Abstract
Ecological behaviour and its impact on the environment are subjects of public concern and understanding individual behavioural measures to induce sustainable lifestyles is of extreme importance for policy makers to assess and promote sustainable mobility. To this end, a questionnaire with highly reliable items, evaluations of determinants and accurate measurements of ecological behaviour is a precondition for understanding the levers of behavioural change. This paper aims at an understanding of whether the dichotomous Rasch model provides a legitimate measurement of General Ecological Behaviour (GEB) using a 26-item questionnaire as a valid tool to assess the pro-environment behaviour of a large sample of users. A web questionnaire was administered using the snowball sampling plan in the Piedmont region (Italy), with a sample of 4473 respondents. The results suggest that using the dichotomous Rasch model, the proposed questionnaire is able to effectively measure the pro-environment behaviour of travellers. Unidimensionality, the perfect level of item reliability of 1, the very high item separation of 34.22, the absence of larger differential item functions, and the local independence are all good indicators of a valid model. This research shows how a good, validated, and reliable measurement of ecological behaviour would support public bodies in planning environment-focused transport policies thanks to the knowledge of which variables determine pro-environment behaviour. In addition, the proposed approach also allows us to measure the efficacy of the adopted policies.
Highlights
Accepted: 28 October 2021Ecological behaviour and the impact of human activities on the natural environment are subjects of public concern and have been largely studied in psychological research that underlines the importance of adopting more ecological behaviours or lifestyles [1,2].Ecological behaviour refers to actions that contribute towards environmental preservation and conservation [3,4]
The results suggest that using the dichotomous Rasch model, the proposed questionnaire is able to effectively measure the pro-environment behaviour of travellers
This study explores the potential of using the dichotomous Rasch model to analyse polytomous items for General Ecological Behaviour (GEB) attitude measurement
Summary
Accepted: 28 October 2021Ecological behaviour and the impact of human activities on the natural environment are subjects of public concern and have been largely studied in psychological research that underlines the importance of adopting more ecological behaviours or lifestyles [1,2].Ecological behaviour refers to actions that contribute towards environmental preservation and conservation [3,4]. That what people choose to do to reduce their environmental impact often does not match well with what research suggests they should do [5,6] This apparent lack of correspondence has brought into question the criterion validity of behavioural measures of ecological lifestyles [7,8]. In this regard, the proper measurement of the General Ecological Behaviour (GEB) of users can serve as a powerful tool for policy makers to implement and, to assess more userfocused policies supporting people in adopting daily ecological habits. A welldesigned GEB questionnaire, with proper items that match the real lifestyle habits of users, is a precondition and requires attention, considering different cultural and geographical contexts
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