bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Demographic Covariates of Residential Recycling Efficiency
Authors: Owens Julie , Dickerson Sharyn , Macintosh David L.
Published: July 2003

To obtain information on recycling behavior for selected populations, demographic data and measurements of materials in trash containers and recycling bins were collected from a random sample of 87 residences in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia. The recycling efficiency (RE) for each household had a mean of 45% and exhibited a bimodal distribution characterized by 1 group of households with near-zero RE and a second group with RE from 75% to 100%. Annual household income, home-ownership status, and level of education attained by the lead recycler were significantly associated with RE. The results of this study indicate that greater participation in recycling programs among low socioeconomic status households in this population may yield greater increases in waste reduction than enhanced RE of current participants. Additional research is required to evaluate the degree to which these findings can be generalized to other communities.
Intimidating Buildings
Authors: Maass Anne , Merici Ilaria , Villafranca Erica , Furlani Rosaria , Gaburro Elena , Getrevi Anna , Masserini Margherita
Published: July 2003

This study tested the hypothesis that courthouse architecture may affect the feelings of hypothetical users as well as their estimates of likelihood of conviction. Participants ( N = 120) from Northern Italy were asked to imagine a hypothetical trial to which they accompanied a wrongly accused friend; the trial either took place in a medieval or in a modern “high-style” courthouse. Compared to the old courthouse, the modern courthouse elicited significantly greater discomfort in participants already familiar with the respective building. Regardless of familiarity, participants estimated a greater likelihood that the friend would be convicted when the trial took place in the new building. Although the two courthouses were judged equally attractive on general dimensions of aesthetics, the new one was judged as more intimidating. Links between architectural features and social-cognitive processes are discussed.
Wayfinding in a Nursing Home for Advanced Dementia of the Alzheimer’s Type
Authors: Passini Romedi , Pigot Hélène , Rainville Constant , Tétreault Marie-Hélène
Published: July 2003

The aim of the study was to generate design criteria in order to encourage and facilitate wayfinding for advanced Alzheimer’s patients. Two sources of data were used: interviews with the staff of a typical urban nursing home, and a wayfinding experience with its residents. The results show that even patients with severe cognitive deterioration are able to reach certain destinations. Wayfinding decisions have to be based on environmental information that is readily accessible, so that the patient can proceed from decision point to decision point. Monotony of architectural composition and the lack of reference points render wayfinding difficult. The elevators are seen to be a major anxiety-causing barrier. Visual access to the main destinations increases their use and facilitates wayfinding. Signage has an important function, creating redundancy in wayfinding communication and compensating for the loss of memory and spatial understanding. Floor patterns and dark lines or surfaces can disorient the patients and cause anxiety.
At Home with Nature
Authors: Wells Nancy M.
Published: July 2003

The nearby natural environment plays a far more significant role in the well-being of children residing in poor urban environments than has previously been recognized. Using a premove/postmove longitudinal design, this research rules out the effects of various extraneous variables that have plagued previous studies and explores the linkage between the naturalness or restorativeness of the home environment and the cognitive functioning of low-income urban children. Both before and after relocation, objective measures of naturalness are employed along with a standardized instrument measuring the children’s cognitive functioning. Results indicate that children whose homes improved the most in terms of greenness following relocation also tended to have the highest levels of cognitive functioning following the move. The implications with respect to policy and design are also discussed.
Environmental Values, Beliefs, and Actions
Authors: Corraliza José A. , Berenguer Jaime
Published: July 2003

This study investigated the influence of the interaction between personal and situational variables in environmental behavior and the predictive power of values and beliefs. Three different kinds of questions (environmental beliefs, Schwartz’s measure of values, and physical-environmental inhibition level) and 1 item of general environmental concern were presented, along with a 16-item list of environmental actions, to 125 randomly selected undergraduate students. The results permit two main conclusions. First, environmental behavior depends on personal and situational variables in an interactive way. Second, when high conflict level is generated between personal dispositions and situational conditions, the predictive power of attitudes tends to be minimal, whereas in the case of consistency between them it tends to be maximal. The influence of situational variables was found to depend on the environmental action considered. In some cases, situational variables were the most important, whereas in others, commitment or moral obligation played an essential role.
Coping with Poverty
Authors: Kuo Frances E.
Published: July 2003

