The Psychology of Environmentally Sustainable Behavior: Fitting Together Pieces of the Puzzle

This paper considers the main features of four general psychological approaches to the analysis of environmentally sustainable behavior (rational–economic, social dilemmas, attitude–behavior models, and applied behavioral analysis), and focuses on the problems inherent in applying each approach to this issue. It also details the utility of a holistic Social–Ecological Framework that I believe is useful for analyzing environmentally sustainable behavior. This approach draws on concepts from ecological psychology such as Gibson's (1979) notion of "affordances," and shows how such a method can account for and help us understand the limitations of traditional psychological approaches to environmentally sustainable behavior, and provides a general guiding framework for the formulation of environmental policy decisions and intervention programs.     

Can Psychology Help Save the World? A Model for Conservation Psychology

Conservation psychology is defined as psychological research oriented toward understanding why people help or hurt the natural environment and promoting environmentally sustainable practices ( Saunders, 2003 ). Despite a growing body of research, the field is largely unfamiliar to many psychologists and to those working in the environmental field. Here we make a case for the importance of conservation psychology and describe a model for the social psychology of conservation behavior that focuses on situational context, existing schemas, and personal motives. We hope this model will be useful for policymakers and will prompt new psychological research on the topic of conservation.     

New Ways to Promote Proenvironmental Behavior: Expanding and Evaluating Motives for Environmentally Responsible Behavior

This article contends that while striving to promote environmentallyresponsible behavior, we have focused attention too narrowly on just two classes of motives. There is a need to expand the range of motives available to practitioners and to provide a framework within which motives can be evaluated for both their immediate and long-term effectiveness. The article then examines a strategy for promoting environmentally responsible behavior that has significant potential. This strategy is based on a particular form of motivation called intrinsic satisfaction. Nine studies are reviewed that have outlined the structure of intrinsic satisfaction. A key theme discussed is the human inclination for competence. This fundamental human concern is shown to have both a general form and a resource-specific version.     

Inducing risk-neutral preferences: An examination in a controlled market environment

This article reports 15 first-price auction experiments, each with four bidders, designed to test Cedric Smith' (1961) hypothesis that risk-neutral behavior can be induced in subjects' decisions by paying them in lotteries on money that are linear in the outcome probabilities. We choose the first-price auction environment because of its relatively high success in surviving a large number of tests, which contrasts with the widely documented tendency of subjects to violate the expected utility axioms in making choices among gambles. In the first five experiments, subjects were experienced in first-price auctions with monetary rewards. We prescreened these subjects for exceptionally high bidding consistency with the constant relative risk-averse model. The results unyielded only weak support for the risk-neutralizing procedure (3 of 10 risk-averse cases became risk-neutral, but only 1 in 8 that were retested continued to exhibit risk-neutral behavior). We recruited 16 new subjects with no previous experience for four lottery-only auctions. Eight of the 16 subjects bid as if risk-neutral, but in a retest of 12 subjects only 2 remained consistently risk-neutralized. Finally we recruited 12 inexperienced subjects, and each subject bid against 3 robot bidders whose bidding strategies were known to the human bidder. We use this procedure to control for Nash expectations. These 12 subjects were run under both monetary and lottery reward conditions. Two of the 12 subjects bid as if risk-neutral in the lottery auction, but both of these subjects had shown risk-neutral behavior with monetary rewards. In conclusion, we find very weak support for the risk-neutralizing procedure. We caution other researchers to run calibration tests of the procedure in the particular context they are studying to assess its reliability.     

Immigrant Environmental Behaviors in New York City

Objective. This article compares environmental behaviors of immigrants and the native-born to answer questions about potential impacts of immigration on the U.S. environment. Methods. We consider immigrant/native-born differences in the likelihood of engaging in environmentally friendly behavior. With data from a survey of New York City residents, we test two hypotheses regarding environmental behavior: (1) controlling for environmental orientation, environmental knowledge, acculturation, community attachment, and economic status will reduce immigrant/native-born differences, and (2) controlling for race will increase immigrant/native-born differences. Results. Our analysis provided no support for the second hypothesis, but there were varied results for the first hypothesis depending on the type of environmental behavior considered. Conclusions. Our findings for New York City show that fears of immigrants being less likely to engage in environmentally friendly behaviors are unfounded. Of greater significance to environmental organizations is the lower level of immigrant involvement in environmentally oriented political behaviors, suggesting that continued immigration will present challenges both in making the environmental movement more ethnically diverse and in maintaining its vitality.     

