The Effects of an Informative Video on Student Attitudes Toward Water Conservation

The current water crisis in California may be addressed by teaching consumers to conserve water. Previous research has suggested that videos are an effective medium to promote public awareness on environmental issues such as deforestation (Bahk, 2011). The present study was designed to examine the extent that an informative video affects water conservation attitudes. Thus far, 19 undergraduate university students have participated. All participants completed an attitude scale on water conservation (Dolnicar & Hurlimann, 2010) prior to viewing either an animated video reporting facts about the current water crisis (experimental condition) or an animated video without messages depicting the water cycle (control). Following, participants completed the same attitude scale on water conservation. On average, participants exposed to the informative video have self-reported more positive attitudes towards water conservation than participants exposed to the control video. However, a mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) on the available data does not indicate a significant difference between the water conservation attitudes of the experimental and control groups, F(1, 18) = 3.25, p = .090. Final data analyses will be presented in the context of understanding the effect of informative videos on water conservation attitudes