Recently, securing people to lead community activities has become a serious issue in local communities. In this study, a survey was conducted on participants of community greening volunteer activity. Participants were categorized based on their motivation at the time of the decision to participate, and the scores of perceptions of helping effects, motivation to continue volunteering, and intention to continue volunteering were compared. The results indicated that the group answered that they decided to participate based on intrinsic motivation had significantly higher perceptions of helping effects and motivation and intension to continue volunteering. The correlation between the length of the duration of the activity and the scores of each scale showed that there were differences depending on the demographics of the participants. Based on these results, effective measures to increase intrinsic motivation for community activities and how community activities should be managed to realize sustainable community activities were discussed.

View full abstract

The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between landscapes with solar panels and well-being by quantitatively evaluation Gifford's comprehensive interpretation (hereinafter referred to as the Gifford model) in environmental psychology. In the Gifford model, the ''current image of solar power generation '' was set as the ''actual measurement'' that is considered an independent variable. The dependent variable, ''results from settings (setting of specific scenes, etc.),'' includes ''landscape image of solar panels,'' ''community participation (field for dialogue),'' and ''interdependent happiness (considered as well-being)'', a factor diagram was created to explain these relationships. Two factors, ''value brought by solar power generation'' and ''problems caused by solar power generation,'' were extracted from the ''current image of solar power generation,'' which was created as a new scale. The factor ''sensory evaluation of solar panels'' was extracted from the ''image of the landscape with solar panels,'' which used 17 adjective pairs in the SD method. The three-level factorial diagram derived using the results of these factor analyzes shows that the goodness-of-fit index (X2=3118.898, df=1357, p<.001, RMSEA=.042, CFI= .915). As a summary of this research, I have been able to explain the validity of a comprehensive conceptual model in environmental psychology. Although the results are limited to just one example, solar power generation in Japan, we believe that it suggests that efforts in science and technology may lead to well-being.

View full abstract

To determine how the Great East Japan Earthquake affected environmental behavior, we conducted SLE(Significant Life Experiences) research among university students in Miyagi Prefecture. Using a time-series survey, a descriptive questionnaire was administered once each year from 2011 to 2019, asking about current environmental behavior and experiences that significantly influenced that behavior. 393 valid responses were analyzed by three raters, with the following results obtained. 1) For university students, the experience of the Great East Japan Earthquake became a SLE of "concerning with resources" and led to environmental behavior of "energy conservation." 2) The experience of the Great East Japan Earthquake became a highly influential SLE immediately after the earthquake, but its influence weakened year by year.

View full abstract