Reviews of research on the attitude–behavior relationship and their implications for future environmental education research

Abstract Since the early days of the field, attitude–behavior (A–B) relationships have received sustained attention in the evaluation and researching of environmental education (EE). This level of interest extends beyond the field’s scope though, in part due to a certain reliance on theoretical and empirical assertions which claim that attitudes serve as a strong precursor and/or predictor of behavior. In this paper, we consider reviews of studies on the A–B relationship in EE and other fields that routinely challenge such assumptions, leading to the questioning of corresponding foci and commitments for research, evaluation, practice, and development. With key findings from these studies to hand, we highlight several insights that may be useful for dispelling some of the folklore about what matters in, and what can be argued with, A–B studies, if we are to develop the design, conduct, reporting, and critique of studies and practices of EE reliant on such relationships.

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