Accuracy of self-reports: Validating the general ecological behavior scale

Self-reports are:often discredited as poor indicators of actual behavior. T he present study aims at comparing subjective and observable, objective ind icators of ecological behavior. Fourteen exemplary behaviors of 40 either s ubjectively particularly ecologically or unecologically behaving participan ts were checked by two interviewers. AU 14 behaviors derive from the most r ecent version of the General Ecological Behavior scale(originally developed by Kaiser, 1998). Moreover, they relate to objective: data such as possess ion of a fuel-efficient car or membership m an environmental organization. Evidenly, self-reports represent-fairly stable (r(tt) = .83: r(tt) = .96) a nd valid (kappa = .78; M(r) = .81)indicators of ecological behavior, partic ularly when self-reported behaviors represent dichotomized practices - I do or I don't - or circumstances - I possess or I do not possess. Key words: ecological behavior, self-report,test validity, measurement.