Socially desirable responses have been widely discussed as potentially biasing self-reported measures of environmental attitude and behaviour assessment. By applying a Lie scale together with a two-factor environmental attitude set measure and a scale of self-reported General Ecological Behaviour (GEB) to 198 pupils we found a moderate impact of Lie scores on the Preservation attitude set measure and a small impact on GEB, but none on the Utilisation attitude set measure. In a multiple regression analysis general behaviour was predicted by attitude, the relationship being somewhat reduced, if Social Desirability was partialled out, but no interaction effect occurred. To control the latter, therefore, seems advisable though the impact of attitude on behaviour being still large after doing so.

Key words: social desirability, environmental attitudes, ecological (conservation) behaviour, students