• DOI:10.1111/0022-4537.00175
• Corpus ID: 5018908

New Environmental Theories: Toward a Coherent Theory of Environmentally Significant Behavior

@article{Stern2000NewET,
  title={New Environmental Theories: Toward a Coherent Theory of Environmentally Significant Behavior},
  author={Paul C. Stern},
  journal={Journal of Social Issues},
  year={2000},
  volume={56},
  pages={407-424}
}

• P. Stern
• Published 2000
• Business, Psychology
• Journal of Social Issues

This article develops a conceptual framework for advancing theories of environmentally significant individual behavior and reports on the attempts of the author’s research group and others to develop such a theory. It discusses definitions of environmentally significant behavior; classifies the behaviors and their causes; assesses theories of environmentalism, focusing especially on value-belief-norm theory; evaluates the relationship between environmental concern and behavior; and summarizes evidence on the factors that determine environmentally significant behaviors and that can effectively alter them. The article concludes by presenting some major propositions supported by available research and some principles for guiding future research and informing the design of behavioral programs for environmental protection. Recent developments in theory and research give hope for building the understanding needed to effectively alter human behaviors that contribute to environmental problems. This article develops a conceptual framework for the theory of environmentally significant individual behavior, reports on developments toward such a theory, and addresses five issues critical to building a theory that can inform efforts to promote proenvironmental behavior.