A Study of the New Environmental Paradigm Scale in the Context of Iran

Abstract

Industrial and technological change and increased urbanization has altered the face of nature. And nature is being consumed in the production of material goods. Environmental crises such as the condition of Lake Urumieh in north western Iran demonstrates that unregulated use of the natural environment disrupts ecosystems that threaten the survival of plant species, animals and humans. Environmental crises can be facilitated by human's inappropriate activities that occurs as the result of people's attitude to the environment. The aim of this paper is a revision of the New Environmental Paradigm and an evaluation on the NEP scale of the citizens of Tabriz. Results of exploration of related factors determined four dimensions, while evaluations determined by the Dunlap and Van Liere scale showed five dimensions. Average for the factor of citizen attitude in protecting the environment was determined as moderate. Also, there was difference for averages for the factor of citizen attitude to the environment according to gender. Results showed that women had a more supportive attitude than did men. The relationship between factors of education and economic prosperity to the environmental attitude is being shown a more supportive attitude to the environment under conditions of higher-level education and economic prosperity. Regression analysis showed that education explains approximately eleven percent of variance in terms of environmental attitude.