Considerable evidence suggests that exposure to “green” environments can enhance human effectiveness and make life’s demands seem manageable. Does this phenomenon extend to poor inner cities, where green space is minimal and life’s demands may be overwhelming? In 145 urban public housing residents randomly assigned to buildings with and without nearby nature, attentional functioning and effectiveness in managing major life issues were compared. Residents living in buildings without nearby trees and grass reported more procrastination in facing their major issues and assessed their issues as more severe, less soluble, and more longstanding than did their counterparts living in greener surroundings. Mediation tests and extensive tests for possible confounds supported the attention restoration hypothesis— that green space enhances residents’ effectiveness by reducing mental fatigue. These findings suggest that urban public housing environments could be configured to enhance residents’ psychological resources for coping with poverty.
Why do Preferences Differ between Scene Types?
Authors: Purcell Terry , Peron Erminielda , Berto Rita
Published: July 2003

Groups of subjects judged one example of two different types of outdoor scene on each of the items of the Perceived Restorative Scale, on two preference scales and a familiarity scale. It was argued that the previously demonstrated large variations in preference between different types of scenes were the result of participants using the restorative value of a scene as an implicit frame of reference for the preference judgment. Preference and the Perceived Restorative Scale score correlated .81, whereas familiarity and the Restorative Scale correlated .31, and preference and familiarity correlated .32. This result supports the hypothesis regarding the use of the restorative value of a scene as an implicit frame of reference for preference judgments. It is further argued that variations in the preference and restorative value of scenes may be associated with fractal geometry.
Encouraging College Students to Support Pro-Environment Behavior
Authors: Boyce Thomas E. , Geller E. Scott
Published: July 2003

Ways to increase the delivery of a special thank-you card following behavior that protected the environment or helped another person were addressed. In Study 1, direct rewards for the target behavior were compared with indirect rewards for making a promise to emit the target behavior. Rewards for promising to give out thank-you cards resulted in the most participation and led to the most cards used per participant. In Study 2, students in one class received coupons for a raffle if they signed a petition to hand out two or more thank-you cards (indirect rewards). In a second class, students got one opportunity to win prizes in a raffle for each card delivered (direct rewards). Significantly more cards were distributed in the Direct Reward condition. However, significantly more students handed out at least one card in the Indirect Reward condition. Implications for encouraging college students to support pro-environment and pro-social behaviors are discussed.
Crew Tension during a Space Station Simulation
Authors: Sandal Gro M.
Published: July 2003

Two space simulation studies for the European Space Agency found that interpersonal tension increased in the beginning, around the middle, and toward the end of the confinement. This article reports data from a third study where this issue was further examined. Three subjects were confined in the MIR space station simulator in Moscow for 135 days. Communication analysis, peer rating, questionnaires, and interviews were used to assess crew tension. The temporal pattern found in this study corresponds to the previous findings. The beginning of the period was characterized by competition over leadership. Decreased crew cohesion and aggression toward the mission control marked the middle of the confinement. In the final weeks, open conflicts emerged, and one member was socially excluded. Joking occurred frequently in the first half of the confinement, whereas negative emotional expressions increased in the second half. These results might assist planners in anticipating behavioral problems during space missions.
A Multinational Examination of the Role of the Dominant Social Paradigm in Environmental Attitudes of University Students
Authors: Kilbourne William E. , Beckmann Suzanne C. , Lewis Alan , van Dam Ynte
Published: July 2003

This study examined the difference between environmental attitudes of university students in England, Denmark, and the United States. The results indicate that there is a significant relationship between attitudes toward technology, politics, and economics, the primary elements of the dominant social paradigm (DSP), and environmental attitudes. Specifically, as beliefs in the elements of the DSP increase, the perception of the existence of environmental problems decreases. As a result of this decrease, perceived changes necessary to alleviate environmental problems also decreases. The results also indicate that there is a direct relationship between the DSP and perceived change. The policy implications of this result suggest that what is needed is not only increased concern for the environment, but also, education about the DSP and its effect on the environment. Individuals may then break the cycles of technological advance, increased consumption, and reform politics, all of which appear to be complicit in environmental decline.
Environmental Concern in a Local Context
Authors: Vorkinn Marit , Riese Hanne
Published: July 2003

To improve the understanding of environmental concern, considering the context within which individuals develop environmental concerns may be important. One salient contextual variable related to local environmental issues is place attachment, which deals with human bonding to a specific physical environment. In a study in a rural community in Norway, the local attitudes toward a proposal of a major hydropower development, which will cause major environmental impacts, were examined in relation to sociodemographic variables and place attachment. The results from a postal survey show that place attachment explained more of the variances in attitudes than the sociodemographic variables all together.
Push and Pull Forces Away from Front Porch Use
Authors: Wilson-Doenges Georjeanna
Published: July 2003

