Extending the concept of pro-environmental action and behaviour: a binary perspective

• Main Author: Syed Abdullah, Sharifah Intan Sharina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 2020
• Online Access: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88935/1/PRO.pdf; http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88935/; https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13504622.2020.1850645

Many studies have explored pro-environmental actions. This paper aims to extend the concept of pro-environmental action in the context of binary themes or perspectives. The extended conceptualisation is drawn from a study that investigates the influence of residential outdoor environmental education courses on Malaysian participants’ environmental attitudes and behaviours using a life history approach. Data analysis revealed six binary pro-environmental actions: conforming/transforming action, compulsory/optional action, intentional/unintentional action, public/private sphere action, activist/non-activist action, and biospheric/anthropocentric-oriented action. The binary actions presented in this paper pull together all of the binary themes, both pre-existing ones and those emerging from the current study data. The paper provides recommendations about how one can contribute to environmental quality and positively impact the sustainable development agenda.