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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Environmental Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1481087

Developing a specific model to Exploring the Determinant of Individuals' Attitude Towards

Provisionally accepted
Rahim Maleknia Rahim Maleknia 1*Reza Azizi Reza Azizi 2
  • 1 Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran
  • 2 Behbahan Khatam Alanbia University of Technology, Behbahan, Khuzestan, Iran

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In the context of forest conservation, individuals' attitude can significantly influence their intentions and subsequent behaviors towards conserving forests. However, there is a research gap when it comes to understanding the determinants of individuals' attitude towards forests conservation. To address this gap, the present study aimed to investigate the influence of variables associated with values from value-belief-norm theory, awareness of consequences, and ascription of responsibility from norm activation model on individuals' attitudes as main determinant of behavior intention. The Data of study was collected from a sample of 200 students from Behbahan University, Iran.. through a questionnaire designed specifically for this purpose. The validity and reliability of questionnaire were confirmed. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the collected data. The findings of the study revealed that the examined variables were able to describe 88.6% of the variance in individuals' attitude towards forest conservation. Specifically, it was found that biospheric (ƛ= 0.097) and altruistic (ƛ= 0.385) values, ascription of responsibility (ƛ= 0.150), and awareness of consequences (ƛ= 0.380) had significant and positive effects on individuals' attitude towards forest conservation. On the other hand, egoistic values exhibited a significant and negative impact (ƛ= -0.071) on individuals' attitude. These research findings hold significant implications for planners and policymakers involved in forest conservation efforts. By understanding the factors that shape individuals' conservation attitudes, decision-makers can develop targeted strategies and interventions to strengthen positive attitudes towards forest conservation. Given the positive influence of biospheric values and awareness of consequences, developing awareness-raising programs to enhance individuals' environmental knowledge and the awareness of outcomes of their conservation actions can be considered as strategy to strengthen public's attitude and improvement their participation in forest conservation projects.

    Keywords: Participatory forest conservation, environmental awareness, Environmental responsibility, biospheric values, Zagros forests

    Received: 16 Aug 2024; Accepted: 03 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Maleknia and Azizi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Rahim Maleknia, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran

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