2017年
Practice of Environmentally Significant Behaviours in Rural China: From Being Motivated by Economic Gains to Being Motivated by Environmental Considerations
Behavioral Sciences
- 巻
- 7
- 号
- 3
- 開始ページ
- article number: 59
- 終了ページ
- 記述言語
- 英語
- 掲載種別
- 研究論文(学術雑誌)
A continuous and increasing crisis that present-day China is facing is environmental<br />
degradation. The cultivation of citizens who have environmentally friendly behaviours has<br />
been deemed as a fundamental way to solve environmental crises. However, the main focus of<br />
environmentalism studies has been urban residents, whereas rare research attention was put on<br />
rural Chinese. This paper focuses on environmentally significant behaviours in rural China and<br />
aims to clarify the practice of five environmentally significant behaviours and two motivations<br />
underlying these behaviours. In total, 508 rural residents in 51 villages of Ningyang county were<br />
interviewed. Analytical results derived from survey data showed that environmentally significant<br />
behaviours are widely conducted in rural areas. However, these behaviours are mainly motivated by<br />
economic gains rather than environmental considerations. In addition, based on the norm-activation<br />
theory and considering the influences of demographic factors, the formation of environmentally<br />
motivated behaviours were quantitatively analysed. Analytical results indicated that the more people<br />
worried about environmental deterioration, the more likely they were to form environmentally<br />
motivated behaviours, and people who ascribe the most important environmental responsibility to<br />
the government are less likely to form environmentally motivated behaviours. Increasing people’s<br />
anxiety towards the environment, decreasing people’s dependency on the government in protecting<br />
the environment, and using females, the elderly, and people with low income and education levels as<br />
the main targets of environmental education are suggested to promote environmentally motivated<br />
behaviours in rural China.
degradation. The cultivation of citizens who have environmentally friendly behaviours has<br />
been deemed as a fundamental way to solve environmental crises. However, the main focus of<br />
environmentalism studies has been urban residents, whereas rare research attention was put on<br />
rural Chinese. This paper focuses on environmentally significant behaviours in rural China and<br />
aims to clarify the practice of five environmentally significant behaviours and two motivations<br />
underlying these behaviours. In total, 508 rural residents in 51 villages of Ningyang county were<br />
interviewed. Analytical results derived from survey data showed that environmentally significant<br />
behaviours are widely conducted in rural areas. However, these behaviours are mainly motivated by<br />
economic gains rather than environmental considerations. In addition, based on the norm-activation<br />
theory and considering the influences of demographic factors, the formation of environmentally<br />
motivated behaviours were quantitatively analysed. Analytical results indicated that the more people<br />
worried about environmental deterioration, the more likely they were to form environmentally<br />
motivated behaviours, and people who ascribe the most important environmental responsibility to<br />
the government are less likely to form environmentally motivated behaviours. Increasing people’s<br />
anxiety towards the environment, decreasing people’s dependency on the government in protecting<br />
the environment, and using females, the elderly, and people with low income and education levels as<br />
the main targets of environmental education are suggested to promote environmentally motivated<br />
behaviours in rural China.