Effort as a Moderator of the Attitude-Behavior Relationship: General Environmental Concern and Recycling

• Published in: Social psychology quarterly Vol. 59; no. 4; pp. 375 - 383
• Main Authors: Schultz, P. Wesley, Oskamp, Stuart
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Sociological Association 01.12.1996; American Sociological Association, etc
• Subjects: Attitude-behavior relationships; Attitude-Behaviour relationships; Attitudes; Behavior; Behavior. Attitude; Biological and medical sciences; College students; Correlation coefficients; Correlations; Effort; Environmental Attitudes; Environmental Protection; Environmentalism; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Intention; Likert Scales; Meta Analysis; Moderators; Observational research; Paper bags; Personality psychology; Positive thought; Psychological attitudes; Psychological research; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Recyclable materials; Recycling; Research Notes; Resistance (Psychology); Social Influences; Social psychology; Statistical Data; Studies; Systematic review; Undergraduate Students; New York; United States > US; Human; Environment; Behavior; Recycling; Attitude; Effort
• ISSN: 0190-2725; 1939-8999
• DOI: 10.2307/2787078

It is proposed that attitude are stronger predictors of behavior when the amount of effort required for the behavior is high than when little effort is required. The first study found support for the hypothesis among undergraduates who participated in a high-effort recycling program. A second study of undergraduates found a strong positive relationship between attitudes of environmental concern and the amount of effort they were willing to exert to recycle. The third study, a meta-analysis of studies on the relationship between environmental concern and recycling, showed that studies conducted in (high-effort) dropoff recycling programs typically found a stronger relationship than studies conducted in (low-effort) curbside recycling programs. Across all three studies the results consistently support recent theoretical findings: Effort is a strong moderator of the attitude-behavior relationship.