Barriers and Motivations to Conservation Behaviors in Zoo Visitors

This study used the transtheoretical model of behavior change to categorize participants into stages of change groups regarding eleven conservation behaviors. Three main stages of change were identified: precontemplation, contemplation, and action. Participants from different stage placements were interviewed to explore barriers and motivations towards doing different conservation behaviors. Individuals in different stages identified different motivations and barriers that were important to doing (or not doing) an action. Lack of time was the most common barrier for precontemplators, while the most common barrier for contemplators and actors was being unaware of a behavior. Precontemplators and contemplators were most commonly motivated by a behavior being easy, while actors were most commonly motivated by getting reminders about the behavior. This suggests that educational programs designed to promote conservation behaviors should include multiple motivators and reduce as many types of barriers as possible to reach the greatest number of people.