Observational and survey data were collected from a pre-World War I and a post-1970s neighborhood to assess the influence of push and pull forces away from front porch use. The findings indicate that the most important factors in reducing front porch use are design issues having to do with the small size of porches, the attractiveness of the backyard, and lifestyles that no longer support front porch use. Implications for design, including support of New Urbanist design principles, are discussed.
The Effect of Selected Residential Carpet and Pad on the Balance of Healthy Older Adults
Authors: Dickinson Joan I. , Shroyer Joann L. , Elias Jeffery W. , Hutton J. Thomas , Gentry G. Marie
Published: July 2003

The purpose of this research was to determine whether selected residential carpet and pad contributed to balance problems among healthy, community-dwelling older adults. Twenty-five older adults (mean age 73.25; SD± 7.48) were recruited, and balance was measured using the NeuroCom Computerized Posturography balance machine. Participants were exposed to the Sensory Organization Test while standing on the selected residential carpet (i.e., a 36-ounce, 1/2-inch pile height, 1/8-inch gauge, cut pile carpet) and pad (i.e., a rebonded polyurethane, 6-pound density, 7/16-inch thick padding). Postural sway significantly increased on the carpet only when participants had their eyes closed and the forceplate on the balance machine moved. Balance strategy was not affected by the carpet. Participants were able to adjust to the sensory limitations by adopting an ankle strategy regardless of the floor surface. The results of this study indicate limited participant difficulty maintaining static balance when standing on the selected carpet.
Home Ownership
Authors: White Garland F.
Published: July 2003

The central purpose of this article is to examine the causal relationship between the percentage of homeowners in a neighborhood and city and crime rates. A cross-lag analysis is used for the years of 1980 and 1990. The analysis focuses both on the 100 largest cities in the United States and neighborhoods in Middle Atlantic City (pseudonym). The analysis of the data suggests that crime rates influence the percentage of homeowners more than homeownership deters crimes. The effects are most pronounced in higher-income neighborhoods. However, at the neighborhood level, the relationships are stronger, and there is evidence in support of the tipping and trapping phenomena.
Environmental Factors Influencing Auto Burglary
Authors: Michael Sean E. , Hull R. Bruce , Zahm Diane L.
Published: July 2003

Although large numbers of crimes are committed in parks each year, little is known about the ways in which offenders use park settings to commit these crimes. Such knowledge would allow park managers to evaluate crime risk and opportunity and to formulate response strategies. A case study of auto burglary in Washington, D.C., examined the relationship between park setting and auto burglary. A focus group, extensive on-site interviews with plainclothes police, and analysis of crime sites were used to reveal the scripts and behaviors of auto burglars. The results are consistent with fundamental theories of environmental criminology and suggest that situational features are in fact used by offenders and that offenders adapt their behaviors to the opportunities and risks provided by each setting. In particular, a park’s physical features can reduce effort and risk by offering concealment, which is necessary for identifying targets and for sorting stolen valuables.
Housing Quality and Children’s Socioemotional Health
Authors: Evans Gary W. , Saltzman Heidi , Cooperman Jana L.
Published: July 2003

An observer-based, standardized index of housing quality (structural quality, privacy, indoor climate, hazards, cleanliness/clutter, and children’s resources) is significantly related to psychological distress and a behavioral index of learned helplessness, which reflects an important component of human motivation. Independent of household income, third-through fifth-grade children residing in poorer quality housing have more psychological symptoms and less task persistence than their counterparts living in better quality housing.
Design Evaluation of an Arctic Research Station
Authors: Yan Xiaoying Winston , England Marijane E.
Published: July 2003

Extreme environmental and social conditions in polar and circumpolar regions present great challenges to field research personnel. In 1997, a new station was constructed at the summit of Greenland for the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs to carry out research on a year-round basis. A longitudinal survey was conducted with the first winter-over crew from August 1997 through April 1998 to find out how the users evaluated the station and to what extent their evaluation of the station was related to their well-being. Results of the survey indicate that the users maintained a positive evaluation of the built environment throughout the season. However, effects of the spatial confinement of the station on the users were somewhat visible. Furthermore, the survey revealed some tendencies between the self-described well-being and environmental and psychological factors. The article concludes with suggestions for design of similar stations in the future.
Meditation, Restoration, and the Management of Mental Fatigue
Authors: Kaplan Stephen
Published: July 2003

