Reviews of research on the attitude–behavior relationship and their implications for future environmental education research

Abstract

Since the early days of the field, attitude-behavior (A-B) relationships have received sustained attention in the evaluation and researching of environmental education (EE). This level of interest extends beyond the field's scope though, in part due to a certain reliance on theoretical and empirical assertions which claim that attitudes serve as a strong precursor and/or predictor of behavior. In this paper, we consider reviews of studies on the A-B relationship in EE and other fields that routinely challenge such assumptions, leading to the questioning of corresponding foci and commitments for research, evaluation, practice, and development. With key findings from these studies in hand, we highlight several insights that may be useful for dispelling some of the folklore about what matters in, and what can be argued with, A-B studies, if we are to develop the design, conduct, reporting, and critique of studies and practices of EE reliant on such relationships. KEYWORDS Attitudes and behavior; research design principles; research findings; research claims; quality use of evidence On the one hand, many of the goals of the field frequently cite the need to change both attitudes and behaviors, argued from a range of perspectives and positions on what EE is (really) for. On the other, there are questions about what EE is (actually) able to achieve, through ideal, innovative, current, or past forms of its provision. Put starkly, on both sides, EE is understood as a tool that variously enables others to become something other than they were, are or might become, which in this case, usually means using theory and evidence to argue for deepening or reworking the relationship between particular attitudes and behaviors, and/or adopting or promoting more environmentally responsible ones and patternings than those in existence before. Unsurprisingly, hundreds of assessment, evaluation, and research studies in EE have explored and assessed the status and significance of A-B relationships in theory and practice, including some of the most cited and discussed papers and reviews in this field (

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