The present study examined the processes by which children acquire pro-environmental behaviours in different cultures. Our focus was on parental influence. Several studies have been conducted on adults' environmental behaviours; however, we know little about how children's environmental attitudes and behaviours are formed. We conducted a questionnaire survey with elementary school children and one of their parents in Germany and Japan. Two hundred and twenty-one pairs participated in Germany and 365 in Japan. The results of structural equation modelling showed that parents' behaviours affected children's environmental behaviours directly and also via the subjective norm (the children's experienced expectations of their parents). A comparison of the two countries revealed that hypothesized cultural differences between the impact of personal norms and subjective norms were clearer for adults. The results also showed that the effects of subjective norms were stronger for children, indicating that children are more likely to be influenced by expectations of others. The results of the study suggest that for promoting children's environmental behaviours, showing the behaviours in daily life would be most effective. Perceived behavioral control SubjecƟve norm/ family pPN1 G 0.75 J 0.54 G 0.82 J 0.88 pB1 pB2 G 0.78 J 0.90 G 0.95 J 0.78 pPN2 Figure 4 The result of multi-group model between Germany and Japan for parents' behaviour. Note. 1 *p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05. 2 Country: G = Germany, J = Japan. 3 Model fit: χ 2 (10) = 30.43, GFI = 0.982, AGFI = 0.924, CFI = 0.984, RMSEA = 0.059. 4 The significantly larger path coefficients are framed by rectangles.

This study examined why people accepted a demanding rule in a recycling system that was newly introduced in Nagoya City. We focused on two social psychological topics: social dilemmas and fairness. While the new system succeeded in reducing waste, it imposed a burden on citizens without providing incentives and sanctions. In a research survey, 1442 responses from a sample of 3000 (48% response rate) were obtained using a stratified sampling method. The results showed that the new recycling system was approved despite the demands placed on citizens, with a preference for more strict rules such as penalties and surveillance for noncompliance. The main determinants of approval of the new recycling system were social benefit and procedural fairness, whereas the main determinant of preference for strict rules was outcome fairness. We argue that (a) social benefit should be emphasized to facilitate cooperative behavior in a social dilemma situation and (b) the government should ensure sufficient discussion with citizens and acknowledgment of their opinions.

Research has demonstrated the environmentally conscious behavior of parents and caregivers acts as a social influence that produces environmentally conscious behavior in their children, and also has an effect on their children's cost-benefit evaluations and social norm evaluations. The present study examined the personal norms for producing continuous environmentally conscious behavior, and two social norms that form the personal norms, which are categorized as descriptive and subjective norms. The results of this study suggest that the subjective norm formed the personal norm. Furthermore, the parents' normative social influences affected the personal norm through the subjective norm, and the parents' behavior affected their children's environmentally conscious behavior through the descriptive norm.

No abstract

No abstract