An analysis of the underlying similarities between the Eastern meditation tradition and attention restoration theory (ART) provides a basis for an expanded framework for studying directed attention. The focus of the analysis is the active role the individual can play in the preservation and recovery of the directed attention capacity. Two complementary strategies are presented that can help individuals more effectively manage their attentional resource. One strategy involves avoiding unnecessary costs in terms of expenditure of directed attention. The other involves enhancing the effect of restorative opportunities. Both strategies are hypothesized to be more effective if one gains generic knowledge, self-knowledge, and specific skills. The interplay between a more active form of mental involvement and the more passive approach of meditation appears to have far-reaching ramifications for managing directed attention.
The Nature of the View from Home
Authors: Kaplan Rachel
Published: July 2003

Depending on what is in the view, looking out the window may provide numerous opportunities for restoration. Unlike other restorative opportunities, however, window viewing is more frequent and for brief moments at a time. The setting is also experienced from afar rather than while being in it. A study conducted at six low-rise apartment communities, using a survey with both verbal and visual material, provides considerable support for the premise that having natural elements or settings in the view from the window contributes substantially to residents’ satisfaction with their neighborhood and with diverse aspects of their sense of well-being. Views of built elements, by contrast, affected satisfaction but not well-being. Views of the sky and weather did not have a substantial effect on either outcome. The potential of nature content in the view from home to contribute so significantly to satisfaction and well-being suggests clear action mandates.
Aggression and Violence in the Inner City
Authors: Kuo Frances E. , Sullivan William C.
Published: July 2003

S. Kaplan suggested that one outcome of mental fatigue may be an increased propensity for outbursts of anger and even violence. If so, contact with nature, which appears to mitigate mental fatigue, may reduce aggression and violence. This study investigated that possibility in a setting and population with relatively high rates of aggression: inner-city urban public housing residents. Levels of aggression were compared for 145 urban public housing residents randomly assigned to buildings with varying levels of nearby nature (trees and grass). Attentional functioning was assessed as an index of mental fatigue. Residents living in relatively barren buildings reported more aggression and violence than did their counterparts in greener buildings. Moreover, levels of mental fatigue were higher in barren buildings, and aggression accompanied mental fatigue. Tests for the proposed mechanism and for alternative mechanisms indicated that the relationship between nearby nature and aggression was fully mediated through attentional functioning.
Restorative Experience and Self-Regulation in Favorite Places
Authors: Korpela Kalevi M. , Hartig Terry , Kaiser Florian G. , Fuhrer Urs
Published: July 2003

The authors report further evidence bearing on the relations among restorative experiences, self-regulation, and place attachment. University students ( n = 101) described their favorite places and experiences in them, and 98 other students described unpleasant places. Natural settings were overrepresented among favorite places and underrepresented among the unpleasant places. In open-ended accounts, frequent mention of being relaxed, being away from everyday life, forgetting worries, and reflecting on personal matters indicated a link between favorite places and restorative experience. Restoration was particularly typical of natural favorite places. Structured evaluations of being away, fascination, coherence, and compatibility indicated they were experienced to a high degree in the favorite places, although fascination to a lesser degree than compatibility. The favorite and unpleasant places differed substantially in all four restorative qualities but especially in being away and compatibility. Self-referencing appears to be more characteristic of favorite place experiences than engaging or interesting environmental properties.
Psychological Restoration in Nature as a Positive Motivation for Ecological Behavior
Authors: Hartig Terry , Kaiser Florian G. , Bowler Peter A.
Published: July 2003

Shifting the focus from fear, guilt, and indignation related to deteriorating environmental quality, the authors hypothesized that people who see greater potential for restorative experiences in natural environments also do more to protect them by behaving ecologically, as with recycling or reduced driving. University students ( N = 488) rated a familiar freshwater marsh in terms of being away, fascination, coherence, and compatibility, qualities of restorative person-environment transactions described in attention restoration theory. They also reported on their performance of various ecological behaviors. The authors tested a structural equation model with data from a randomly drawn subset of participants and then confirmed it with the data from a second subset. For the combined subsets, perceptions of the restorative qualities predicted 23% of the variance in general ecological behavior. As the only direct predictor, fascination mediated the influences of coherence, being away, and compatibility.
Politeness in the Urban Environment
Authors: Moser Gabriel , Corroyer Denis
Published: July 2003

This article examines the prevalence of politeness or civil behaviors in Paris and a smaller French provincial city (Nantes). Do people entering a large department store hold the door open for the person behind them? With a sample of 880 participants, observed at the entrance of department stores, no significant sex differences were found (for the participant or the person for whom the door could be held). Parisians were significantly less civil than their provincial counterparts, and high-density conditions reduced civil behavior in both settings. In the presence of a polite model (the preceding person holding the door open for the participant), Parisians, but not the provincial sample, are influenced by the preceding situation; the differences between Paris and the provincial city are in this case minimal. Results are considered in terms of social modeling: Being exposed to a polite behavior reactivates the cultural norm of politeness in Parisians.
Resident Appropriation of Defensible Space in Public Housing
Authors: Brunson Liesette , Kuo Frances E. , Sullivan William C.
Published: July 2003

