Enhancing the Psychological Traits of Positive Attitudes towards Environmental Conservation among Thai Youth through an Innovative Training Program

Abstract

The main objectives of this experimental research were 1) to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a training program designed to modify psychological traits on environmental conservation, 2) to assess the achievement outcomes of the training program on attitudes in three dimensions, and 3) to analyze the long-term retention of attitudes and the scalability of the program across different areas. The study employed a Two-Group Pretest-Posttest-Follow-up Design. The sample consisted of 160 purposively selected youths aged 13–15 years from Uttaradit Province, equally divided into an experimental group and a control group (N=80). The research instruments included a training program developed based on Experiential Learning Theory and Positive Psychology, integrating proactive activities such as concept mapping for environmental problem analysis and role-playing activities to cultivate environmental ethics. The program was validated by a panel of experts, achieving a perfect Item-Objective Congruence (IOC) index of 1.00 for all items. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, including Repeated Measures ANOVA and Least Significant Difference (LSD) multiple comparison tests. The major findings revealed that; 1) the training program designed to promote positive attitudes towards environmental conservation among Thai youth were effective based on the academic criteria. 2) After participating in the training program, youths in the experimental group demonstrated significantly higher mean scores in all three attitude dimensions including evaluative cognition, feelings, and behavioral intention towards environmental conservation, compared with the control group (p < 0.01). Post Hoc analysis indicated that post-training and follow-up scores were significantly higher than pre-training scores. Meanwhile, no significant difference was found between post-training and follow-up scores, suggesting the sustained effect of the training. 3) Repeated measures analysis based on ANOVA further confirmed that these differences were statistically significant (p < 0.01). The Post Hoc results also showed that both post-experimental and follow-up (2 months later) scores were significantly higher than pre-experimental scores. Without significant difference between post-experimental and follow-up periods, it reflected the persistence and stability of the psychological traits. 4) The implementation of the program in other areas yielded consistent results, confirming the resilience and effectiveness of the innovative approaches to changing youth attitudes broadly. This research proposes a new conceptual foundation for environmental education management by demonstrating that only cognitive dimensions and cognitive information transfer are insufficient to produce sustainable behavioral change. The key innovative concept of this study lies in the integration of affective dimensions and emotional engagement (Affective Integration) together with psychological readiness as mediating mechanisms that connect knowledge to internalized intention. This process transforms youth from passive learners into intrinsically motivated conservationists who possess an emotional commitment to nature. Such transformation constitutes a fundamental basis for the development of green citizenship characterized by responsibility towards the dynamic challenges of the 21st century. The findings further confirm that the intervention model employed in this study demonstrates empirical effectiveness in simultaneously enhancing knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions in an integrated manner. Consequently, the model can serve as a principal framework for policies related to core curriculum development or the design of extracurricular activities in educational institutions that emphasize behavioral outcomes rather than merely knowledge-based assessment. Furthermore, the
innovative training program functions as an operational prototype that local administrative organizations and civil society networks can adapt and scale up to create conservation-oriented learning processes in alignment with local cultural practices and ecological systems. This approach can strengthen community capacity for sustainable self-management of natural resources and reduce the gap between governmental policy and grassroots-level implementation.