To shine or not to shine? – The relationship between environmental knowledge of preteens and their choice among plastic and non-plastic materials for a manual task

Abstract

Since education aims to offer applicable knowledge, studying knowledge–behavior relationship is of key importance in promoting environmental education. But there is scarcity of studies addressing the relationship between knowledge and real behavior choices. We examined the connection between environmental knowledge and behavior (self-reported and measured in an operative way) among 10-12-year-old students, with special focus on the potential mediating role of attitudes. The main research question was whether knowledge (measured with an achievement test) correlates with actual environmental behavior, and how mental accessibility of environmentalism is related to the relationship between knowledge and actual behavior (i.e. choosing a material for completing a manual task). The study with 325 persons revealed that although the positive connection between knowledge and self-reported behavior was fully mediated by environmental attitudes, knowledge was just slightly related to actual behavior, even when the topic of environmentalism appeared before the behavior choice. However, behavior was related to school, suggesting that school-level socialization (beyond the knowledge transfer) is highly influential in forming environmental behavior. The difficulties of studying actual behavior and implications of our findings for practitioners from the field of environmental education are discussed.

Keywords:

• environmental knowledge
• environmental attitudes
• pro-environmental behavior
• accessibility of knowledge

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Judit Kovács

Judit Kovács, PhD, Dr. habil., is a social psychologist, an associate professor at the Institute of Psychology, University of Debrecen. She studies cooperation, and her research interests include promoting pro-environmental behavior.

Dóra Medvés

Dóra Medvés, PhD, her research is dedicated to promoting pro-environmental behavior.

József Pántya

József Pántya, PhD, studies socially responsible behavior, including pro-environmental behavior.