Defensible space (DS) theory proposes that the built environment can promote neighborhood safety and community by encouraging residents’ appropriation of near-home space. This article examined the relationship between three different forms of resident appropriation and residents’ experiences of neighborhood safety and community. Results from a survey of 91 public housing residents living in moderately defensible spaces suggested that residents who defended near-home space through territorial appropriation experienced the neighborhood as a safer, more cohesive community than did residents who did not appropriate space in this way. Residents who spent more time outside experienced the neighborhood as a safer place; however, casual social interaction in near-home space was not consistently related to outcomes. While no causal information is available from the correlational data presented here, this work takes an important step of providing empirical evidence of a systematic link between certain aspects of resident appropriation and positive outcomes. Implications for DS theory and for public housing policy are discussed.
Roots and Routes
Authors: Gustafson Per
Published: July 2003

Social and behavioral science has often described place attachment and mobility as opposite and mutually exclusive phenomena, has regarded one as better or more important than the other, or has done both. This article presents findings from a qualitative interview study that suggest that people may regard place attachment and mobility, and the relationship between them, in several different ways. Some regard place attachment and mobility as contradictory and feel they have to choose between them; some regard them as opposites but try to find an equilibrium; some regard them as complementary and enjoy both. This article suggests a “roots/routes” perspective, investigating the perceived meanings of and relationships between place attachment and mobility, and argues that further research along these lines would contribute to current debates about the roles and meanings of place.
Contextual Effects on Environmental Attitudes and Behavior
Authors: Blake Donald E.
Published: July 2003

Using data from a random sample survey of the population of British Columbia, this article addresses an anomaly in the literature on environmental concern and environmental action: the limited impact of self-interest, in the sense of behavior based on a personal threat from environmental problems, on the likelihood of environmental action. The issue is examined using a regression model that includes contextual effects and measures of political attitudes and environmental knowledge as determinants of individual action in support of environmental causes and collective action directed at halting or reversing environmental degradation. The analysis demonstrates that spatial variation in the nature of environmental problems has a significant effect on perceptions and behavior. Whereas protest behavior is more likely in areas dominated by resource extraction, willingness to incur economic costs in the interest of environmental protection is lower.
Altruistic, Egoistic, and Normative Effects on Curbside Recycling
Authors: Ewing Gordon
Published: July 2003

How altruistic, normative, and egoistic factors affect households’ participation in curbside recycling is shown to depend on how participation is measured. If expressed as whether a household participated, the importance of two normative factors (the expectations of household members and of friends and neighbors), an altruistic factor (that recycling helps protect the environment), and an egoistic factor (that recycling is inconvenient) appears similar. However, the altruistic factor has the greatest impact and the egoistic factor the least because of strong beliefs in curbside recycling’s environmental benefit and weak beliefs in its inconvenience. However, when measured by the proportion of different kinds of material a household recycles, the dominant influences are the expectations of other household members and inconvenience. The significance of egoistic concerns, namely, inconvenience and cost, is confirmed by negative attitudes toward user fees for garbage collection and toward drop-off depots as alternatives to curbside pickup.
The Social Structure of Tel-Aviv–Jaffa Neighborhoods
Authors: Schnell Izhak , Goldhaber Ravit
Published: July 2003

This article investigates residents’ sense of neighborliness in different types of neighborhoods in Tel-Aviv. Five different residential areas were investigated, representing different social classes, ethnic groups, and lifestyles. Residents’ sense of neighborliness and social restructuring of neighborhoods’ characteristics were investigated based on questionnaires. The analysis led to the following conclusions. First, neighborhoods are relevant but relatively marginal in importance to all five groups in Tel-Aviv. Second, all the respondents mentioned the importance of sense of territoriality and social interactions with some others in their neighborhood. Third, two types of neighborhoods have been identified: neighborhoods that are perceived as centers of identification and neighborhoods that are perceived as territorial units of daily services. Fourth, identification with the neighborhood represents the largest variability among neighborhoods, and lower class neighborhoods were assigned relatively low rates of sense of neighborliness.
The Importance of Transportation and Prioritization of Environmental Needs to Sustain Well-Being among Older Adults
Authors: Cvitkovich Yuri , Wister Andrew
Published: July 2003

