behavior. Past behavior had a sizeable effect on predicting subsequent behavior, suggesting that TOPB plus knowledge are insufficient to predict recycling.