Practical implications of understanding the influence of motivations on commitment to voluntary urban conservation stewardship.

摘要: Although the word commitment is prevalent in conservation biology literature and despite importance of people's to success initiatives, as a psychological phenomenon its operation specific behaviors remains unexplored. Despite increasing calls for psychology play greater role meeting goals, applications sciences behaviors, illustrating their utility practice, are rare. We examined volunteers' motivations urban volunteering. interviewed key informant volunteers used interview findings develop psychometric scales that we assess volunteer. surveyed 322 factor analysis reveal how structure volunteer activities. Six categories 2 emerged from analysis. Volunteers were motivated by desires help environment, defend enhance ego, career learning opportunities, escape exercise, social interactions, community building. Two forms commitment, affective normative psychologically bind people volunteerism. linear-regression models examine these influence Volunteers' tendency continue conservation, even face fluctuating counter urges, was personal, social, functions more than environmental motivations. The otherwise marginally important, significant motivator only when volunteering met community-building goals. Attention may stewardship address pressing challenge retaining volunteers.