Living greener starts in the mind
By Sharon Jayson
USA Today
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Those who make human behavior their business aim to make living green your business.
Armed with new research into what makes some people environmentally conscious and others less so, the 148,000-member American Psychological Association is stepping up efforts to foster a broader sense of eco-sensitivity that the group believes will translate into public action to protect the planet.
"We know how to change behavior and attitudes. That is what we do," says Yale University psychologist Alan Kazdin, association president. "We know what messages will work and what will not."
During a recent four-day meeting in Boston, an expected 16,000 attendees heard presentations, including studies that explore how people experience the environment, their attitudes about climate change and what social barriers prevent conservation of resources.
Among the findings:
"People know outside is going to feel much better for them but underpredict how happy they're going to feel after being outside in nature even 15 minutes," she says. "The people inside overestimate their happiness about being inside. It's this error in judgment people have about how happy they are in a different environment that may explain why people don't spend more time in nature."
"Rather than changing their ways to protect the environment, the results of this study suggest that these (people) may give up on their efforts to protect the environment," they report.
But negative feedback for those more invested in the environment promotes more sustainable behavior, they found.
American Psychological Association leaders say they want to launch a national initiative specifically targeting behavior changes, including developing media messages that will help people reduce their carbon footprint and pay more attention to ways they can conserve. They want to work with other organizations and enlist congressional support to help fund the effort.
A USA Today/Gallup Poll last year found that people know they could do more. Of 1,007 adults surveyed, only about half thought they personally do a good job of protecting the environment; less than 10 percent said their efforts were "excellent."
Messages that tell people to "be green" or encourage them to live a more ecologically aware lifestyle aren't necessarily having the desired effect, psychologists say. Although people surely know the buzzwords — "sustainability," "carbon footprint" and "global warming" — they aren't really sure what they mean or what they personally can do.
"I think most people recognize we face a severe environmental crisis, but it's hard to deal with that head-on because most people feel helpless to do anything about it," says Douglas Vakoch, a clinical psychologist at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco.
"If we look at the nature of the problem, it is so big, it's hard to know what any individual can do in their own life to make a difference," he says. "The tendency when people are confronted with an overwhelming problem is to run away from it, so psychologists are very experienced in dealing with that."
Paul Stern, a researcher at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., says people generally want to do the right thing but don't know what it is. And he says they have "mistaken impressions" about what will actually affect energy use.
Stern co-authored a report outlining behaviors that matter most in terms of energy consumption. The report, which will appear in the September/October issue of Environment magazine, is the latest update of a list initially analyzed in 1981.
"Having a more fuel-efficient car makes more difference than any amount you're likely to decrease driving," he noted.
