How can communication contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through behaviour change and policy support? The existing literature emphasises informing people about the scientific consensus on climate change, but the underlying research has been conducted mainly in the US, where prior beliefs in human-made climate change are lower than in many other countries with the highest per-capita emissions

This study seeks to examine the influence of noise and noise-related visual cues on message elaboration of psychiatric help-seeking (PHS) information. We conducted a randomized trial comparing two noise (High: 75dB LAeq, low: 30dB LAeq) and two message (noise-related visual cue or not) conditions. Participants (n = 200) were exposed to one of two noise conditions and one of two message conditions.

Purpose Previous studies have suggested that individuals affected by natural disasters experience changes in their cortisol levels. However, the associations have not been consistent, with results indicating either elevated cortisol levels or reduced levels. We examined serum cortisol levels among survivors who experienced housing damage in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Methods A cross-sectional

Identity is suggested to have profound environmental implications. However, the magnitude of the relationship between identity and environmental concern varied considerably in previous studies. As the first meta-analysis study to systematically review this topic, we followed previous conceptual discussions to evaluate the relations between four types of identity and environmental concern, which was

Whilst the effects of aircraft noise on children's cognition are well-accepted, their application in Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and methodologies to monetise the effects of noise on health have been limited. This paper presents the first meta-analysis of the effect of aircraft noise at school on children's reading comprehension and psychological health assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties

People's perceptions of climate change have been of great interest for understanding how people respond to climate change. Yet, studies differ greatly in how they assess climate change perceptions, which makes it difficult to compare and integrate findings. The aim of this paper is to develop and validate a scale to reliably measure people's climate change perceptions. We define climate change perceptions

To effectively limit climate change, we need people to both behave pro-environmentally and support environmental policy. However, there are conflicting results about whether people are likely to do both these actions. Extending previous research, we propose that people are likely to both behave pro-environmentally and support environmental policy because both are expressions of intrinsic pro-environmental

A great number of social and environmental issues our society is facing today (e.g., climate change) necessitate action in the present in order to benefit future others. Perceptions of responsibility towards future generations have been shown to increase intergenerational prosociality and combat intertemporal discounting. However, the degree to which these findings are generalizable across samples

The #FridaysForFuture movement has attracted young activists around the world. In the present mixed-method, socio-cultural psychological research, we investigate people's motivations for joining the movement in the privileged yet paradoxical context of Norway – a country that has gathered most of its wealth through oil production (i.e., the Norwegian Paradox). In Study 1, from a thematic analysis of

This research examines the extent to which four anticipatory emotional reactions (hope, anxiety, helplessness, and boredom) that arise when contemplating participating in public-sphere climate action predict intentions to engage in such action. In a large, geographically diverse sample of American adults visiting informal science learning centers (e.g., zoos, aquariums; N = 4964), stronger feelings

The climate agenda has gathered extraordinary pace due to Greta Thunberg and other autistic environmentalists. Thunberg's autism is widely used to explain and celebrate, but also diminish and denigrate, her activism. However, despite speculation linking autism, pro-environmental action, and climate change belief, there is neither psychological theory nor empirical evidence on this topic. We therefore

In recent years, edible insects, lab-grown meat, and vertically farmed produce have been praised as potential sustainable food alternatives to the increasingly unsustainable Western diet. Although these sustainable food alternatives offer considerable benefits, consumers typically reject them without much consideration. When prompted to explain their rejection, consumers often report specific concerns

Numerous studies demonstrated that pro-environmental norms predict pro-environmental behavior. Yet little attention has been devoted to the normativity of these norms, whether they qualify as social-conventional or moral. The present study examined moral endorsement of pro-environmental norms and how it relates to moral emotions and pro-environmental behavior. Based on nation-wide online survey with

Media coverage of climate protests within the United States and internationally has shown growing public frustration about governmental responses to climate change. But what are the effects of conveying that people are angry? And how do they contrast with more traditional norm messages about climate policy support? Here, we investigate whether social norm messaging about collective anger can impact

Spending time in nature has many psychological benefits for people, including stress reduction and improved mood. Using behavioral measures and field study settings, we demonstrate that exposure to nature also leads to prosocial behaviors, such as increasing charitable donations. We show these prosocial effects are explained by an increased sense of self-transcendence, whereby a person feels connected

