Predicting Intent to Conserve Freshwater Resources Using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)

Abstract

Freshwater resources are being rapidly depleted by unsustainable human activities in the United States (U.S.), causing concern for water security. If individuals were targeted with appropriate information, public engagement in water conservation may increase. Political affiliation and ideology may play a role in grouping individuals based on their engagement in water conservation, as environmental issues are politically contentious in the U.S. The purpose of the study was to determine if political affiliation, political ideology, and theory of planned behavior variables related to water conservation predicted intent to engage in water conservation. Data were collected from 1049 U.S. residents using non-probability opt-in sampling methods. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the data via the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 26. The results from a multiple linear regression model revealed that political affiliation, political ideology, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control predicted 27.5% of variance in respondents’ intent to engage in water conservation; however, the variance accounted for was mostly attributed to theory of planned behavior variables. The findings have implications for environmental communication, namely focusing on increasing subjective norms towards water conservation.

The Role of the Theory of Planned Behavior in Explaining the Energy-Saving Behaviors of High School Students with Physical Impairments

“…Perceived behavioral control and intentions then determine behavior. Previous studies have used TPB to explain an individual’s participation in a variety of behaviors, including health behaviors [ 38 ], resource conservation [ 39 , 40 ], and safe environmental practices [ 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ].…”

Understanding Medical Students’ Perceptions of and Behavioral Intentions toward Learning Artificial Intelligence: A Survey Study

“…As stated by Ajzen [16] (p. 315), "a favorable attitude and a supportive subjective norm provide the motivation to engage in the behavior but a concrete intention to do so is formed only when perceived control over the behavior is sufficiently strong". According to a range of synthesis works with respect to the TPB (for syntheses of some of this research, see [17][18][19][20][21]), those three factors have unfailingly accounted for the variances in BI in various contexts such as choice of travel mode [22], environmental protection [23,24], healthcare [25,26], educational studies [27,28] and technology adoption [29,30]. Framework of the TPB (Adapted from [31]).…”

They Are Just Light Bulbs, Right? The Personality Antecedents of Household Energy-Saving Behavioral Intentions among Young Millennials and Gen Z

“…The reasoned action theories (e.g., the theory of planned behaviors (TPB)) have been widely employed in ecological contexts. For instance, in a survey study, Gibson et al [ 16 ] applied the TPB to explore the determinants of US residents’ behavioral intention to conserve water resources; the results indicated that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control were positively correlated with behavioral intention. Kaiser et al [ 17 ] surveyed 468 university students and found that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control significantly predicted their behavioral intention to perform conservation behaviors (e.g., stop using a clothes dryer), providing support for the explanatory power of TPB.…”