Environmentally Responsible Behavior: Teaching and Promoting It Effectively

The most serious long-term threat facing the world is the danger that human actions are producing irreversible harmful changes to the environmental conditions that support life on Earth. If this problem is not overcome, there may be no viable world for our descendants to inhabit. Enormous changes to human lifestyles and cultural practices may be required to reach the goal of a sustainable level of impact on the environment—i.e., one that can be maintained indefinitely. Social science courses can aid in reaching this goal by teaching about environmentally responsible behavior. Such teaching should provide sound information and strengthen motivation and behavioral skills that are necessary to make the needed changes in behavior and lifestyles. This paper discusses major obstacles to the goal of sustainability, describes a variety of motivational approaches toward accomplishing it, and proposes that we should view the achievement of sustainable living patterns as a superordinate goal—a war against the common enemy of an uninhabitable world.     

New Ways to Promote Proenvironmental Behavior: Human Nature and Environmentally Responsible Behavior

This article constitutes a search for a people-oriented approach to encouraging environmentally responsible behavior. It attempts to provide a source of motivations, reduce the corrosive sense of helplessness, and generatesolutions to environmental problems that do not undermine the quality of life of the people who are affected. The altruism-centered approach currently popular in the academic literature, by contrast, is seen as contributing to helplessness and focusing on sacrifice rather than quality-of-life-enhancing solutions. An alternative, the Reasonable Person Model, offers an evolutionary/cognitive/motivational approach to understanding human nature.     

Discriminating From Within

A classic experiment by Henri Tajfel provides evidence for the conclusion that the division of a group into subgroups is enough to trigger discriminatory behavior, even if there is no reason for such behavior in terms of the individual's own interest. I don't challenge that conclusion; but I question an implicit assumption which is suggested by the experimental setup and by the language used by Tajfel in describing the experiment. The assumption is that an initially coherent group will typically experience division as a result of outside influence. A totally different picture of the situation and totally different social policy recommendations will follow if we believe instead that groups are evolving structures, and specifically structures that constantly and autonomously come into conflict with themselves.     

Biological Structure and Embodied Human Agency: The Problem of Instinctivism

Charles R. Varela, Biological Structure and Embodied Human Agency: The Problem of Instinctivism, pp. 95–122.
Hebb's conception of instinctive behavior permits the conclusion that it is just not human nature to be instinctive: while the ant brain is built for instinctive behavior, the human brain is built for intelligent behavior. Since drives cannot be instincts, even when a human driver becomes driven, human motives are not instincts either. This understanding allows us to dismiss the determinism of the old instinctivism found in Freud's bio-psychological unconscious, and of the new instinctivism, exemplified by Wilson's sociobiology. The latter entails an explanatory shift from instincts to genes, in which the deterministic character of instincts is carried over to genes. Since genes are not instincts this is a mistake.     

New Environmental Theories: Toward a Coherent Theory of Environmentally Significant Behavior

This article develops a conceptual framework for advancing theories of environmentally significant individual behavior and reports on the attempts of the author's research group and others to develop such a theory. It discusses definitions of environmentally significant behavior; classifies the behaviors and their causes; assesses theories of environmentalism, focusingespecially on value-belief-norm theory; evaluates the relationship between environmental concern and behavior; and summarizes evidence on the factors that determine environmentally significant behaviors and that can effectively alter them. The article concludes by presenting some major propositions supported by available research and some principles for guiding future research and informing the design of behavioral programs for environmental protection.     

Norms and rationality. Is moral behavior a form of rational action?

