Culture and Sampling Issues With “Green” Attitude Research

Abstract

Research on environmental attitudes may be affected by three methodological issues. First, country culture can influence green attitudes. This research found that environmental attitudes in countries with distinctive power distance, individualistic, or indulgent cultures tended to differ from the attitudes in other countries. Second, many green studies use convenience samples of students. Student responses often differ from the general public’s responses. The problem of relying on student samples is illustrated by the second study of cultural effects. Third, social desirability bias can inflate self-reported green attitudes and needs to be controlled. Although the consequences of social desirability bias may not be appreciated by some researchers, many businesses understand the effects and are waiting for consumer behaviors to catch up with their self-reported attitudes. By improving survey methodologies, green researchers can provide better insights to businesses and policy makers about the state of the gap between consumer attitudes and behaviors.