Building on various behavior-based theories as well as reasoned action as they relate relates to water consumption, thus research targeted those who self-report domestic water use reduction and try to understand why they do so for the purpose of uncovering their reasoning orientation, claiming that an orienting reasoning style of the target group would exist for context-specific “light green” water reduction behaviors and whether these behaviors are performed or expected. A descriptive correlation design was followed using a self-reported electronic survey to 319 college students in Saudi Arabia to determine the reported motivating reasons of “light green” water reductionist behavior in the form of justifying reasoning of performed behavior and explanatory reasoning of hypothetical behavior. Both justifying and explanatory reasoning would elicit a combination of seven reasoning orientations of water demand management behavior that would shed light on two reasoning styles: sustainable and utilitarian. Even though there is an overarching reason across the performed and expected “light green” water reduction behavior, mainly “religious teaching”, there are two statistically significant reasoning styles ( sustainable and utilitarian) as emerged from those who self-report their motivating reason to justify performed and explain expected water reduction behavior. The disclosure of the reasoning style (sustainable or utilitarian) underpinning water reduction behavior for Saudi college students would be helpful to tailor pro environmental programs and thus increase water reduction practices individually or collectively. This research also provides a novel instrument that can be used as a self-inventory educational tool.
Keywords: Behavior-Based Theories, Religious Teaching, Self-Inventory Saudi Arabia., Water Consumption
