Analyzing Wheat Farmers’ Behavior Regarding Water Management in the Orzuiyeh County based on the Theory of Social Cognition

The present study was conducted to analyze wheat farmers’ behavior regarding water use and conservation in the Orzuiyeh County based on the theory of Social Cognition. The statistical population of the research was 1350 wheat farmers in the central district of the Orzuiyeh County that 135 of them were selected by using Bartlett et al. table of sample size. They were randomly selected. The data gathering tool was a researcher-made questionnaire based on social cognition theory whose face validity was confirmed by a panel of academic and performance experts. The reliability was also determined by conducting a study and calculating the Cronbach's alpha coefficients (0.58-0.86). The results of correlation analysis of the study variables showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between all the constructs of the theory (social structure factors, expectation of outcome, understanding of others behavior, self-efficacy and behavioral intention) and farmers' water management behavior. The results of multiple regression showed that the constructs of the theory predict a total of 36% of the variations of the management behavior of wheat farmers. In addition, the variables of understanding the behavior of others, self-efficacy and behavioral intention had significant influence on wheat farmers’ behavior of water use in the county. At the end, implications of the study for changing farmers’ behavior of water use are discussed.