Assessing general ecological behaviour: A cross-cultural comparison between Switzerland and Sweden

The General Ecological Behavior (GEB) scale was developed for cross-cultura l applications (Kaiser & Wilson, in press). The present study compares ecol ogical behavior in Sweden and Switzerland. Questionnaire data from 247 Swed ish and 445 Swiss participants are presented. Reliability and internal cons istency analyses revealed the GEE scale was applicable to both the Swedish and Swiss samples. In general, Swiss behave more ecologically than Swedes. Nevertheless, several ecological behaviors turned out to be easier to condu ct in Sweden than in Switzerland and vice versa. The GEE scale takes differ ential behavior difficulties into account that are most likely caused by si tuational influences. At the same time, the proposed behavior measurement a pproach guides the search for potentially useful political actions that mak e it easier For people to behave ecologically in some societies and, thus, can be adopted by others.