Based on questionnaire survey and interviews, this paper analyzed socio-demographic and psychological mechanisms of the attitude of the Chinese public to the policy of prohibiting using thin and costless plastic bags by using path analysis method. It is found that among four socio-demographic variables (sex, age, family income, and educational level), only educational level was positively and significantly correlated with the attitude, explaining 0.9% of the variances in the attitude. Psychological variables could predict the attitude much better than socio-demographic variables. Collectivism and environmental value were the antecedents of the attitude, explaining 6.3% of the variance. Environmental value was followed by collectivism, postmaterialist value orientation, general environmental knowledge, and plastic bags-specific environmental knowledge. It is found as well that the attitude to the policy of prohibiting using thin and costless plastic bags could predict the intention of buyers to bring shopping bags by themselves. It is argued that environmental attitude-behavior theories derived from western social practices can be used in China. However, it is necessary to understand the peculiarities of environmental attitudes and behaviors in transitional China with the public having changing and unstable world outlooks and environmental values, and to develop China-specific models since western models are based on stable social cognition of environmental problems.
CHANG Genying, LI Man, XI Yahong, LIU Shupeng
. Factors Affecting the Attitude of the Chinese Public to the Policy of Prohibiting Using Thin and Costless Plastic Bags[J]. PROGRESS IN GEOGRAPHY, 2011
, 30(2)
: 179
-185
.
DOI: 10.11820/dlkxjz.2011.02.007
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