Matching messages to characteristics of individuals is a frequently used technique in persuasion research. However, these interventions rarely target high-impact, difficult sustainability behaviors. In four studies, we present participants with persuasive messages consistent (or inconsistent) with their political beliefs; these messages advocate for a variety of pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors

This study investigated the mediator role of cognitive emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between nature connectedness and stress. The stress levels of participants were measured using two different methods: a) perceived stress and b) cumulative cortisol levels, which were analyzed by using the 3 cm segment of hair closest to the scalp. One hundred twenty-three female college students

Mental health problems are considered to represent the most frequent noncommunicable diseases in modern times. A growing field is now investigating the implementation of nature exposure in mental health care interventions. The present study investigated a walk and talk coaching program of approximately 12–18 weeks, in which coach and client go outside in a natural setting. Forty participants (31 females)

Focusing on delayed outcomes facilitates goal pursuit, but people exhibit a clear preference for immediate outcomes. Introducing immediate incentives (rewards or penalties) that are contingent on later performance can act as a commitment device to facilitate long-term goal pursuit. Here we apply these behavioural insights to the design of incentive-based electricity products that aim to commit consumers

Researchers interested in climate change communication have investigated how people respond to messages about it. Through meta-analysis, the current research synthesizes the multitude of experimental studies on this topic to uncover which interventions are most effective at influencing attitudes about climate change. The meta-analysis focuses on experimental studies that included a control condition

Field of view (FOV) allows us to perceive and learn our environment. Reducing the visual field impairs our ability to estimate distance and direction. It has been demonstrated that distance is estimated more accurately in outdoor environment (a lawn) than in indoors (hallway or lobby). This evidence suggests that features like width of environment, that is the openness of the environment that extends

Individual, car-based mobility contributes significantly to worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. Driving style accounts for up to 30% of fuel consumption and manufacturers have implemented technologies such as energy-efficient “eco” driving modes to reduce emissions. Here we report evidence from a field experiment with battery-electric vehicles. Two behavioral interventions, changing the mode's default

Proenvironmental attitudes and behaviors have been increasing over the past decade. In this study, we use longitudinal panel data from a nationally representative sample of the Swiss population (N = 9106) to replicate the finding that proenvironmental attitudes are linked with proenvironmental consumer behaviors, and present novel evidence that change in proenvironmental attitudes is associated with

We analysed some political consequences of household crowding during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown across a wide quota sample of the Italian adult population, stratified as concerns gender, age, level of education, geographical area of residence, and size of area of residence, interviewed before (May–June 2019) and during (April 2020) the lockdown (N = 1,047, 51.2% women, Mage = 50.44, SD = 14.36). Path

This study examines how different efficacy constructs – self efficacy, personal outcome expectancy, collective efficacy, and collective outcome expectancy – independently influence willingness to engage in personal energy conservation behavior and support for policies to address climate change. Data from a representative, cross-sectional survey of 23 countries, European Social Survey Round 8, was analyzed

Conservationists have sought to identify avenues through which to gain public support for efforts to halt the accelerating decline in animal diversity. Previous research has identified perceived internal qualities of animals that lead people to view them as deserving of protection for their own sake; that is, increase their moral standing. In two studies, we found that perceived beauty is an external

This study develops a model of climate change behavioral intention with nomadic herders in Mongolia. Climate change is creating unrelenting hardship by degrading pastures and fragile ecosystems that nomadic herders rely on for survival and by increasing the frequency of extreme weather threats. The model considers the relationships among resource loss, stress, coping and social support, posttraumatic

Previous research has shown that people tend to perceive organic consumers as more moral and higher status than conventional consumers. We propose that organic consumption might have reputational costs as well. Drawing from research on do-gooder derogation, virtue signaling, and cynicism, we suggest that people might see organic consumption as driven not only by altruistic but also by selfish – specifically

Identifying the essence of a latent psychological attribute captured by a measurement instrument requires more than a glance at the measure's indicators or confidence in an established measurement practice. It demands an exploration of the nomological network in which an attribute (e.g., environmental attitude) is theoretically anticipated to operate. With our study, we aimed to identify the General

People's pro-environmental behavior (PEB) can reflect their concern for the environment, but it can also have selfish reasons. The present study (N = 261) addresses the relationship between communal and agentic narcissism on the one hand, and altruistic and egoistic PEB on the other. To assess participant's PEB, a general self-report questionnaire and a diary approach were employed. For the general

