Fostering environmental behaviors through observational learning

This study applied and operationalized Bandura’s (1977 Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191. doi: 10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 1986 Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. [Google Scholar]) four-step observational learning process (i.e., attention, retention, production, and motivation) to investigate how tour-guides, peer ecotourists, and local community members influenced a convenience sample of South Korean ecotourists’ environmentally responsible behavioral (ERB) intentions. Questionnaires were administered immediately after an ecotourism experience (n = 207). Path analysis results largely supported a hypothesized Ecotourist Observational Learning Model and predicted ecotourists’ ERB intentions moderately well. Production (i.e., opportunities to engage in modeled ERBs) and motivation (i.e., positive reinforcement for engaging in these ERBs) predicted participants’ ERB intentions. Production was predicted by retention (i.e., observation of tour-guides and peer ecotourists’ modeled ERBs), which was, in turn, predicted by attention (i.e., physical, verbal and cognitive engagement). The findings indicate that Bandura’s (1986 Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. [Google Scholar]) four-step observational learning process helps explain how ecotourists develop ERB intentions. The implications of the study indicate that tour-guides should model ERBs for participants, encourage participants to model ERBs for each other, provide opportunities for participants to engage in ERBs, and provide them with positive feedback for doing so. Others who seek to understand the processes underlying ecotourists’ ERBs during and after their experiences are encouraged to further test and build on the Ecotourist Observational Learning Model.