Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

1-2018

Abstract

The theory of planned behavior states that individuals act on their intentions, especially when they have behavioral control. The current study examines how seeking recycling-related procedural information—i.e., information about how and where to recycle—is related to behavioral control. Hypothesis testing used hierarchical ordinary least squares regression analysis of longitudinal data from 553 survey respondents. Results supported seven hypotheses. Most notably, procedural information seeking both mediated and moderated the relationship between intention and behavior. Further, the moderation effect was itself mediated by behavioral control. The argument for this mediated moderation is that information seeking enhances behavioral control, and it is primarily behavioral control that moderates the relationship between intention and behavior. These results have implications for the theory of planned behavior and, more generally, for how individuals use information to support their behaviors.

Keywords

Behavioral control, Information seeking, Mediated moderation, Mediation, Moderation, Planned behavior, Reasoned action, Recycling

Discipline

Environmental Sciences

Research Areas

Integrative Research Areas

Publication

Recycling

Volume

3

Issue

1

First Page

1

Last Page

11

ISSN

2313-4321

Identifier

10.3390/recycling3010005

Publisher

MDPI

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling3010005

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