Special Issue "Psychological and Behavioral Aspects of Sustainability"
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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2013)
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Achieving environmental, cultural, economic, and social sustainability is predicated on changing human behavior; the purview of Psychologists. For instance, research based in cognitive, social, and behavioral psychology has informed initiatives regarding public education and advocacy, framing of messages, decision making, incentive-based regulation, and social marketing. This special issue of Sustainability invites scholars to submit theoretical, empirical, and application oriented manuscripts addressing existing or potential contributions of Psychology to the Sustainability Sciences.
Prof. Dr. Susan M. Koger
Guest Editor
Submission
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed Open Access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 800 CHF (Swiss Francs).
Keywords
- conservation psychology
- ecopsychology
- behavior change
- green behavior
- psychology and environmental problems
- social norms
- social dilemmas
- values
Published Papers (7 papers)
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Received: 12 December 2012; in revised form: 18 January 2013 / Accepted: 1 February 2013 / Published: 15 February 2013
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Abstract: Measures of sustainable behavior (SB) usually include the self-report of activities aimed at the conservation of the natural environment. The sustainability notion explicitly incorporates both the satisfaction of human needs and the need of conserving the natural environment. Yet, the assessment of sustainable behaviors rarely considers the protection of the social environment as situation to investigate. In this paper, we propose the use of an instrument assessing SB, which includes the report of pro-ecological and frugal actions in addition to altruistic and equitable behaviors. The responses provided by 807 Mexican undergraduates to a questionnaire investigating those four instances of SB were processed within a structural equation model. Emotional (indignation due to environmental destruction, affinity towards diversity, happiness) and rational (intention to act) factors assumedly linked to sustainable behavior were also investigated. Significant interrelations among pro-ecological, frugal, altruistic and equitable behaviors resulted, suggesting the presence of a higher-order-factor that we identified as SB. This factor, in turn, significantly correlated with the rest of the investigated pro-environmental factors.
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Received: 19 December 2012; in revised form: 4 February 2013 / Accepted: 12 February 2013 / Published: 19 March 2013
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Abstract: Consumption is a transcending challenge for the 21st century that is stimulating research on multiple pathways required to deliver a more environmentally sustainable future. This paper is nested in what is a much larger field of research on sustainable consumption and reports on part of a major Australian Research Council study into the determinants of household resource consumption, based on a survey of 1,250 residents in Melbourne, Australia. Three environmental lifestyle segments are established that represent the spectrum of attitudes, opinions and intentions across the surveyed population: “committed” greens, “material” greens and “enviro-sceptics” (representing respectively 33.5%, 40.3% and 26.3% of the population). Each segment was found to display distinctive socio-demographic attributes, as well as urban geographies. However, few differences were found in relation to each segment’s actual consumption of energy, water, housing space, urban travel and domestic appliances. The research findings indicate that in these areas of urban resource consumption—all principal contributors to the ecological footprint of households—there are sets of factors at work that override attitudes, opinions and intentions as indicators of consumer behaviour. Some of these factors are information, organization and finance related and are the focus of much public policy. However, the persistence of well ingrained habits and practices among individuals and households and the lack of norms and values in western societies that explicitly promote environmental conservation among its population, are fundamentally involved in the attitude-action gap and constitute important avenues for future research and action.
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Received: 20 December 2012; in revised form: 7 March 2013 / Accepted: 7 March 2013 / Published: 19 March 2013
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Abstract: Human actions have contributed to numerous environmental challenges, including climate change and a significant loss of the world’s biodiversity. As the scientific study of human thought and behaviour, psychology has much to offer in better understanding these issues, as well as fostering greater sustainability in human actions. Yet, despite this recognition, and increasing calls from leaders in psychology education to produce graduates capable of applying their disciplinary knowledge to such real-world issues to solve worldwide behaviourally-based problems; this may not be adequately addressed in current psychology training. The present study assessed the content of all APAC (Australian Psychology Accreditation Council) approved psychology programs within Australia to determine the proportion which offered a psychology-focused course (unit) specifically in conservation or sustainability. Based on the data advertised through each university website, it appears that only one of 39 programs currently offers such a course, with one other university implementing a conservation psychology course in 2013. Thus 95% of current APAC-accredited programs in Australia do not have a strong focus on training psychology graduates to contribute to addressing these important issues. The need for greater integration of conservation psychology content into undergraduate psychology education in Australia and beyond is discussed.
