The Research On Environmental Behavior Of Residents In Rural Areas

In modern times, the industrial expansion promotes the development ofsociety and economy rapidly. However, at the same time, it also causes seriousenvironmental deterioration. Since the1950s, environmental problems emerged,and then people have to be confronted with these problems. Thereby, after the1970s, the global environmental degradation was aggravated unprecedentedly.Because the environmental problems are not only a threat to public health, butalso a threat to the whole development of human society. Meanwhile, theenvironmental problems make the human society occur profound changes. Thus, thiskind of situation aroused wide public concern and made more and more sociologistbe interested in this filed, especially the study of environmental behavior.With rural residents as the study subject, in the dissertation, theresearcher examines the characteristics of rural residents,environmentalbehavior, its significant influencing factors, the relationship betweenenvironmental behavior and its influencing factors and based on the analysis,explores the social mechanism of Chinese rural residents,environmental behavior.The results of the study provide helpful instruction for understanding Chineserural residents,environmental behavior, making environmental policies relatedto promoting residents,environmental behavior.First, considering the study object fuzzy, unclear concepts and narrow studyview in previous studies, the researcher point out that the innovation of thisstudy not only lies in the independent environmental behavior variable, but alsoaims to find the social mechanism of environmental behavior. Based onsystematical literature review and the residents interview, the researcherclearly defines the research variables from the aspects of content andoperational conception: classifies environmental behavior of Chinese ruralresidents into four dimensions, modeled Sunyan,s practice, of eco-management,consumerism, persuasion and civic behavior, confirms five dominant ofenvironmental behavior, which are environmental knowledge, environmentalawareness, rural environmental rules, environmental policies and demographicvariables. Based on these analyses, the theoretical analysis framework andresearch assumptions are put forward.Second, analyze the survey data. The investigation with sample of Shaanxirural residents shows that, Chinese rural residents have a general low levelenvironmental behavior; and environmental behavior directly relates withenvironmental knowledge and source of income, while not based on environmentalawareness, rural environmental rules and environmental policies. Finally, search the social mechanism of environmental behavior based on thedata analysis. By combining with interviews and observation material, theresearcher found that Chinese rural residents,environmental behavior have todo with a kind of “Facilities Arouse Model”, that is to say, environmentalbehavior directly relates with industrial facilities, energy facilities andpublic infrastructure. Science and technology and policies are two key pointsof arousing rural residents,pro-environmental behavior, that is, through theprogress of science and technology to improve the parts of industrial facilities,which pose a threat to the ecological environment; through policies to leadscience and technology, and markets and agricultural industry come tocoordination in the system of sustainable development.