2024 Volume 70 Issue 3 Pages 72-82
In Japan, there have been few studies on the promotion of wood usage using social scientific methods. In this study, we investigated the association of consumers' attributes and values with their preferences for wood and the intention to use wood products, focusing on naturalistic/urbanistic values, which are considered useful in the field of architectural environment studies. The t-tests, analyses of variance, and multiple regression analyses were conducted using the participants' attributes, childhood and current residential area, as well as naturalistic/urbanistic values as independent and explanatory variables. In addition, we employed their preferences for wood and the intention to use wood products (building materials, furniture, tableware and accessories) as dependent and objective variables. The results suggested that, (1) people with more naturalistic values have a higher preference for wood and a higher intention to use wood products, (2) age and gender are partially related to the preference for wood and the intention to use wood products, and (3) people whose childhood residence was in an urban suburb area showed a lower intention to use building materials, furniture, and tableware. These findings should be useful for more effective promotion of the usage of wood.