This study examines the influence of transportation dependence and fulfillment of transportation needs on well-being based on a community sample ( N = 174). The majority (54.4%) of transportation-dependent participants had unfulfilled transportation needs, whereas this was the case for very few (7.1%) of those independent of transportation support. Regression analyses revealed that the transportation needs variable was statistically significant, whereas the transportation dependence factor was not. In terms of the prioritization of environmental components, elderly dependent on transportation support placed higher importance on housing than on neighborhood or community elements compared to more mobile seniors. Participants with unmet transportation needs were more likely to depend solely on family to provide transportation, whereas participants with fulfilled transportation needs were more likely to include friends or neighbors for providing transportation support. Results suggest that prioritization of needs enables seniors to maintain positive wellbeing despite experiencing functional limitations or being dependent on transportation services.
Responsibility and Environment
Authors: Hunecke Marcel , Blöbaum Anke , Matthies Ellen , Höger Rainer
Published: July 2003

In the domain of travel mode choice behavior, the interaction between ecological norm orientation and the external aspects “fare” and “subway station range” was investigated in an experimental field study. The ecological norm orientation is conceptualized based on the Schwartz theory on altruistic behavior, which is then applied to the environmental context. In a random sample of 160 persons, fare was experimentally manipulated by distributing free public transport tickets, whereas the station range was varied by selecting test participants at different distances from a station. Within the norm activation model, the mobility-specific personal ecological norm proves to be the strongest predictor of travel mode choice as recorded in standardized questionnaires. Reducing the fare by distributing free tickets has a quantitatively similar effect. The results suggest that the “economy-plus-moral” formula best describes the fact that the integrative mechanism (external factor fare plus normative ecological orientation) is the determinant of travel mode choice.
Environmental Attitudes as Predictors of Policy Support across Three Countries
Authors: Rauwald Kimberly S. , Moore Colleen F.
Published: July 2003

Stephen Kellert’s typology of attitudes and Dunlap and Van Liere’s New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) Scale represent two different approaches to environmental attitudes. Both approaches were used to predict policy support for environmental protection among college students in Trinidad, the Dominican Republic, and the United States. Results showed country and gender differences in the strength of environmental attitudes. Trinidadians showed the strongest proenvironmental attitudes on the NEP, and both Trinidadians and Dominicans showed stronger proenvironmental attitudes than Americans as indicated by both the NEP and the moralistic/aesthetic items derived from Kellert’s typology. The different attitude measures were differentially predictive of policy support in the three countries. Overall, the best predictors of support for environmentally protective policies were the NEP and Kellert’s Utilitarian factor. These results support the notion that combining the Kellert approach with Dunlap and Van Liere’s NEP does increase the predictability of environmental policy support.
Value Structures behind Proenvironmental Behavior
Authors: Nordlund Annika M. , Garvill Jörgen
Published: July 2003

The purpose of the study was to test a hierarchical model of the effects of general values, environmental values, problem awareness, and personal norms on general proenvironmental behavior. The model starts with the effects of the relatively stable structures of general values and moves toward effects of more specific environmental values, environmental problem awareness, and personal norms. A personal norm was expected to mediate the effects of values and problem awareness on proenvironmental behavior. Survey data from a Swedish sample of 1,400 individuals were used in a path analysis to test the model, which was supported, and the results showed that the personal norm could be seen as derived from self-transcendent and ecocentric values and activated by problem awareness. The personal norm mediated the effects from general values, environmental values, and problem awareness on proenvironmental behavior.
Is Scenic Beauty a Proxy for Acceptable Management?
Authors: Ribe Robert G.
Published: July 2003

Pacific Northwest mountain scenes tested whether perceptions of scenic beauty correspond to those of management acceptability, and for whom. A stratified sample of participants included those favoring resource protection, production, or neither. Scenes were rated for either scenic beauty or acceptability. All participants saw very beautiful scenes as acceptable, and the two rating types were correlated but diverged in ways corresponding to environmental attitudes. Participants with opposite attitudes rendered the two ratings in reversed ways: Those favoring resource production had lower standards for both qualities, rated acceptability higher than beauty, and saw ugly scenes as acceptable. Those favoring resource protection had higher standards for both qualities, rated acceptability lower than beauty, and needed beauty to see acceptable management. The nonaligned respondents were in between, judging the two qualities very similarly. Beauty can be a proxy for acceptability within homogeneous or general constituencies but only with careful interpretation across conflicting value orientations.
Environmental Enclosure in Urban Settings
Authors: Stamps Arthur E. , Smith Sandy
Published: July 2003

