Inspiring Action: The Role of Psychology in Environmental Campaigning and Activism

Abstract

Abstract

This is an abridged version of the summary report of the workshop “Inspiring Action: The Role of Psychology in Environmental Campaigning and Activism,” which took place on September 23–24, 2010. The event was co-sponsored by Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PsySR) and Friends of the Earth and brought together a national panel of psychologists and 19 members of the Washington, DC, area environmental community for 2 days of discussions and strategy sessions. Speakers included Tom Crompton, World Wildlife Fund-UK; Tim Kasser, Knox College; Kirk Brown, Virginia Commonwealth University; Janet Swim, Pennsylvania State University; Thomas Doherty, Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling; Steve Shapiro, Johns Hopkins Medical Institute and PsySR; and Sarah Conn, Earth Circles. Discussions focused on developing new strategies to promote ecologically sustainable life choices, resource and landscape conservation, and effective political action based on recent psychological research on the features of human identity that promote and interfere with pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors.

Editor's Note

In his 1992 work The Voice of the Earth, Theodore Roszak called for a bridging of what he saw as a longstanding historical gulf between the “psychological and the ecological” (p. 14) and envisioned a world in which the expertise of psychology and mental health professions would be brought to bear to help solve the vexing environmental problems that are the shadow of modern, industrialized societies. This interdisciplinary vision has in fact been manifested at many times in the past and has taken on an increasing level of urgency and attention. We now have decades of research to draw from in environmental psychology as well as the results of more recent initiatives in conservation psychology, ecopsychology, and kindred ventures. In many ways, in these worst of times for natural systems, it is the best of times for psychologies of the natural environment. In terms of energy, creativity, and collaboration, witness this description of the workshop “Inspiring Action: The role of Psychology in Environmental Campaigning and Activism.” I was lucky enough to contribute to this event. At a number of times during the workshop exchanges, I reflected on Roszak's call for “a dialog between environmentalists and psychologists that would enrich both fields and play a significant role in public policy” (p. 323)—now nearly two decades old—and found satisfaction that, in a real way, these dialogs are occurring. For the purpose of remarking on this gathering and sharing it with a wider audience, I elected to republish these proceedings in the pages of Ecopsychology. The text of the original report was authored by Laurie Mazur for Psychologists for Social Responsibility and Friends of the Earth, and a full version of the report including a list of participants, presentation slides, and supplementary materials is available at www.psysr.org/about/programs/climate/projects/activism/.