Factors Affecting Energy Consumption: Two Field Tests of the Fishbein-Ajzen Model

Stutzman, T. M. & Green, S. B. (1982). Factors affecting energy consumption: Two field tests of the Fishbein-Ajzen model. Journal of Social Psychology, 117, 2, 183-201.

113 undergraduates and 506 consumers (primarily 26-55 yrs old) in a statewide sample participated in 2 studies that investigated the relationship among variables defined by situational factors, energy consumption measures, and M. Fishbein and I. Ajzen's (1975) model of attitudes and behavior. Correlational analyses indicated that 1 situational variable, knowledge, predicted energy usage relatively accurately. The standard Fishbein-Ajzen model was moderately useful in understanding energy consumption. With the statewide sample, the situational variable of income rather than knowledge was the most potent predictor. An attempt to alter the information level of the students yielded a change in knowledge but no change in the Fishbein-Ajzen measures. It is concluded that given the complex nature of energy consumption, multiple treatments are necessary to increase conservation.
 

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