This article addresses major arguments in the controversy about the “rationality” of moral behavior: can moral behavior be explained by rational choice theory (RCT)? The two positions discussed are the incentives thesis (norms are incentives as any other costs and benefits) and the autonomy thesis claiming that moral behavior has nothing to do with utility. The article analyses arguments for the autonomy thesis by J. Elster, A. Etzioni, and J. G. March and J. P. Olsen. Finally, the general claim is discussed whether norm following and norm emergence are utility maximizing. The conclusion is that the autonomy thesis is not tenable if one applies a wide subjectivist, social psychological version of RCT that includes the assumption of “bounded rationality.” The autonomy thesis is only compatible with a narrow version of RCT that excludes internal outcomes and that refers to norms that do not have external outcomes. It is argued that such a narrow version is not capable of explaining many forms of behavior social scientists are interested in.     

The Malleability of Environmentalism

In this article, we predict and find that self-perceptions of environmentalism are changed by subtle manipulations of context and, in turn, affect environmental behavior. In Study 1, we found that people exhibit greater positive assessments of their environmental behaviors (1) in the context of denying harm to the environment than in the context of claiming to help the environment, and (2) in situations where behaviors are evaluated subjectively than in situations where behaviors are evaluated more objectively. In Study 2, we explored the relationship between self-perceptions of environmentalism and environmental behaviors. Our data suggest that environmentally friendly behaviors may be promoted by leading people to perceive themselves as good environmentalists.     

Normative, Gain and Hedonic Goal Frames Guiding Environmental Behavior

This article discusses new developments about goal-dependent framing and multiple goal frames (sometimes also called "multiple motives"), which are highly relevant for understanding environmental behavior. We introduce goal-framing theory, which postulates that goals "frame" the way people process information and act upon it. Three goal frames are distinguished: a hedonic, gain, and normative goal frame. In general, multiple goals are active at any given time, which may (or may not) be compatible; that is, the strength of the focal goal may be influenced by other goals that are in the background. Based on an extensive review of studies in environmental psychology, we suggest those conditions under which each goal frame may be dominant in influencing environmental behavior. In the environmental context, normative goal frames imply acting pro-environmentally, while gain and hedonic goal frames often result in not acting in an environmentally sound manner. Next, we argue that pro-environmental behavior may be promoted by strengthening normative goals or by making gain and hedonic goals less incompatible with normative goals. Finally, based on goal-framing theory, we suggest questions to be addressed in future research.     

当前技术哲学研究中的一个理论缺失

当前哲学界多数学者以为 ,技术哲学主要研究自然技术———工程技术或物的技术 ,而不涉及社会技术。社会技术恐难论证 ,又与阴谋诡计不好区分。文章认为 ,社会技术是技术大家庭中的一个重要成员 ,是调整和改善人 (组织 )际关系 ,规范社会行为 ,解决社会矛盾 ,实现社会目的的实践程序和方法。社会技术同自然技术一样 ,也是技术哲学的一个基本问题     

Introduction to the Special Section Value Development from Middle Childhood to Early Adulthood—New Insights from Longitudinal and Genetically Informed Research

Research into values at an early age has only started recently, although it has expanded quickly and dynamically in the past years. The purpose of this article is twofold: First, it provides an introduction to a special section that aims to help fill the gap in value development research. The special section brings together four new longitudinal and genetically informed studies of value development from the beginning of middle childhood through early adulthood. Second, this article reviews recent research from this special section and beyond, aiming to provide new directions to the field. With new methods for assessing children's values and an increased awareness of the role of values in children's and adolescents' development, the field now seems ripe for an in‐depth investigation. Our review of empirical evidence shows that, as is the case with adults, children's values are organized based on compatibilities and conflicts in their underlying motivations. Values show some consistency across situations, as well as stability across time. This longitudinal stability tends to increase with age, although mean changes are also observed. These patterns of change seem to be compatible with Schwartz's (1992) theory of values (e.g., if the importance of openness to change values increases, the importance of conservation values decreases). The contributions of culture, family, peers, significant life events, and individual characteristics to values are discussed, as well as the development of values as guides for behavior.     

