Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess pro-environmental behavior of elementary school students by school year and gender and to investigate the relationships of their emotional affinity toward and intellectual curiosity about life, and experiences about nature and life with the pro-environmental behavior. A total of 436 elementary students participated in the study: 189 3rd grade; 247 6th grade students, and 233 boys; 203 girls. The variables were measured by using a self-report questionnaire with 5-point Likert scale items. The results showed the levels of pro-environmental behavior of the 3rd grade students and the girls were higher than that of the 6th grade and the boys, respectively. Their pro-environmental behavior was significantly related with all measured variables. However, it was found that the direct predictors of their pro-environmental behavior were the intellectual curiosity and the indirect experience, while the emotional affinity and the direct experience did not have a direct impact on the behavior. The predictive power of the intellectual curiosity and the indirect experience for their pro-environmental behavior was higher in 3rd grade than 6th grade. While the indirect experience was a stronger predictor of the boys' pro-environmental behavior than the intellectual curiosity, the curiosity was a stronger predictor of the girls.
