The purpose of this chapter is to advance a competency framework for sustainability, arguing that sustainability initiatives should move beyond basic awareness to deeper knowledge, including understanding of root causes, and development of political skills. This chapter’s discussion and critique of sustainability competence is grounded in data from more than 500 undergraduate residents’ respons...

Home environment and family lifestyle practices have an influence on child obesity risk, thereby making it critical to systematically examine these factors. Thus, parents (n = 489) of preschool children completed a cross-sectional online survey which was the baseline data collection conducted, before randomization, in the HomeStyles program. The survey comprehensively assessed these factors usi...

Thinking Styles and Environmental Behavior and Attitudes among High School Students S. M. Shobeyri, Ph.D.*   Given the environmental crisis in Iran being one of the severest in the world, and most of environmental problems being rooted in lack of awareness in this regard, it would be up to schools to promote a culture in which the environment is valued and protected. To determine the re...

There is considerable scientific interest in the psychological correlates of pro-environmental behaviors. Much research has focused on demographic and social-psychological characteristics of individuals who consistently perform such actions. Here, we report the results of 2 studies in which we explored relations between broad personality traits and pro-environmental actions. Using a wide variet...

BACKGROUND This paper describes the rationale, design, and methodology of the Ecological Study of Sexual Behaviors and HIV/STI among African American Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in the Southeastern United States (U.S.; known locally simply as the MARI Study). METHODS Participants are African American MSM aged 18 years and older residing in the deep South. RESULTS Between 2013 and 2015, ...

Title of dissertation: SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL FACTORS INFLUENCING COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR IN GIANT DANIO Amanda Megan Chicoli, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016 Dissertation directed by: Professor Derek Paley Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program A fundamental problem in biology is understanding how and why things group together. Collective behavior is observed on all organismic levels — from cells an...

Walking animals, like stick insects, cockroaches or ants, demonstrate a fascinating range of locomotive abilities and complex behaviors. The locomotive behaviors can consist of a variety of walking patterns along with adaptation that allow the animals to deal with changes in environmental conditions, like uneven terrains, gaps, obstacles etc. Biological study has revealed that such complex beha...

This research focuses on the incongruity between positive attitudinal responses but a lack of purchase behavior in organic markets. According to cognitive dissonance theory, consumer orientations toward the benefits attributed to organic products (environmental protection, health, hedonic) relieve the dissonance that results from this attitude-behavior incongruity. Knowledge also functions as a...