On Sociocultural Evolution by Social Selection

The essay criticizes an alleged new paradigm for explaining sociocultural change: selectionism. Part one describes the general selectionist explanatory schema, which selectionists claim applies to realms beyond the biological, in particular, the sociocultural. Part two focuses on the way most selectionists, in focusing on cultural change alone, wrongly separate culture from society. Particular atten-tion is paid to the accounts these selectionists offer of human action. Part three fills out a conception of the sociocultural, the need for which is indicated by the arguments of the previous section. Part four then criticizes existing social (as opposed to cultural) selectionist accounts of sociocultural change, again focusing on the role of human action. The conclusion is that selectionism does not offer a new explanatory paradigm, but is only a label for a class of accounts that highlight the role of contextualized agency in explaining social change.     

Specific Organizational Citizenship Behaviours and Organizational Effectiveness: The Development of a Conceptual Heuristic Device

Organizational citizenship behaviour has generally been associated with organizational effectiveness. However, recent research has shown that this may not always be the case and that certain types of organizational citizenship behaviour such as compulsory citizenship behaviour, may be inimical to the fulfillment of formal goals and organizational effectiveness. Using military historical and business organizational secondary data, the paper maintains that extreme variance in either organizational (task) or personal (social psychological) support organizational citizenship behaviour generates entropic citizenship behaviour which derails completely the effective accomplishment of formal organizational goals. A general model of organizational citizenship behaviour with entropic citizenship behavior as its novel conceptual boundary is developed in the paper, and four specific propositions with implications for future empirical research are delineated.     

“小组动力学”视角下学龄儿童“人际交往小组”社会工作介入

笔者在与学生接触过程中,发现部分学生缺少良好的人际交往技巧,伴随出现自卑、害羞、攻击倾向、不合作、不礼貌、情绪控制差等人际交往障碍。鉴于这种情况,笔者运用＂小组动力＂理论,设计并开展了人际交往小组活动。小组旨在让组员在小组的互动过程中不断提高自我认识,学会人际交往技巧,提高人际交往能力,解决其人际交往存在的问题,增强其自信心并实现正常社会化。笔者在小组活动筹备阶段、初级阶段、转换阶段、工作阶段、结束阶段分别运用了组成技术、起始技术、过程技术、结束技术、追踪技术,并且将＂小组动力学＂理论贯穿始终。     

对亚里士多德的实践逻各斯思想的梳理

在亚里士多德的用法中,实践主要指道德行为,有时也包括制作活动,偶尔还包括思辨活动。逻各斯的词典意义是语言及其所表达的东西,特别是普遍性的道理。亚里士多德把人的灵魂分为植物性部分、动物性部分和专属人的部分——前两部分没有逻各斯,后一部分有逻各斯,从而把逻各斯看做人之为人的本质规定。他又把有逻各斯的部分分为有理论逻各斯的部分和有实践逻各斯的部分,前者以不变的原因、原理为对象,后者以可变的人、物、事为对象;运作前者的机能叫理论理智,运作后者的机能叫实践理智。逻各斯的最完整的语言形式为三段论。表达原理的三段论为理论三段论,其大、小前提和结论都是普遍性命题;指导实践的三段论为实践三段论,其大前提为跟人有关的普遍性命题,其小前提为跟行为者有关的个别性命题,其结论为行动。实践三段论的复杂性在于一个行为往往受多个互相异质的三段论的影响,因此,要做出恰当的行为,就既要让欲求习惯于听从正确的大前提从而养成德性,又要善于运用理智在不同的三段论之间计虑权衡,即要有实践智慧。     

Social Psychological Factors in Lifestyle Change and Their Relevance to Policy

Crises in obesity and changes in the environment illustrate the need to change problematic behaviors and lifestyles in large segments of the population. This article uses social psychological theory and research to understand methods for facilitating lifestyle change. A basic assumption in the social psychological perspective is that the environment and the person interact to determine behavior. Both factors are important for understanding "upstream" and "downstream" approaches to lifestyle change ( McKinlay, 1993 ; Verplanken & Wood, 2006 ) and consideration of one factor without the other may be disastrous. We review evidence from within and outside of the health context to illustrate the upstream and downstream approaches and then describe implications for public policy and intervention. The evidence and recommendations encompass a wide range of behaviors, ranging from speeding and intoxicated driving to eating an unhealthy diet and energy conservation. When armed with the relevant social psychological theory and evidence, lifestyle change campaigns are likely to be successful.