MORAL IDENTITY AND ECOLOGICAL BEHAVIOR IN ROMANIAN YOUNG ADULTS

Environmental professionals and activists draw attention on the negative effects that human actions have on the planet, actions that turn against us all, sometimes with dramatic consequences like human casualties. In recent years, there is a growing interest in Romania in the area of environmental protection. Many environmental organizations advocate responsible institutional and individual behavior toward nature. Despite the progress in the environmental legislation and the public debate on this subject, there are questions and doubts about law application and the level of public awareness concerning environmental protection. Research in the area of individual pro-environmental behavior is interested in identifying psychological variables (knowledge, perceptions, attitudes, values) and contextual factors (income, technological infrastructure, costs) associated with relevant individual behavior patterns aiming at limiting the harmful effect of human actions on the environment. One line of research studies the impact of moral aspects like values, norms, identity on pro-environmental behavior. Our study explores the relationship between moral identity and several dimensions of ecological behavior in a sample of 231 Romanian young adults. We identified significant correlations between moral identity and ecological behavior.