Enviromentally friendly human behavior is an investment for sustainable development. The environmental sutainability created is a positive consequence of enviromental-friendly human behavior. On the contrary, enviromental damage is a result of non enviromentally friendly behavior. Students have strategic role to play in managing the quality of the environment. On campus, some students have participated in the act of environmental care but some others still remain indifferent to the environmental issues and significantly less involved in the act of environmental care.
Lecturer in Psychology, University of Malang, Hetti Rahmawati, S, Psi, M.Sc., tried to conduct a study of 268 college students in three major cities, namely Yogyakarta, Malang and Surabaya. This study aims to determine the factors that determine the behavior of environmental awareness attitude among students. This study says about 16 percent of college students have a high level of environmental awareness, while 17 percent of the students have a very low environmental care behavior, and the other 67% fall into the middle category. “The behavior was indicating there is potential for environmentally conscious behavior that has not been optimized,” said Hetti in her open doctoral examination at the Faculty of Psychology UGM, Friday (5/8).
Nevertheless, this research explains that student’s environmental awareness behavior is influenced by rationale and morale. Meanwhile, the intention of environmental awareness behavior is a major determinant that encourages environmental awareness behavior. “The stronger the plan and the will to care for the environment, the more likely that action to be done,” said Hetti.
According to Hetti, the factors that shape the behavior includes the attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, intentions and moral factors. Therefore, the students should be encouraged to have moral norms or rules to show enviromentally friendly behavior. “Enviromentally friendly development of infrastructure, facilities and systems on campus is a positive support in shaping the behavior of students to care about the environment,” she said. (UGM / adelily)