There is a lack of consensus on whether preference informs evaluations of urban and natural scenes as psychologically restorative or instorative, or whether instorative perceptions inform preference. Perceptions of restorative potential and outcomes without a prior stress intervention are called instorative. In two online experimental studies conducted across long (N = 140) and short (N = 110) timeframes

The present research introduces the Carbon Emission Task (CET) as a new behavioral paradigm grounded in experimental economics. It assesses consequential pro-environmental behavior in laboratory, online, or classroom studies. Participants face repeated tradeoffs between financial bonus opportunities paired with real carbon emissions and foregoing such opportunities while staying carbon neutral. In

What is the role of emotional attachment to a place in predicting intergroup attitudes in a conflict setting? Here, we examined whether different types of place attachment would have distinct consequences for intergroup attitudes. Research was conducted in Jerusalem, where two conflicting groups fight for the territorial occupancy of the same land. We tested our hypotheses in three studies among Israelis

We examine attention to climate change in 46 countries across six continents from 2015 through 2019 by analyzing internet search activity in ten languages. We find that information seeking about climate change, measured by internet searches, notably increased in 2019 relative to prior years. Next, we analyze the impact of global climate marches on internet search activity and find that climate activist

Place attachment theory derives many insights from disruptions to place attachment, such as displacement, migration and changing landscapes. Development-induced displacement – a specific involuntary disruption to place attachment - invites a particular examination. This paper examines a lengthy process of development-induce displacement in Bangalore, India and draws new insights on place attachment

A shift to more sustainable diets is needed to ensure food security and to reduce the pressure on the environment. Yet, many consumers have misconceptions about the environmental impacts of their diets and lack knowledge on how to prepare sustainable meals. This study uses a mixed-methods approach to develop four information nudges and to test their impact on dietary choices among a representative

How individual differences in visuospatial thinking relate to environment learning from navigation is of growing interest and needs to be approached systematically. Here, a sample of 292 undergraduates learnt a virtual path (desktop-based), and their learning accuracy was assessed with recall tasks, i.e. route retracing, shortcut finding and landmark locating tasks. Several individual visuospatial

Why do people respond to environmental issues differently? In this research, we approach this question by referring to the role of social axioms, a set of generalized beliefs that embody people's assumptions and expectations about how the social world functions. There are five social axioms specifically: social cynicism, reward for application, social complexity, fate control, and religiosity. We contend

Prior research has shown that viewing natural scenery can improve mood and reduce stress. The present study examined whether these benefits are moderated by depressive symptoms, which theoretically may either reduce or enhance restorative effects of viewing nature. To test these competing hypotheses, we conducted two experiments with participants with varying levels of depressive symptoms (N = 57 in

In the contemporary world of human mobility, one of the key problems is why different groups of people are welcomed in some places, but are driven away from others. Theoretical writings of geographers, sociologists, and architects suggest that place can be defined in two ways—as an essentialist, bounded entity with historical continuity or as an open, anti-essentialist space, supporting changes. We

Although school grounds have long been recognised as effective settings for children's physical activity, the design of current school grounds in Australia does not often meet children's preferences for physical play. This participatory qualitative study explored the sophisticated layers of unofficial environmental opportunity that children discovered to support their physical play activities in school

Research has recently started investigating possible methods to encourage consumers to reduce meat consumption. However, few studies examine highly scalable messaging techniques, whether they have long-term effects, and how to best craft such appeals. This includes whether it is more effective to use “reduce” appeals to eat less meat or “eliminate” appeals to categorically stop eating meat. We examine

To keep human resource consumption within planetary boundaries, individual consumption levels need to drop. We therefore investigated whether online communications interventions, especially on social media, can foster sufficiency in the clothing domain. In two experiments, consumption reduction and prolonging the lifetime of clothes were promoted. In Study 1, we conducted an online field intervention

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is a highly influential framework for studying human action. Research applying the TPB often follows the assumption that the framework – originally developed in the U.S. – is universal and can be effectively applied across geographical and cultural boundaries. With the power of meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM), we test the above assumption across

Fernbach et al. (2019) found that extreme opposition to genetically modified (GM) food was associated with low levels of objective knowledge and high levels of self-assessed knowledge in the US. They also found that the pattern that extreme opponents knew the least but felt they knew the most applied to opponents of a medical application of genetic engineering technology (gene therapy). In the past

