Attitudinal determinants of environmentally responsible behavior

A study was conducted to investigate how voluntary simplicity lifestyle (VSL), hedonism and anti-materialism affect environmentally responsible behavior (ERB). Questionnaires containing multi-item 5-point or 7-point scales of ERB, VSL, hedonism and anti-materialism were administered to 130 undergraduates (51 males and 79 females). Factor analysis was applied to each of the scales. The VSL scale yielded two factors: 1) Careful shopping attitudes intended for long-term use and 2) self-sufficiency oriented attitudes. A measure of positive attitudes toward ERB was also obtained from this VSL scale. Multiple regression analysis was carried out on ERB, with other indices entered simultaneously as predictors. Results indicate that careful shopping attitudes in-tended for long-term use and positive attitudes toward ERB make a substantial contribution to ERB.