The Applied Psychology of Sustainability

This book examines the psychological factors that lead to human behavioral effects on the environment. Each chapter applies elements from a core research area into the context of criteria specific to sustainability.

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Why doesn’t everyone see sustainability as a huge issue? Why don’t people think more carefully before making choices? What will it take for people to change? Examining the many psychological factors that lead to human behavioral effects on the environment, this book answers these questions definitively and provides practical guidance for approaches that have been used to successfully stimulate change.

The Applied Psychology of Sustainability provides an extensive, integrated definition of the processes that lead to climatic, ecological, and socio-economic results: It defines a Psychology of Sustainability. Each chapter applies elements from the core research areas of cognitive, social, and developmental psychology into the context of criteria specific to sustainability. Comprehensively updated to embrace great change in the field, this new edition expands on critical issues yet maintains its strong foundation that the psychology of decisions is the essential precursor to sustainability and that these decisions should be treated as the primary target of change.

Throughout the book, readers will find new ways of framing questions related to human adaptability and evolutionary psychology. The Applied Psychology of Sustainability is essential reading for students and professionals in a range of disciplines who wish to contribute to this crucial conversation.