Enclosure is important because of neurological effects and the evolutionary theory of environmental perception and preference. This article reports on a study in which six physical features were found to account for 93% of the variance in judged enclosure for Parisian street scenes: picture format, proportions of views covered by walls, proportions of views covered by ground, average lightness of the scene, depth of view, and number of sides open at the front of the scene. Methodological and substantive implications for the evolutionary theory of environmental perception and preference are discussed.
Environmental Socialization
Authors: Bixler Robert D. , Floyd Myron F. , Hammitt William E.
Published: July 2003

Two studies with adolescent youth ( N = 1,376, N = 450) help clarify the relationship between childhood play experiences in wild environments and later environmental preferences in the life domains of work, leisure, and school. Respondents reporting having played in wild environments had more positive perceptions of natural environments, outdoor recreation activities, and future indoor/outdoor occupational environments. No significant differences were found for preferences for environmental sciences activities conducted in schools. Results suggest that childhood play in wildland environments is related to environmental competencies and preferences but not necessarily an intellectual interest in environmental sciences or environmentalism.
Traditional versus Open Office Design
Authors: Brennan Aoife , Chugh Jasdeep S. , Kline Theresa
Published: July 2003

Research in open office design has shown that it is negatively related to workers’ satisfaction with their physical environment and perceived productivity. A longitudinal study was conducted within a large private organization to investigatethe effects of relocating employees from traditional offices to open offices. A measure was constructed that assessed employees’satisfaction with the physical environment, physical stress, coworker relations, perceived job performance, and the use of open office protocols. The sample consisted of 21 employees who completed the surveys at all three measurement intervals: prior to the move, 4 weeks after the move, and 6 months after the move. Results indicated decreased employee satisfaction with all of the dependent measures following the relocation. Moreover, the employees’dissatisfaction did not abate, even after an adjustment period. Reasons for these findings are discussed and recommendations are presented.
The Role of Facility Managers in the Diffusion of Organizational Telecommuting
Authors: Karnowski Sabine , White Betty Jo
Published: July 2003

This study provides baseline data from a nationwide sample of telecommuting programs in organizations with facility managers. Based on Rogers’ Adoption/Diffusion Theory, the two-phase study revealed a 38% telework adoption rate. The data describe the telecommuting programs, their attributes, and resultant off-site work environments and central office changes. In conclusion, among U.S. organizations that employ facility managers, the rate of adoption of telecommuting is growing steadily, primarily in large, reengineered, and services-oriented firms. The perceived attributes of these programs are (a) their relative advantage as an effective informal method for organizations to attract and retain valued employees and (b) their compatibility with theorganization’s corporateculture. Thus far, thesamplefacility managers’limited involvement in the corporate decision to adopt telecommuting and in evaluating work environment outcomes may constrain their potential effectiveness as telework change agents.
Measurement and Determinants of Environmentally Significant Consumer Behavior
Authors: Gatersleben Birgitta , Steg Linda , Vlek Charles
Published: July 2003

Measures of proenvironmental behavior in psychological studies do not always reflect the actual environmental impact of a person or household. Therefore, the results of these studies provide little insight into variables that could be helpful in reducing household environmental impact. In this article, an environmentally significant measure of household consumer behavior (i.e., combined direct and indirect energy use) is presented and compared with a common social science measure of proenvironmental behavior (based on popular notions of environmentally significant behavior). Two large-scale field studies were conducted among representative samples of Dutch households. The results showed respondents who indicate they behave more proenvironmentally do not necessarily use less energy. Also, proenvironmental behavior is more strongly related to attitudinal variables, whereas household energy use is primarily related to variables such as income and household size. More multidisciplinary research seems necessary to identify variables that influence the actual environmental impact of household consumer behavior.
Attitudes and Behavior toward the Environment
Authors: Aytülkasapoğlu M. , Ecevit Mehmet C.
Published: July 2003

This article aims to identify the variables that appear to be most influential in motivating individuals to participate in environmentally responsible behavior in a western city of Turkey. The model of Hines, Hungerford, and Tomera (1986-1987) on responsible environmental behavior has been used in this research, and its findings are compared, discussed, and interpreted. The “contradictory” findings of our work could be considered to be involved in challenging and/or contributing to the referenced meta-analysis. The analysis is thought to extend its exploratory power by incorporating cross-cultural variables and conditions.
Effects of Species’ Characteristics on Nongovernmental Organizations’ Attitudes toward Species Conservation Policy
Authors: Knegtering Edo , Hendrickx Laurie , Van Der Windt Henny J. , Uiterkamp Anton J. M. Schoot
Published: July 2003

