Determinants of Environmentally Responsible Behavior Among Tourists—Model Inventory

Abstract

The Determinants of Environmentally Responsible Behaviour Among Tourists–Model (Batool, Dada, & Shah, 2023) is an inventory developed to investigate the complex interplay of sociodemographic factors influencing environmental knowledge, emotional affinity, behavioral intention, and resultant Environmentally Responsible Behaviour (ERB) within the tourism sector. This comprehensive model was constructed by adapting items from several established prior studies (e.g., Fall-Diallo et al., 2015; Ghazali et al., 2019; Kim et al., 2018).

The measurement model was empirically validated using advanced statistical techniques, including Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The resulting measure was administered to a specific sample of tourists to assess its psychometric properties. The study successfully reported acceptable levels of factor structure, internal consistency, and both convergent and discriminant validity, confirming its suitability for assessing these environmental determinants.

Keywords

Behavioral Intention, Emotional Affinity Towards Nature, Environmentally Responsible Behavior, Tourists, Environmental Knowledge, Structural Equation Modeling, Psychometrics

Authors

Batool, Nusrat; Dada, Zubair-Ahmad; Shah, Shamim-Ahmad

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Purpose

The primary purpose of this measurement model is to systematically assess the psychological and cognitive determinants that predict or influence environmentally responsible behavior among individuals traveling as tourists.

Specifically, the inventory aims to quantify the relationships between latent constructs such as Environmental Knowledge, Emotional Affinity Towards Nature, and Behavioral Intention, ultimately determining their collective impact on observed responsible environmental actions taken by tourists in destination regions.

Construct

The Determinants of Environmentally Responsible Behaviour Among Tourists–Model is a multi-dimensional inventory measuring four key psychological and behavioral constructs relevant to environmental psychology and sustainable tourism. The scale consists of 20 items distributed across these constructs:

• Environmentally Responsible Behavior (ERB): Measures the actual actions or willingness to engage in pro-environmental activities, such as contributing to local sustainable initiatives or paying extra to offset environmental impact.

• Emotional Affinity Towards Nature (EATN): Assesses the affective connection and emotional response (including anger or dissatisfaction) related to environmental degradation caused by pollution or tourism activities.

• Environmental Knowledge (EK): Evaluates the respondent’s awareness regarding environmental issues and specific actions that can mitigate negative impacts in the destination region.

• Behavioural Intention (BI): Measures the stated likelihood or intent to perform future environmentally friendly actions, such as choosing green hotels or buying eco-friendly products.

Validity

The study rigorously established both Convergent Validity and Discriminant Validity for the measurement model. Convergent validity was supported by demonstrating that the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) for all constructs was above the minimum threshold of 0.50, and all individual item loading factors exceeded the suggested minimum of 0.7 (Hair et al., 2005).

Discriminant Validity was confirmed using the Fornell and Larcker (1981) criterion. Results showed that the square root of a construct’s AVE consistently surpassed the inter-construct correlation coefficients, indicating that each construct measures a unique and distinct phenomenon.

Reliability

Internal consistency, a measure of reliability, was assessed using Cronbach’s Alpha and Composite Reliability (CR) values across the different constructs in the model.

The reported statistics confirmed high internal consistency: Cronbach’s alpha values ranged from .703 to .890, and CR values spanned from .943 to .961. These values generally exceed the commonly accepted threshold of 0.70 for exploratory research, demonstrating robust reliability for the instrument.

Factor Analysis

The structural integrity of the scale was evaluated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to test how well the proposed factor structure fit the observed data. The analysis indicated that the measurement model possessed acceptable fit indices based on established criteria (Hu & Bentler, 1995).

The key model fit indices reported are: Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) = .971; Root Mean Square Residual (RMSR) = .05; Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = .944; and Normed Fit Index (NFI) = .997. These high values confirm a strong fit between the theoretical model and the empirical data collected from the tourist sample.

Instrument

Test Type: Original

Format: Inventory/Questionnaire

Language Available: English, Spanish

Population Group: Human; Male; Female

Age Group: Adulthood (18 yrs & older); Young Adulthood (18-29 yrs); Thirties (30-39 yrs); Middle Age (40-64 yrs)

Population Details: Location: India (Western Himalayas region), Respondents: Tourists

Test Methodology: Test Validity; Convergent Validity; Discriminant Validity; Test Reliability; Internal Consistency; Factor Analysis; Confirmatory Factor Analysis; Measurement Model; Structural Equation Modeling

Keywords

Environmental Attitude, Environmental Knowledge, Emotional Affinity, Responsible Behavior, Sustainable Tourism, Psychometric Properties, Western Himalayas

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier:

Nusrat Batool: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6004-3211

Affiliation:

Nusrat Batool: University of Kashmir, Geography and Disaster Management

Zubair-Ahmad Dada: University of Kashmir

Shamim-Ahmad Shah: University of Kashmir

Affiliation Email addresses:

