Environmental decision making in cross-cultural contexts

Worldwide sustainability challenges such as food insecurity and climate change require an understanding of both the natural world and environmental decision making made by individuals and communities. Building on theoretical understandings of environmental decision making such as the Theory of Planned Behavior and Value-Belief-Norm Theory of Environmentalism, this research seeks to better understand environmental decision making at the community and individual level. It does so in three cultural contexts: 1) undergraduate students' individual environmental decision making, 2) research relationships between Native American Tribes and climate science organizations, and 3) urban agriculture and sustainability practices in South America and the United States. To research the training that climate science organizations provide employees for engaging with Native American Tribes in climate research, we conducted interviews with CSO employees (n=9) and Native American Tribal citizens (n=7). Thematic content analysis revealed that Tribes were more likely to discuss challenges, focusing on trust and capacity building. CSOs were more likely to discuss benefits, focusing on information exchange. Both CSOs and Tribes provide training activities for CSO employees, but training programs are not mandated or consistent across employees and organizations, and they are typically not evaluated. To reduce climate change impacts, educators often work to foster environmental behaviors. Socioscientific issues education provides a framework for students to learn about climate change and related environmental behaviors, but rarely measures specific personal factors in student decision-making. Undergraduate students (n=132) were surveyed to investigate for which types of behavior the Theory of Planned Behavior, Value-Belief-Norm Theory of Environmentalism, or both theories are most effective. The combined theories of behavior best predicted behavioral intentions in regression models over either theory individually. Recycling, a direct environmental behavior, was predicted by different determinants than three indirect environmental behaviors. These results support the use of different behavior models for different behaviors and exploration of subjective and personal norms around environmental behavior in the socioscientific issues classroom. Benefits, motivations, and barriers related to urban agriculture are often presented differently across developed and developing nations. We developed semi-structured interviews based on the Theory of Planned Behavior to examine individual farmers' urban agriculture behaviors in the United States and South America. We also examined support that individuals receive for urban agriculture from organizations, governments, and policies. While farmers in the United States reported a wider range of community sustainability themes, farmers in South America centered community sustainability motivations around intergenerational familial and cultural groups. Social barriers were particularly relevant for South American farmers, where low subjective norms discouraged engagement in urban agriculture. Policies and organizations more often supported urban agriculture in the United States, which allowed South American farmers to experience fewer institutional barriers. The similarities and differences in motivations, benefits, barriers, and support for urban agriculture across these spaces can inform researchers and policy makers in further developing sustainable and impactful urban agriculture. Results from all three studies can inform how to communicate with individuals, organizations, and communities about environmental decision making in order to contribute to societal sustainability.