The authors examined the willingness of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to support public species conservation measures as a function of species characteristics, NGOs’interests, and interests harmed by the measures. In an experiment, 39 policy makers from nature conservation, mobility and recreation, and agriculture NGOs read 16 illustrated descriptions of indigenous animal species, which systematically varied across taxon, relative size, and rarity. The representatives rated the importance of species’ continued existence to their NGOs and their NGO’s support for hypothetical conservation measures for the species. The measures were either described as (a) harmful to the interests of representatives’own NGOs or (b) harmful to the interests of other NGOs. The judgments regarding the importance of species’ continued existence and support for conservation measures were found to differ across representatives’NGOs and to depend on taxon and relative size. Support for the measures also depended on the interests harmed (own versus another’s).
Consumers’ Environmental Behavior
Authors: Bratt Christopher
Published: July 2003

The means applied to promote environmentally friendly behavior need to be evaluated. This study investigates the possibility that actions meant to improve recycling may have unintended consequences in fields other than the target behavior. The relation between self-reported environmental behaviors in several sectors is studied, with particular attention given to the question of whether increased recycling may develop into a compensatory behavior for less environmentally friendly behavior elsewhere. Results from a survey, including approximately 1,500 Norwegian consumers, are presented. No tendencies toward compensatory behavior are detected. Furthermore, the survey does not indicate that the introduction of measures meant to increase recycling brings increased attitudinal support for compensatory behavior. At the same time, the survey supports the view that there is no “general” environmental behavior among consumers. On the other hand, the correlations between different behaviors increase when the behaviors in question become more similar.
Private Responses and Individual Action
Authors: McGee Tara K.
Published: July 2003

In 1992, chronic environmental lead contamination became an issue in the mining community of Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia. This article is based on a study completed between 1992 and 1996, which explored the nature of community responses, including coping responses, effects on health and well-being, and factors mediating the community response process. Community responses were characterized by private rather than public responses, and individual rather than collective actions. Stigma, relationships between mining companies and the community, and social undermining helped to shape the private nature of responses. The individual nature of responses was found to be significantly affected by cognitive responses, including perceived relevance, acceptance, social beliefs about the lead contamination, and attribution of responsibility; cultural factors; and interventions. The results indicate that to assist communities faced with such hazards, intervention programs must move beyond an individual focus and address social responses as well as the contamination itself.
Older Persons’ and Family Members’ Perceptions of Homeyness in Assisted Living
Authors: Marsden John P.
Published: July 2003

Assisted living has been promoted as a noninstitutional relocation choice offering personal care services for older persons in a residential or homelike context. Yet, it is unknown whether assisted living is actually perceived as homelike. A study was conducted to examine whether one aspect of assisted living—the exterior appearance—is perceived as homelike by older persons and family members. The study used color photographs of existing assisted living buildings, and participants were asked to evaluate the scenes in terms of homeyness. Findings indicate that three characteristics of the scenes were particularly salient in the evaluations: entries, building height, and sense of “institutional” or “homelike.” Older persons and family members showed strong agreement with respect to certain entries and features that reflected homelike character. Dissimilarities, however, also existed. In particular, older persons tended to favor sheltered entries on a small scale and newer buildings, whereas family members placed less emphasis on a one-story building height.
Reducing Solid Waste
Authors: Ebreo Angela , Hershey James , Vining Joanne
Published: July 2003

A survey of several communities was conducted to investigate the public’s response to solid waste issues. This study examines the relation between respondents’ beliefs about environmentally responsible consumerism and environmental attitudes, motives, and self-reported recycling behavior. The study addressed (a) the public’s perception of environment-related product attributes; (b) a sociodemographic characterization of environmentally concerned consumers; and (c) the depiction of the relations between attitudes, motives, recycling behavior, and environmental consumerism. The results indicated that respondents were most concerned about product toxicity and least concerned about product packaging. The data showed that only age and gender were predictive of respondents’ ratings. Several measures of general environmental concern, recycling attitudes, and recycling motives were found to be related to both categories of product attributes; when the measures were examined in combination, different measures were found to be related to each category. Respondents’ self-reported recycling behaviors were found to be related to source reduction and recycling.
Can Music Move People?
Authors: North Adrian C. , Hargreaves David J.
Published: July 2003

Previous research has suggested that music might influence the amount of time for which people are prepared to wait in a given environment. In an attempt to investigate the mechanisms underlying such effects, this study employed three levels of musical complexity and also a “no-music” condition. While one of these played in the background, participants were left to wait in a laboratory for the supposed start of an experiment. The results indicated that participants waited for the least amount of time during the no-music condition, and that there were no differences between the three music conditions. Other evidence indicated that this may be attributable to the music distracting participants’ attention from an internal timing mechanism. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for consumer behavior and research on the psychology of everyday life.