Valores, crenças e comportamentos nas ações e atitudes dos indivíduos de caráter ambiental no município de Lavras -MG

The concept of environment involves social, political and economic aspects, in addition to natural elements. The acknowledgement that the environmental issue is complex highlights the importance of understanding the dynamics of relations that guide the individuals in their interactions with the environment. In this sense, studies have shown the relation between values, beliefs and behaviors. The theory on values developed by Schwartz (1992) identifies the complexity of the relations between values and behavior, organizing the field of human motivation into ten motivational types. Studies conducted by Pato (2004) on environmental beliefs are capable of indicating how the individuals relate to the environment, and its predisposition in acting or not in an ecological manner, allowing an understanding of ecological behavior and its forms of manifestation. Therefore, the objective of this study consisted of analyzing the value perception over environmental beliefs and ecological behavior of the individuals inserted into the environmental theme of the municipality of Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The research was conducted using a sample of 82 participants, comprised in its majority of male (62.2%), married (54.9%) individuals, and those with age from 31 to 40 years (35.4%). A survey of four segments was conducted: Ecological Behavior Scale (EBS), Environmental Beliefs Scale (EBeS), Schwatz Value Profile (SVP-40) and sociodemographic variables. The participants assumed, first, a value orientation directed to the universalism motivational type, which involves an important set of values for understanding the behaviors in relation to the environment. Furthermore, the results showed that the behaviors related to urban cleaning and economy of water and energy are more easily assimilated, while behaviors oriented to activism/consumerism and recycling were not yet incorporated in a satisfactory manner. On the other hand, the fact of belonging to an institution of which mission is to care for the environment seems to induce the participants to show a greater predisposition to pro-environmental behaviors. The environmental issue, urgent and moved by not always confluent debates, points to the need for reorganizing daily life, which necessarily involves change in values and behaviors. Thus, this study is relevant given that the interaction between the constructs can contribute with the research and the proposition of strategies that promote a reduction of behaviors damaging to the environment, as well as the strengthening of those that contribute for its preservation, sensitizing the actors involved to reorder their roles for benefiting the environment.