Perceived Air Pollution Research Articles

Anxiety, locus of control and appraisal of air pollution.

100 residents of Santiago de Chile took part in a study of the relationship among locus of control, trait-anxiety, and perception of air pollution. Concern over the problem of atmospheric pollution and number of antipollution measures taken was related to trait-anxiety. Locus of control was associated with variation in awareness of pollution hazard.

Perception of air pollution in a developing country.

(1976). Perception of Air Pollution in a Developing Country. Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association: Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 139-141.

A Human-Ecological Approach to the Reality and Perception of Air Pollution: The Los Angeles Case

A Human-Ecological Approach to the Reality and Perception of Air Pollution: The Los Angeles Case

Public attitudes toward air pollution as a motivational factor in taking action

The public will probably play a major role in determining future programs to combat air pollution. Thus, a major task in any community is to stimulate public acceptance of the responsibility to take some kind of action. This study was conducted to investigate the attitudes of a metropolitan population toward air pollution and to attempt to measure in a crude way that public's willingness to take action. Data were collected by personal interview from 562 adult respondents living in Salt Lake City, Utah, which is surrounded by lofty mountains. High pressure areas frequently form an inversion which holds the air on the valley floor. The air quickly becomes polluted when it cannot escape. A health behavior model, formulated by Irwin Rosenstock, was used as a frame of reference in determining how residents perceive the pollution problem and its probable consequences in relation to their health. Willingness to donate money from one's own resources in an effort to reduce the problem was used as a measure of concern. Those most willing to donate money to combat air pollution were residents who perceived air pollution to be a serious problem in this community; who were personally bothered by it; who were concerned for their family's health, and who had confidence that the problem could be eliminated, or at least reduced by our technical expertise. Demographically, they were the more highly educated males working in high status occupations. The findings of this study suggest the potential usefulness of the model in designing community programs to reduce air pollution.

Toward a "definitional model" of public perceptions of air pollution.

From a public attitudinal survey conducted in a city in Southwest Pennsylvania, different levels or aspects of public perceptions of air pollution are suggested. This “model” of public definitions of air pollution was analyzed in terms of selected social characteristics such as education, socioeconomic status, sex, residence, etc., in the attempt to isolate factors that may influence a person’s perception of air pollution. The definition of air pollution involves a whole host of factors, but it appears that level of education, socioeconomic status, and residence have the most influence in terms of the various meanings attached to air pollution. Modification and clarification of the model through further research may enable more insight of public awareness and concern with air pollution as an urban problem.