Place attachment is a term used to refer to people's relationships with specific places. A number of studies have been conducted on the relationship between people's place attachment and their pro-environment behavior, many of which have used varying constructs of what motivates and comprises place attachment. This study methodically identified the distinct constructs of place attachment as place dependence, place identity, place affect and place social bonding. From this foundation, the study's primary questions were: (1) What is the relationship of each dimension of place attachment with place satisfaction? (2) What is the relationship of each dimension of place attachment with pro-environmental behavioral intentions? (3) Does place satisfaction predict pro-environmental behavioral intentions?
The popular Dandenong Ranges National Park in Victoria, Australia was selected as the site for data collection. Over the course of fourth months, researchers invited visitors at four locations in the park to participate in the study. The survey utilized, and modified where needed, existing measurement tools to result in 13 items measuring the four dimensions of place attachment, three items measuring place satisfaction, and ten items measuring pro-environmental behavior.
The study results indicate that the distinct dimensions of place attachment influence both place satisfaction and pro-environment behavioral intentions differently. The results also suggest that it is necessary to discern between low and high effort pro-environmental behavioral intentions. Place identity was not found to be associated with either type of behavior intention, a result the researchers largely attributed to the specific attributes of this study's site. Place satisfaction was found to be associated with low effort pro-environmental behavioral intentions such as properly disposing of waste. Place affect was found to be significantly associated with place satisfaction as well as both low and high environmental behavioral intentions and was the strongest predictor of environmental behavior intentions. A significant association was also identified between low and high effort intentions for environmental behavior, with a “positive spill-over of low effort on to high effort,” which was attributed to both behaviors having the same motivational origin.
The study suggests the important opportunity for environmental educators, land managers, and others interested in cultivating environmentally responsible behavior to emphasize the creation of “emotional attachment, a sense of belonging, and enhanced personal meaning” in their approaches to connecting people with the natural world.
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