Intention to Conserve Water: Environmental Values, Planned Behavior, and Information Effects. A Comparison of Three Communities Sharing a Watershed

Abstract This article examines a set of constructs underlying water conservation behavior in three distinct communities located in the California-Nevada Truckee River Watershed. Using the theory of planned behavior as a theoretical base, we focus on the additional explanatory power of environmental values and information. The analysis, based on 733 telephone interviews, indicates that significant differences in these variables do not appear across the communities. An analysis of the full watershed shows that the theory of planned behavior does a good job of accounting for intention to conserve water. Environmental values and information effects demonstrate significant but weak effects. Interpretation of the results suggests that conservation promoters should understand the power of audience information seeking and direct behavior change efforts at improving self-efficacy to conserve water. Keywords: Information Theory Of Planned Behavior Water Conservation