“Social duality of environmental attitudes and behavior, the missing link in environmental sociology: a review of approaches”

Many studies of environmental sociology have emphasized the coherence between attitudes and behaviors of the environment and taken it for granted; In these studies, the possibility of a dichotomy in environmental attitudes and behavior has not been considered and the type of environmental attitude has been considered as a fundamental determinant of the type of environmental behavior of the individual. In this article, by reviewing the dominant approaches of environmental sociology and using documentary research, the factors affecting the formation of gaps and dichotomies between attitudes and environmental behavior are extracted. By examining the commonalities of the approaches that have addressed this duality and the factors affecting it, finally, on three categories of demographic factors, external factors (such as cultural, social and economic factors) and internal factors (such as reinforcement, environmental knowledge, awareness, Values and attitudes, feelings and priorities) have been emphasized in order to explain environmental behavior and also to justify the duality of environmental attitudes and behavior. Finally, it can be claimed that environmentally responsible attitude as an internal factor along with factors consistent with this type of attitude, will lead to the formation of environmentally responsible behavior in individuals.