Nusrat Batool: [email protected]

Correspondence Address:

Nusrat Batool: University of Kashmir, Geography and Disaster Management, Srinagar, India, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: Contact Publisher

Fee: No

Commercial: No

Test Year: 2023

Reference’s

Batool, N., Dada, Z.-A., & Shah, S.-A. (2023). Sociodemographic determinants of environmental attitude, environmental knowledge, emotional affinity and responsible behaviour among tourists: A case study of the Western Himalayas. PsyEcology, 14(3), 363–388. https://doi.org/10.1080/21711976.2023.2240615

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Items of the Determinants of Environmentally Responsible Behaviour Among Tourists–Model Inventory

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

This is a 20-item measure.
Constructs: Environmentally responsible behavior (ERB); Emotional affinity towards nature (EATN); Behavioral Intention (BI).
Test Items Available: Yes
Test Location: 2024-19642-003, Table 2, Page 369; 2024-19642-003, Table 2, Page 380

Construct: Environmentally responsible behaviour (ERB) (Fall-Diallo et al. (2015))

• I agree to contribute to local, sustainable tourism initiatives.

• I am willing to devote my time and efforts to implementing sustainable tourism initiatives.

• I am willing to pay extra to offset my environmental impact.

• I am willing to spend my money in the visited region to help the local people.

• I pay special attention to the resources available in the nation I am visiting.

Construct: Emotional affinity towards nature (EATN; Ghazali et al., (2019) and Kim et al. (2018))

• I feel an obligation to buy green products where possible.

• I get angry when I think about how pollution hurts plants and animals.

• I am dissatisfied and outraged when I consider how the tourist sector contributes to pollution.

• When I consider the pollution that has harmed the trees and creatures of this place, I am enraged.

• It irritates me that the government needs to do more to assist with pollution management at this location.

Construct: Environmental Knowledge (EK; Kim et al. (2018) and Li and Wu (2020))

• I know the action that could mitigate the negative impact on the natural environment in the destination region.

• I am aware of measures that might reduce the harmful effect on wild animals and plants in the destination regions.

• I am aware of activities that might reduce water contamination in the tourist location.

• I am very knowledgeable about environmental issues.

• I know that I buy environmentally safe products.

Construct: Behavioural Intention (BI; Kiatkawsin and Han (2017) and Park et al. (2018))

• I will prefer to stay at green hotels to protect the environment.

• I will consider switching to environmentally friendly brands for ecological reasons.

• I would buy eco or organic products when possible.

• I would prefer to buy local products.

• I would be prepared to pay a tax to aid the environment.

Constructo: Conducta ambientalmente responsable (CAR; Fall-Diallo et al. (2015))

• Estoy de acuerdo en contribuir con iniciativas locales para el turismo sostenible.

• Estoy dispuesto/a a dedicar mi tiempo y esfuerzo para implementar iniciativas de turismo sostenible.

• Estoy dispuesto/a a pagar más para compensar por mi impacto ambiental.

• Estoy dispuesto/a a gastar dinero en la región de visita para ayudar a la gente local.

• Presto especial atención a los recursos disponibles en el país que visito.

Constructo: Afinidad emocional con la naturaleza (AEN; Ghazali et al. (2019) and Kim et al. (2018))

• Siento la obligación de comprar productos verdes cuando es posible.

• Me enfado cuando pienso el daño que hace la contaminación a las plantas y a los animals.

• Me siento insatisfecho e indignados cuando pienso cuánto contribuye el sector turístico a la contaminación.

• Me encolerizo cuando pienso en la contaminación que ha dañado a los árboles y criaturas de este lugar.

• Me irrita que el gobierno tenga que hacer más para ayudar con la gestión de la contaminación en este lugar.

Constructo: Conocimiento ambiental (CA; Kim et al. (2018) and Li and Wu (2020))

• Sé qué acción podría mitigar el impacto negativo sobre el ambiente natural en mi lugar de destino.

• Soy consciente de las medidas que podrían reducir el impacto dañino sobre los animales y plantas salvajes en mi lugar de destino.

• Soy consciente de las actividades que podrían reducir la contaminación del agua en el lugar turístico.

• Tengo muchos conocimientos sobre los problemas medioambientales.

• Sé que compro productos medioambientalmente seguros.

Constructo: Intención Conductual (IC; Kiatkawsin and Han (2017) and Park et al. (2018))

• Prefiero alojarme en hoteles verdes para proteger el medio ambiente.

• Consideraré cambiar a marcas ambientalmente responsables por motivos ecológicos.

• Compraría productos ecológicos u orgánicos cuando fuera posible.

• Preferiría comprar productos locales.

• Estaría dispuesto/a a pagar un impuesto para ayudar al medio ambiente.