Motivating residents to save water based on the model of goal-directed behavior: Evidence from China

Promoting residents' water-saving behavior (RWB) is critical for sustainable societal development. While scholars acknowledge the significant potential of the concept of motivation and make a clear distinction between it and intention, previous studies have primarily focused on residents' water-saving intentions and overlooked the pre-impact of water-saving motivation on water-saving behavior. To investigate the psychological determinants of RWB, this study applied the Model of Goal-Directed Behavior to examine the interplay among constructs, including motivation, intention, and actual water-saving practices. Adhering to stratified sampling principles, a hybrid sampling approach integrating random and snowball methods was utilized to gather data from 1184 questionnaires. The collected dataset underwent rigorous analysis using structural equation modeling to explore the theoretical relationships. Results reveal that subjective norms, anticipation, and cognition significantly enhance residents’ motivation to conserve water, whereas attitude exhibits no significant effect. Furthermore, motivation serves as a pivotal antecedent of both water-saving intention and behavior. Additionally, past behavior frequency and perceived behavioral control positively moderate the intention-behavior relationship, reinforcing the translation of intention into action. This study advances theoretical understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying water conservation and offers practical insights for fostering sustainable behaviors across diverse sociocultural settings.