Encouraging the adoption of a pro-environmental behavior is critical in order to reduce the environmental impacts and to move toward a more sustainable future. Higher education plays an important role in training professionals who have an important role in protecting the environment in the future. The aim of this study is to identify whether there are significant differences between college students depending on their diploma of specialization, related to the environment or not, the year in which they are studying and gender. The sample consisted of 383 engineering students in first, third and sixth year, with two instruments designed to measure environmental attitudes and behaviors. Significant differences were found between students pursuing diplomas related to the environment and those who are not. Otherwise, no significant differences were observed between students enrolled in different levels. Perceived effort, positive environmental attitude or perceived positive consequents predict the frequency of pro-environmental behaviors in students, the former (perceived effort, negative) being the most influential variable.

Maximizers attempt to find the best solution in decision-making, while satisficers feel comfortable with a good enough solution. Recent results pointed out some critical aspects of this decision-making approach and some concerns about its measurement and dimensional structure. In addition to the analysis of these aspects, we tested the possible mediational role of regret in this psychological process. The Maximization Inventory (MI; satisficing, decision difficulty, and alternative search), regret, and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were translated and adapted to Spanish in order to answer these issues with a Chilean sample. Validity and reliability analysis of the MI reports that only two dimensions of the MI have enough dimensional support (decision difficulty, alternative search). The tested structural model shows good fit of partial mediation effect of regret between decision difficulty and SWLS. At the same time, alternative search has a positive relation with SWLS. These results suggest that Regret becomes crucial for prescribing behavior to decision makers.

Traffic accidents constitute the fifth leading cause of death in Chile. This study measures attitudes toward 12 violation behaviors and compares causal attributions of accidents by participants versus experts. A survey containing 41 items was administered to 216 different drivers and pedestrians in the city of Santiago, assessing a judgment of seriousness for a group of violation behaviors and asking about accident causes. An analysis of variance for the index of seriousness according to sex, age, and type of driver resulted in significance (F = 2.463, p < .014), indicating differences in judgments produced by men and women, young and adult people, and different types of drivers. Women showed a higher level of response to the index of seriousness than men; the same was obtained for pedestrians, who scored higher than drivers. Participants considered that driving under the effects of alcohol and excessive speed were the most important causes of accidents, which was opposite to the causes indicated by experts.

The decision-making literature distinguishes one maximizing style from another satisficing decision-making style, but it is unknown whether these styles remain stable or are variable depending on the occasion. One way to approach it is to verify eventual generalization of these styles in behavior of people in different decision domains. Some incipient results with University students from the United States and Austria suggest that these styles would remain in three different domains. However, it is unknown if this is the case in adults, other cultures, or vital areas of great relevance, such as health and personal finances. The objective here is to identify if Chilean Latin American participants of different sex and age maintain their decision-making style in five different decision domains. The sample was 343 volunteers, 52.6% men, from two regions of central-southern Chile (Maule and Ñuble), aged between 20 and 90 years (M= 45.47;SD= 16.05), who answered the Maximization Tendency Scale, and 45 items corresponding to five different decision domains: health, life decision, finances, services and experiences, and consumer's good. An apparent coherence of decision-making style—maximizing and satisficing—was obtained in the five domains. The health domain stands out for being the one in which it is maximized and with greater internal homogeneity.