Predictors of Responsible Behavior in Members of Three Wisconsin Conservation Organizations

Abstract

Wisconsin members of Trout Unlimited (TU), Ducks Unlimited (DU), and the Wisconsin Trappers' Association (WTA) were surveyed to assess the most parsimonious sets of eight selected variables that best predicted responsible environmental behavior and to what extent these sets of variables differed from the most parsimonious set of predictors of responsible environmental behavior in a selected Sierra Club sample. The most parsimonious set of variables best predicting overt responsible environmental behavior of the TU sample consisted of perceived skill in using environmental action strategies (SKILL) and level of environmental sensitivity (LES, total R ¹ − .1513). For the DU sample, the most parsimonious set of predictors consisted of SKILL and individual locus of control (total R² = .2077). For the WTA sample, the most parsimonious set of predictors consisted of SKILL, LES, and group locus of control (total R ² = .5023). The most parsimonious set of predictor variables for the selected Sierra Club sample consisted of SKILL and LES (total R ¹ = .4000).

We concluded that perceived skill in using environmental action strategies, level of environmental sensitivity, and locus of control appear to be important factors in the development of responsible environmental behavior in the populations sampled. It was recommended that these variables be addressed in formal and nonformal environmental education programs, where appropriate. Research recommendations called for assessment of predictors of responsible environmental behavior in other populations and an attempt to identify variables accounting for the remaining variance in the populations sampled.