Authors: Aikaterini Lantza, Grigoris Giannarakis

Title: A scoping review of pro-environmental behavior through the lens of social – psychological behavioral theories.

Abstract

Environmental behavior is an action of an individual that leads to the sustainable use of natural resources or a behavior that reduces the negative impact of one's actions on the environment. This study focuses on an overview of the theories that determine the environmental behavior in various fields of research.

Any attempt to understand environmental behavior requires measurement tools to assess it. Due to its wider scientific interest, various types of tools have been created, such as questionnaires, field observations, individual reports, laboratory experiments and software programs

Based on the concept of environmental behavior, the methodologies of social psychology are analyzed based on selected literature review, which reinforce our knowledge of how a change in one's behavior in relation to the environment occurs and what factors affect it, in specific fields of application. In particular, the review evaluates four methods: Theory of Planned behavior, Norm Activation, Value Belief and Social Cognitive, studies their advantages and disadvantages, in relation to environmental behavior and identifies gaps in their areas of application. All the above theories that have been developed with different theoretical frameworks, have been observed to predict the intention of environmentally friendly behavior, in activism, at work, in recycling, in tourism, in energy, in transport, in water use, in climate change, in pollution and consumption of goods.

The record concludes that although much research has been done to study environmental behavior, using various theories, there is little application data in the more specific branch of the natural environment, forest ecosystems.

The present study can provide the foundations for a more coordinated approach to environmental behavior in the field of forest science as well as the enrichment of the relevant literature.