The Study of relationship between ecological literacy, social capital and social satisfaction with environmental concerns

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: The concept of environmental concern has been studied for many years with various theoretical background in the social sciences and psychology, but in recently years this concept separated from other concepts related to the environment and considered as a variable consisting of objective and subjective concepts and formed of horizontal and vertical dimensions. 
Material and methods: This manuscript  study the constructive components of the horizontal dimension of environmental concerns, including: emotional stimuli, cognitive components, behavioral will, and practical behavior according to Shafferin's theory. The statistical population of the research of Tabriz University students and its statistical sample was determined using 387 Cochran's formula and the quotas of all university faculties were examined using sampling. Data collection tools are questioners that using standard environmental assessment questions, social capital, and life satisfaction from previous research. Data analysis was performed with SPSS software.
 Resultes and discussion: The research findings show that the environmental concern of Tabriz University students is 37.17 and it is more than the average can be obtained. According to the findings there is a significant difference between the obtained average of men and women answers. The findings also show that the environmental literacy have standard coefficient 0.281 and has a significant relationship with students' environmental concerns, but the two variables satisfaction of life and social capital have not had a significant effect on the environmental concerns of students at Tabriz University.
 Conclusion: The type and extent of environmental concerns of individuals depends on their awareness of the processes of their living environment, so the most important factor in protecting the environment is to increase people's knowledge and ecological literacy.

Keywords


Adhami, A. and Akbarzadeh, A., 2011. Investigation of cultural factors affecting Tehran's environmental conservation (case study 5 and 18). Shooshtar Social Sciences. 12, 113-140.
Aghili, S.M.; Khoshfar, G. and Salehi, S., 2009. Social capital and responsible environmental behaviors in northern iran (case study: Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan Provinces). Journal of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. 16,
251-236.
Barry, J., 2001. Environment and Social Theory, Translated by Hassan Chavoshian. Environment Organization, Tehran, Iran.
Cassell, P., 1993. The Giddens Reader, Translated by Hassan Chavoshian. Gognous Press, Tehran, Iran.
Castells, M., 2005. The Information Age: Economics, Society and Culture, Volume 2 and 1, Translated by Hassan Chavoshian, Tarh e No publication, Tehran.
Chung, E. and Fischer, E., 2011. When conspicuous consumption becomes inconspicuous: the case of the migrant Hong Kong consumers. Journal of Consumer Marketing. 18, 474- 488.
Dahly, D.L. and Adir, L.S., 2007. Quantifying the urban environment :a scale measure of urbanicityoutperforms the urban-rural dichotomy. Social Science & Medicine. 64, 1407-1419.
Dunlap Riley, E., 2008. The new enviromental paradigm. Journal of Enviromental Education. 40(1), 3-18.
Farahmand, M., Shokoufifar, K. and Seyar Khalaj, H., 2015. Investigating social factors affecting environmental behaviors (case study: Citizens of Yazd). Urban Sociological Studies. 4(10), 109- 141. (In Persian).
Gelfand, M.J. and Triandis, .H.C., 1996. Individualism versus collectivism or versus authoritarianism. European Journal of social Psychology. 26, 397-410.
Giddens, A., 1999. Runaway World: How Globalization is Reshaping Our Lives. Taylor & Giddens, A.; 1990. The Consequences of Modernity. Stanford University Press, USA.
Hajilou, F., 2014. Sociological explanation of the ecological footprint and its affecting factors (case study of Tabriz City). Ph.D. Thesis, University of Isfahan, Iran.
Hung, H.; 2015. Media use, environmental beliefs, self-efficacy, and environmental behaviors. Journal of Business Research. 69(6), 2206-2212.
Khajenouri, B., Parnian, L. and Jafari, M. 2013. The study of the relationship between cultural
globalization and individualism and youth collectivism, The case study of shiraz. Applied Sociology. 4, 43-66.
Karimzadeh, S. and Salehi, S., 2010, Study of the relationship between environmental knowledge and environmental behaviors. Cultural Studies and Communication. 7(24), 159-173.
Milfont, T.L. and Duckitt, J., 2006. Preservation and utilization:understanding the structur of enviromental attitudes. Journal of Medio Ambiente y Comportamiento Humano. 7(1), 29-50.
Moharamdnejad, N. and Tehrani, M., 2010. A review of social theories and environmental management. Human and Environmental. 1, 3-11. (In Persian).
Navvah, A., Forutan Kia, S. and Portercaroni M., 2011. Investigating the relationship between religion level with citizens' values and environmental behaviors. Urban Sociological Studies. 1, 77-97. (In Persian).
Newton, J.D., Tsarenko, Y., Ferraro, C. and Sands, S., 2015. Environmental concern and environmental purchase intentions: the mediating role of learning strategy. Journal of Business Research. 68(9), 1974-1981.
Passy, F. and Giugni, M., 2001. Social networks and individual perceptions: explaining differential participation in social movements. Sociological Forum. 16(1), 123–153.
Pourjamshidi, H., Mahdizadeh, H., Gholamrezaii, S. and Shiri, N., 2017. Factors affecting the tendency to sustainable consumption behavior: the study of Khorramabad city. Quarterly Journal of Environmental Education and Sustainable
Development. 4, 55-64.
Pretty, J., 2003. Social capital and the collection management of recourse. Science. 302(5652),
1912-1914.
Putnam, R.D., 2001. Democracy and modern traditions. Translated by Mohammad Taghi Delforuz, Salam Publication, Tehran, Iran.
Qahraman, A., 2008. A Study of the concept of life satisfaction and its assessment among girls and boys students. Quarterly Journal of Culture and Society Youth Research. 4, 81-106.
Rafipour, F., 1999. Changing values in cinema and press mirrors. Culture and Communication Studies. 14, 26-30.
Rahadost, B., 2008. Phenomenology, environmental literacy. Journal of Aesthetics. 18, 124-109.
Roth, C.L., 1992. Enviromental lateracy :its roots, evolution and direction in the 1990s. ERIC Publications, Washington, DC, USA.
Salehi, S., Kabiri, A. and Karimzadeh, S., 2016. Investigating the role of gender in environmental orientation (case study: Shahroumieh). Journal of Urban Sociological Studies. 1, 149-161. (In Persian).
Sarmad, Z., Bazargan, A. and Hejazi, E., 2018. Research methods in behavioral sciences. Agah Publications, Tehran, Iran.
Satin, P., 2014. An Introduction to Environmental Sociology, Translated by Sadegh Salehi. Samt Publications, Tehran, Iran.
Schaffrin, A., 2011. No measure without concept. A critical review on the conceptualization and measurement of environmental concern. International Review of Social Research. 1(3), 12-30.
Sheth, J., Nirmal, N., Sethia, K. and Shanthi, S., 2011. Mindful consumption: a customer-centric approach to sustainability. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. 39, 21–39.
Shirani Bidabadi, E., Larijani, M. and Faraj Elahi, M., 2013. the effect of urban environmental education on valuation and environmental behavior of middle school female students in district 5 of Isfahan Province. Environmental education and sustainable development. 4(2), 30-37.
Vaghafi, A. and Haghighatian, M.S., 2013. Investigating the impact of cultural capital (institutional dimension) on environmental social behaviors with sustainable urban development approach (case study: Shiraz City). Journal of
Urban Economics and Management. 8, 65-47.