Searching for the New Behavioral Model in Energy Transition Age: Analyzing the Forward and Reverse Causal Relationships between Belief, Attitude, and Behavior in Nuclear Policy across Countries

Byoung Joon Kim, Seoyong Kim, Youngcheoul Kang and Sohee Kim
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Byoung Joon Kim: Department of Public Administration, Kookmin University, Seoul 02707, Korea
Seoyong Kim: Department of Public Administration, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea
Youngcheoul Kang: Graduate School of Public Administration, Korea University, Sejong 30019, Korea
Sohee Kim: Research Center for Energy Transformation Policy, Social Science Research Institute, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 11, 1-24

Abstract: This study aims to analyze the forward/reverse causal relationships between belief (risk perception), attitude (judgment), and behavior (acceptance). A traditional view stresses forward causal relationships between the three variables. However, recently, several studies have reported the possibility of reverse causal relationships between them. Based on survey data collected from 1027 Korean/Japanese participants, here we test not only the forward or reverse relationships between these three variables, but also how such causal relationships depend on the trust and country contexts (Korea and Japan in this study). The results showed that, first, not only a general forward causal relationship but also reverse causal relationship exists between belief, attitude, and behavior. Second, there exist the moderated mediation and mediated moderation effect of trust in government and media across two countries. Third, the effects of trust in government and media work significantly overall. However, the patterns of interaction effects differ between two countries. The level of trust in the government influenced the belief and attitude of citizens in Japan more than in Korea. However, the level of trust in the media showed opposite results.

Keywords: nuclear energy perception; the effect of trust; conflict resolution model; comparative analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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