This thesis focuses on pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors and the interactions between recycling behavior, food buying attitudes, food buying behaviors, and ecological beliefs. Following an introductory chapter, I present an article-length paper on recycling behavior to be submitted to Environment and Behavior. Data for this study came from a telephone survey of Tennessee residents (N=270). Using OLS regression analysis, I find that recycling behavior is significantly related to access to recycling facilities. I do not find a significant interaction effect between access to recycling facilities and willingness to recycle. I conclude by suggesting that pro-environmental policies need to make structural resources more available to all in order to promote recycling (and protect the environment in general). Positive attitudes alone do not get us very far. My additional thesis research goal of developing an accurate measure of ecological food buying attitudes and behaviors needs further work.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:38:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RaquelFD_DISSERT.pdf: 1009216 bytes, checksum: f857701876f550ec34f702bc663e127e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-30 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / The pro-ecological commitment (CPE) constitutes an important topic within Person- Environment Studies, here seen as a predisposition to practices that result in environmental protection. Under the framework of sustainability, the concept of sustainable behavior emerges, covering, in addition to CPE, new psychological dimensions such as: the future time perspective (PTF) and the ecological worldviews (VEM). The current study intended to explore the concept of sustainable behavior of university students, by means of the association among some of its dimensions: CPE, PTF and VEM. For this purpose, 380 undergraduate students of biology, ecology, nursing, geography, and social service answered a form containing: socio-demographic questionnaire, a question on self-assessment of environmental care, the Scale of Ecocentric and Anthropocentric Environmentalisms, the Scale Consideration of Future Consequences, and the Scale Ecological Worldviews. Based on descriptive and correlational procedures, it was found that 78% of the participants practice or have practiced environmental care (caregivers) and the spread of information has been the practice more frequently reported, and the source of influence for such practices were the school, social networks, and the contact with nature It was also observed the association between practice of environmental care and ecocentric environmentalism, consideration of future consequences and egalitarian worldview (worldview of fragile nature). The lack of environmental care was associated with anthropocentric environmentalism, apathy, and individualistic worldview (worldview of passivity). As expected, and suggested by the literature, positive association were found between the sustainable behavior dimensions investigated in this study and the practice of environmental care / O compromisso pr?-ecol?gico (CPE) se constitui como t?pico importante no ?mbito dos estudos pessoa-ambiente, sendo entendido como uma postura frente ?s quest?es ambientais que predisp?e pr?ticas que resultam na prote??o do meio ambiente. Sob o referencial da sustentabilidade, emerge a no??o de conduta sustent?vel que, al?m do CPE, abarca novas dimens?es psicol?gicas, entre elas: a perspectiva temporal de futuro (PTF) e as vis?es ecol?gicas de mundo (VEM). O presente estudo teve como objetivo geral explorar, com estudantes universit?rios, a no??o de conduta sustent?vel, por meio da associa??o entre algumas dimens?es que a comp?em: CPE, PTF e VEM. Para tanto, 380 alunos dos cursos de biologia, ecologia, enfermagem, geografia e servi?o social responderam a um formul?rio contendo: question?rio sociodemogr?fico, uma quest?o sobre auto-avalia??o da pr?tica de cuidado ambiental, a Escala de Ambientalismos Ecoc?ntrico e Antropoc?ntrico, a Escala de Considera??o de Consequ?ncias Futuras, e a Escala de Vis?es Ecol?gicas de Mundo. A partir das inter-rela??es entre vari?veis, feitas por via de procedimentos descritivos e correlacionais, observou-se que 78% dos participantes pratica ou j? praticou cuidado ambiental (cuidadores), tendo sido a propaga??o de informa??o a pr?tica mais frequentemente relatada, e a escola, o contato com a natureza e a rede social as influ?ncias recebidas para estas pr?ticas. Observou-se, tamb?m, a associa??o da pr?tica de cuidado ambiental com o ambientalismo ecoc?ntrico, a considera??o de consequ?ncias futuras e a vis?o de mundo igualit?ria (vis?o de natureza fr?gil). A aus?ncia de cuidado ambiental esteve associada com o ambientalismo antropoc?ntrico e a apatia, e com a vis?o ecol?gica de mundo individualista (vis?o passiva). Tal como esperado e sugerido na literatura, foi constatada a exist?ncia de associa??es positivas entre as dimens?es da conduta sustent?vel investigadas neste estudo e a pr?tica de cuidado ambiental