Sustainability behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge: comparing university students and the general public

Caitlin K. Kirby () and Adam Zwickle
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Caitlin K. Kirby: Michigan State University
Adam Zwickle: Michigan State University

Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 2021, vol. 11, issue 4, No 10, 639-647

Abstract: Abstract Sustainability science integrates many academic fields, requiring a broad understanding of diverse scientific concepts. Additionally, its focus on real-world issues means that researchers must also understand sustainability behaviors and attitudes. Research in this area, however, has primarily been conducted on university students with no demonstration of the generalizability of these findings. We compare the results from sustainability measures of behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge administered to a sample of university students (n = 1710) and the general public (n = 418). Independent t-tests revealed that university students reported significantly more sustainability behaviors, stronger attitudes, and greater knowledge than the general public sample. Demographic variables explained less variance in our outcome variables among the general public, suggesting that the factors that contribute to greater sustainability behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge differ between students and non-students. We suggest that sustainability scientists use caution when generalizing results obtained from university student samples.

Keywords: Sustainability; Generalizability; Attitudes; Behavior; Knowledge (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1007/s13412-021-00717-x

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