Investigating the impact of media on preventive behaviors against global climate change

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Professor of Development Sociology, Mazandaran University, Babolsar, Iran.

2 PhD in Sociology from Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Global climate change is one of the most important environmental risks, which various dimensions of it have been studied. The present study examined the impact of the media on people's knowledge and attitudes about climate change and their impact on environmental behaviors. The research was conducted using a survey method and a questionnaire. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire were assessed by conducting a preliminary test with the participation of 50 citizens. The research sample consisted of 150 residents of Tehran who were selected using a non-probability quota sampling method. Based on the results of the statistical tests, only one of the hypotheses was accepted. No significant difference was found between different media in influencing knowledge and attitude. Also, the relationships between basic knowledge, applied knowledge, and perceived risk with environmental behaviors were not significant, but a positive and significant relationship was proven between perceived efficiency and environmental behavior. The coefficient of determination was 0.049, meaning that 4.9 percent of the changes in environmental behavior can be explained by the variable of perceived efficacy. Then, possible reasons for the rejection of the hypotheses were discussed, and finally, suggestions were made for practical planning in this field and for future research investigations.

Keywords


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