Reducing meat and fish consumption in wealthier countries would help mitigate climate change, raising the question of the most effective ways to achieve this. Price influences the food people buy, but to our knowledge no published field study has assessed the impact on sales of experimentally altering the price of meat and vegetarian meal options. We ran an experiment across 106 mealtimes with 13,840

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has had severe negative effects on populations worldwide. The seriousness of the pandemic necessitated local and even national lockdowns. In Singapore a national lockdown with aStay-at-Home Order (SHO) lasted for over 7 weeks. The impact of the pandemic and of the long SHO period on neuropsychophysiological functioning remains unknown. Studies prior to the pandemic

In developing the focus theory of normative conduct (FTNC), Cialdini et al. (1990), proposed and demonstrated that social anti-littering norms reduced littering in 1) clean environments (signaling that others did not litter) and 2) by adding a single piece of litter to an otherwise clean environment. The assumption was that the single piece of litter would focus people's attention on the descriptive

A poor fit exists between the behavioral results of the Bergquist et al. (2021) article not just with the results of the single-piece-of-litter effect they failed to replicate, but also with the findings of much other norms research, as well as with the findings of the article's own psychological processes study. All the data can be ordered, however, by registering certain features of the report's

In a world filled with human artefacts, sustainable living depends on people paying attention to and using environmentally beneficial objects, and avoiding environmentally harmful ones. In two studies, we investigate whether Australians and Germans with stronger pro-environmental tendencies (i.e., different types of measures that tap the goal of protecting the environment) pay more attention to signs

This study examines how the environmental features of residential property influence the choice of intrusion routes in a burglary, based on the assumption that burglars mainly judge whether there are proper intrusion routes rather than assessing the entire house. In order to collect reliable data, a virtual reality technique was used to simulate the choices of intrusion routes. Frequency analysis was

Young people will experience stronger consequences of climate change in their future adult lives than older people are facing today. Against this background, large demonstrations and school strikes for climate protection started all over the globe, called the Fridays For Future (FFF) movement. Drawing on the social identity model of pro-environmental action (SIMPEA) and theories on pro-environmental

Individuals differ in preferences to use route versus survey strategies or distal versus proximal cues for navigation. The current study aimed to examine the effects of environmental structure experience in environment representations. Two groups of participants from Salt Lake City (Utah, USA) and Padua (Veneto, Italy) completed a series of navigation tasks in familiar and novel virtual environments

A large-scale field experiment tested psychological interventions to reduce engine idling at long-wait stops. Messages based on theories of normative influence, outcome efficacy, and self-regulation were displayed approaching railway crossing on street poles. Observers coded whether drivers (N = 6,049) turned off their engine while waiting at the railway crossings (only 27.2% did so at baseline). Automatic

The coming decade will bring new challenges to marine management, governance and conservation. Understanding people’s relationship with this environment is fundamental for guiding scientists and decision makers. This article deconstructs mental ocean imagery and explores how these images relate to one’s marine value orientations, personal norms, emotional involvement (fear), attitudes toward marine

Considering that the growth model that dominates across the world is unsustainable, an increasing trend of publications indicates that transformative social change toward a “degrowth” economy is necessary to tackle climate change. Defined as an alternative sustainable social-economic model aiming for a downscaling of production and consumption, degrowth has been widely analyzed and documented in social

Smart office concepts became popular in recent decades, and organisations adopt this concept with expected benefits on users. Yet, it is unclear how users experience the relocation process to a smart office environment. This study examines user experiences during such relocation by focusing on their behaviour and satisfaction. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with users after relocation

Given the fact that most office workers spend substantial parts of their working day – and life – indoors, it is important to provide healthy conditions in the office. An important factor in this respect is lighting. Many laboratory studies have investigated acute effects of light on people’s alertness and cognitive performance, as well as effects on sleep. Yet, little is known about how these effects

Background Studies investigating the potential role of neighbourhood green space quality on the development of prosocial behaviour among children are sparse. This study aimed to investigate the longitudinal association between caregiver perceived green space quality and child prosocial behaviour, and identify potential effect modifiers of the association. Methods This was a longitudinal study using

Parents are important role models for directing children's learning toward pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs; Grønhøj & Thøgersen, 2017). However, how children learn from their parents about the environment is still relatively unexplored. The present study investigated the relationship by examining parents' and children's pro-environmental behaviors as well as parent-children interactions. A sample