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Relations among Pro-Environmental Behavior, Environmental Knowledge, Environmental Perception, and Post-Materialistic Values in China

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  • Jinchen Xie

    (Department of Sociology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China)

  • Chuntian Lu

    (Department of Sociology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China)

Abstract

During the economic boom, China’s government was mainly concerned with economic development; however, numerous environmental problems have arisen. Evidence suggests that Chinese individuals’ pro-environmental behavior (PEB) is at a low level in Asia. However, it does not match their high-quality environmental knowledge. In this paper, the database of the Chinese General Social Survey was used to explore the correlation between environmental knowledge and PEB in a broader context. Subsequently, environmental perception and post-materialistic values (PMV) were taken as the mediator and moderator into structural equation modeling, and every variable kept robust and consistent through exploratory factor analysis. The empirical results indicated that: (i) individuals with higher environmental knowledge always show higher passion to PEB; (ii) environmental perception plays a partially mediating role between environmental knowledge and PEB; (iii) PMV moderate the formation of environmental behavior systematically; and (iv) compared with public counterpart, the relation between environmental knowledge and PEB is significantly higher in private environmental behavior. The study results could become the basis for the Chinese government and environmental NGOs to effectively spread environmental knowledge, advocate a post-materialistic lifestyle, and improve the authenticity of online media reports on environmental issues.

Suggested Citation

  • Jinchen Xie & Chuntian Lu, 2022. "Relations among Pro-Environmental Behavior, Environmental Knowledge, Environmental Perception, and Post-Materialistic Values in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-11, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:1:p:537-:d:717297
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Xiaodong Yang & Liang Chen & Lai Wei & Qi Su, 2020. "Personal and Media Factors Related to Citizens’ Pro-environmental Behavioral Intention against Haze in China: A Moderating Analysis of TPB," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-18, March.
    2. Huagui Guo & Jiemin Liu & Jing Wei, 2021. "Ambient Ozone, PM 1 and Female Lung Cancer Incidence in 436 Chinese Counties," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-14, October.
    3. Hongyi Sun & Pei‐Lee Teh & Jonathan D. Linton, 2018. "Impact of environmental knowledge and product quality on student attitude toward products with recycled/remanufactured content: Implications for environmental education and green manufacturing," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(7), pages 935-945, November.
    4. Aldieri, Luigi & Makkonen, Teemu & Paolo Vinci, Concetto, 2020. "Environmental knowledge spillovers and productivity: A patent analysis for large international firms in the energy, water and land resources fields," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
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    1. Yan Ding & Minyan Zhao & Zehong Li & Bing Xia & Zhanna Atutova & Dmitry Kobylkin, 2022. "Impact of Education for Sustainable Development on Cognition, Emotion, and Behavior in Protected Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-21, August.
    2. Mykolas Simas Poškus, 2024. "Testing the simple model of environmental citizenship in a sample of adolescents," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. Yongliang Yang & Yuting Zhu & Xiaopeng Wang & Yi Li, 2022. "The Perception of Environmental Information Disclosure on Rural Residents’ Pro-Environmental Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-22, June.
    4. Zeng Yu & Sofian Rosbi & Mohammad Harith Amlus, 2024. "Mechanisms of Media Persuasion and Positive Internet Word-of-Mouth Driving Green Purchasing Behavior: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-22, July.
    5. Yilin Sun & Li Zhu & Ni Zhang & Honglin Wu & Quhan Chen & Haolong Wang, 2024. "Study on Pro-Environmental Behavior to Enhance Rural Social-Ecological Resilience: The Role of Place Identity and Social Cohesion as Mediating Mechanisms," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-26, December.

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