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Received: 25 January 2013; in revised form: 5 March 2013 / Accepted: 7 March 2013 / Published: 25 March 2013
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Abstract: Although pro-environmental behaviour is often believed to be difficult, aggravating, and potentially threatening one’s quality of life, recent studies suggest that people who behave in a more pro-environmental way are actually more satisfied with their lives. In this manuscript, we aim to explain this apparent paradox by reviewing theoretical arguments and empirical evidence for both sides of the coin: why would acting pro-environmentally decrease one’s well-being, and why would it increase one’s well-being? We conclude that part of the answer lies in a different view on what well-being entails, and more specifically, whether the focus is on hedonic well-being (i.e., feeling pleasure) or eudaimonic well-being (i.e., feeling meaningful).
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Received: 6 March 2013; in revised form: 30 March 2013 / Accepted: 7 April 2013 / Published: 18 April 2013
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Abstract: Making pro-environmental behavior changes can be difficult, particularly when these changes challenge daily routines and comfortable lifestyles. We designed and implemented an eco-representative intervention program to help students reduce their energy use by proactively coping with barriers to pro-environmental behavior change, and then communicate effective behavior change strategies to student peers. Twenty-nine first-year college students participated in a four-week proactive coping training to change five environmentally impactful behaviors and then spread behavior change messages to fellow residents during a two-week energy challenge. Eco-reps successfully changed their own behaviors in a pro-environmental direction by generating important barriers and successful facilitators for behavior change, and eco-rep residence halls were more likely to reduce energy and maintain reductions compared to non-eco-rep halls. Implications for future environmental behavior change interventions are discussed.
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Received: 17 January 2013; in revised form: 11 April 2013 / Accepted: 16 April 2013 / Published: 29 April 2013
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Abstract: In this exploratory field-study, we examined how normative messages (i.e., activating an injunctive norm, personal norm, or both) could encourage shoppers to use fewer free plastic bags for their shopping in addition to the supermarket’s standard environmental message aimed at reducing plastic bags. In a one-way subjects-design (N = 200) at a local supermarket, we showed that shoppers used significantly fewer free plastic bags in the injunctive, personal and combined normative message condition than in the condition where only an environmental message was present. The combined normative message did result in the smallest uptake of free plastic bags compared to the injunctive and personal normative-only message, although these differences were not significant. Our findings imply that re-wording the supermarket’s environmental message by including normative information could be a promising way to reduce the use of free plastic bags, which will ultimately benefit the environment.
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Received: 13 March 2013; in revised form: 26 April 2013 / Accepted: 12 May 2013 / Published: 14 May 2013
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Abstract: The objective of this questionnaire study was to investigate how Swedish adolescents (n = 321) cope with climate change and how different coping strategies are associated with environmental efficacy, pro-environmental behavior, and subjective well-being. The results were compared to an earlier study on 12-year-olds, and the same coping strategies, problem-focused coping, de-emphasizing the seriousness of the threat, and meaning-focused coping, were identified. As in the study on children, problem-focused and meaning-focused coping were positively related to felt efficacy and environmental behavior, while de-emphasizing the threat was negatively related to these measures. As expected, the more problem-focused coping the adolescents used, the more likely it was that they experienced negative affect in everyday life. This association was explained by the tendency for highly problem-focused adolescents to worry more about climate change. In contrast, meaning-focused coping was positively related to both well-being and optimism. When controlling for well-known predictors such as values and gender, meaning-focused and problem-focused coping were independent positive predictors of environmental efficacy and pro-environmental behavior, while de-emphasizing the threat was a negative predictor of pro-environmental behavior. The results are discussed in relation to coping theories and earlier studies on coping with climate change.
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Last update: 10 September 2012
