Date of Award

2021

Degree Name

Communication Studies

College

College of Liberal Arts

Type of Degree

M.A.

Document Type

Thesis

First Advisor

Dr. Julie Snyder-Yuly, Committee Chairperson

Second Advisor

Dr. Camilla Brammer

Third Advisor

Dr. Clinton Brown

Abstract

Encouraging environmental awareness and engagement on Marshall University’s campus is a fundamental goal of the institution’s Sustainability Department. In working with the department, this study sought to describe the student body’s perceptions, opinions, and rates of environmentally friendly behaviors on campus. In addition to describing the desired population, analysis was conducted to identify what factors influence pro-environmental behaviors within students to produce more effective messaging and engagement strategies for the Sustainability Department. Through the lens of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), individual action is produced by behavioral intent, influenced by an individual’s values, norms, and perceived situational control. Measures were constructed to identify the rates of pro-environmental behaviors of students, their perceived normalcy of environmental care on campus, and their level of personal value regarding environmental issues. While scales were lacking in reliability and a comprehensive sample across the university population was not established, it was found that an individual’s level of value in environmental issues did correlate with pro-environmental behaviors as well as awareness and use of university offered environmental projects. While further research into the beliefs and practices of students on Marshall University’s campus is needed to expand these results, baseline data for understanding the population at hand was produced. These data suggests that students tend to care for environmental issues, but mostly practice on individual scales with low awareness of services offered by the university. It is recommended that the Sustainability Department emphasize personal value and contribution to nature in its messaging to increase future engagement.

Subject(s)

Marketing -- Research.

Organizational behavior -- Research.

Sustainability -- Research.

Marshall University. Sustainability Department.

Download

Share

COinS