Psychology and Environmental Sustainability

The problems of environmental protection are wicked problems, without clear solutions and with complex interdependencies between human and non-human species and the physical/material environment. There is increasing need, as well as increasing interest, in joining the knowledge and methods of psychologists with the more traditional approaches of ecologists, conservation biologists, and environmental policy makers. There have been many multidisciplinary collaborations; yet, the results of these collaborations are still fragmented, and overall awareness of the potential contributions of psychology is still limited. To progress beyond the current state of affairs, Drs. Susan Clayton and Patrick Devine-Wright will convene a workshop for psychologists and those in similar disciplines who are working to address issues linked to some of the outcomes of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio 20+). Of particular interest to the team will be to understand how psychology is relevant to environmental problems and to examine what we know that might be useful in addressing them. In addition, the team will determine what the important gaps in our knowledge are and which research gaps might benefit from interdisciplinary work between psychologists and natural scientists.