Assessing Pro-Environmental Behavior in China: A Study on the Validity of the Simplified PEBT Paradigm

The following data were collected and analyzed:Participants: We recruited 299 Chinese university students to participate in the experiment. Among these, 71 individuals participated in a follow-up session four months after the initial experiment.Experimental Design: The PEBT was modified to include:Increased time differences between pro-environmental and non-pro-environmental choices.Reduced number of trials to streamline the experiment.Behavioral Measures:Participants chose between a bicycle (no CO2 emissions, longer wait time) and a car (more CO2 emissions, shorter wait time).The choices were used to measure pro-environmental behavior, with the hypothesis that shorter wait time differences and higher CO2 emissions would result in more pro-environmental behaviors.Reliability and Validity:Internal Consistency and Criterion Validity: Both were found to be acceptable when compared to the original version of the PEBT.Test-Retest Reliability: A moderate correlation (r = .60) was observed between pro-environmental choices in the initial and follow-up sessions, indicating that the PEBT is effective in measuring stable personal traits related to pro-environmental behavior.Additional Measures:Real Pro-Environmental Behavior: To validate the experimental outcomes with real behaviors, we incorporated measurements of participants' donation amounts to an environmental fund as an index of real pro-environmental behavior.

This revealed a noteworthy correlation, further supporting the validity of the PEBT.This study provides valuable insights into the robustness and applicability of the PEBT paradigm in measuring pro-environmental behavior among Chinese participants, contributing to the broader field of environmental psychology.