10.11.2011
1
Environmental psychology and
environmental protection 1
11.11 2011
HEN 597 2011 1
Main themes
The ecological self: A model of the self
promoting a more caring attitude towards
our surroundings
Environmental problems are often
behavioural problems
The tragedy of the commons, social
dilemmas, resource dilemmas: Psychological
approach
HEN 597 2011 2
THE ECOLOGICAL SELF:
A PSYCHOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE ON ANTHROPOGENIC
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
HEN 597 2011 3
10.11.2011
2
Premises
There is reason to believe that present
environmental changes are greater than at any
other known point in human history.
Technological solutions are not likely to provide a
sufficient basis for action within a short enough
time span.
If we reformulate solutions to environmental
problems to be primarily a question of changing
human perceptions,beliefs and behaviours,we
may have a basis for action here and now.
What we do with the environment,in part at
least, is made possible by how we view the
relations between humans and nature.
HEN 597 2011 4
Model of the self in mainstream
psychology
A self with a strong sense of being something else
than or apart from the surroundings
The sense of a separate self: proof of having
reached maturity inWestern culture
Harmful environmental change appears to be
made possible by this view of the self:
◦ A need for models of the human psyche promoting a
more caring attitude towards our surroundings.
◦ The core concept of this model is the ecological self,
proposed by the Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess
HEN 597 2011 5
Historical changes in views of the
human-nature relation
Mythical age: nature and humans experienced
as one single unit
Antiquity: two-sided view of nature - inner,
actively creative vs. outer, passive
Medieval age: the natural world as a principle
counteracting the true and real world of ideas
After the Renaissance: nature as an object of
human domination and control, as dead matter,
thing, object
HEN 597 2011 6
10.11.2011
3
Modes of environmental experience
• The environment experienced as external,
physical location
• The environment experienced as social
system
• The environment experienced as
emotional territory
• The environment experienced as a setting
for action
• The environment experienced as self
HEN 597 2011 7
The environment as self:
The ecological self
Environments can be experienced as
integrated parts of self-identity through a
process of identification
The self as broad, field-like or expansive as
whatever the person identifies with.
Consequence:one will naturally (i.e.,
spontaneously) protect the natural
(spontaneous) unfolding of this expansive
self (i.e. the ecosphere,the cosmos)
HEN 597 2011 8
Identification as a process of psychological
development: A contribution from transpersonal
psychology
KenWilber (1979): Psychological development as
transcending and integrating lower order
structures into higher, more comprehensive
levels through identification, disidentification
and integration
The self gradually identifies with the higher
order structure
Wilbers final level of development:World
process experienced similar to one's own
existence.The most expansive state of the
"ecological self”?
HEN 597 2011 9
10.11.2011
4
Some possible characteristics of the ecological
self
The ecological self can be defined as whatever the
individual identifies with.
Identification is understood as the experience of
similarity and commonality (but not identity) with a unit.
Expansion of the sense of self is seen as a process of
development through identification, disidentification,
transcendence and integration.
Identification with specific physical environments
constitutes a part of self-identity.
Psychological bonds to specific environments are both
emotional and cognitive in character, and can transcend
the relation to one specific, circumscribed environment.
HEN 597 2011 10
More characteristics of the ecological self
Experiences resulting in identification with environments
may be direct, or indirect (vicarious)
Environmental sense of self may be related to specific
value priorities and behavioral tendencies.
Cognitions based upon direct or vicarious environmental
experiences may develop into generalized environmental
beliefs and representations.
A threat towards an environment that is experienced as
part of one's identity, may be perceived as a threat
towards self and self-identity.
HEN 597 2011 11
Characteristics of present
environmental problems
Global dimensions
Raises ethical questions
Human activity is a major cause
◦ Behavioral and social scientists have an
important role in determining and
encouraging sustainable patterns of social
life
HEN 597 2011 12
10.11.2011
5
We are facing a broad range of
problems
Need for a drastic change of the direction in
which our societies are moving
Technological knowledge and skills is not
enough
Knowledge about how to change or stop
environmentally destructive behaviours is
crucial:
◦ Even when adequate technologies are available,
certain behaviours must be maintained for these
technologies to be effective
HEN 597 2011 13
Why do we still await the needed
behaviour change?
Many of the problems develop only gradually
Nearby environment is often perceived as less
polluted than distant areas
The tragedy of the commons (Hardin, 1968)
◦ a limited, common resource (cf. fisheries) is used (up)
by individuals acting in self-interest choosing shortterm
gain also when the long term consequences are
serious
HEN 597 2011 14
Behavior-relevant environmental
problems
Problems that may be crucial at a global
level in the future (depletion of the ozonlayer,
global warming…)
Problems within the range of each
individual: (ex: recycling)
How easy/difficult it is to correct the
problem
HEN 597 2011 15
10.11.2011
6
Environmental behaviours according to
environmental impact and personal costs
PERSONAL COSTS
(ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED)
Small Large
Large Important. Easy to
increase/decrease
frequency
Important. Diffcult
to increase/decrease
frequency
ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT
Small Less important.
Easy to
increase/decrease
frequency
Less important.
Diffcult to
increase/decrease
frequency
HEN 597 2011 16
Who should change behaviour?
Large segments of the population
A few important decision makers because they
determine the context of our everyday lives:
◦ Politicians
◦ technology researchers
◦ designers
◦ manufacturers
◦ individuals within banking and lending inst.
HEN 597 2011 17
Psycho-social environmental research
can provide
New knowledge (supplement to
natural scientific knowledge)
A better foundation for
environmental policy
Specifically: Identify determinants of
environmental perceptions and
behaviours
HEN 597 2011 18
10.11.2011
7
Psychological perspective
Focus on behaviours that affects
environmental problems through
each individual’s behaviour
HEN 597 2011 19
Further perspectives on Human
Behavior and Environmental
Sustainability: Problems, Driving
Forces, and Research Topics.
See: Vlek & Steg (2007)
HEN 597 2011 20
Main points
Global trends: environmental quality and resource use
Five broad driving forces of global environmental
change: population, prosperity, technology, institutions, and
culture; these forces are seen in the light of critical
transformations during the evolution of human societies
By means of a four phase model approach to resource
dilemmas, a number of themes for research on and
political support of sustainable development at different
scales are described
Discusion of multidisciplinary cooperation and desired
developments within environmental psychology
HEN 597 2011 21
10.11.2011
8
“Sustainable development”
Since 1987: includes economic, social and
environmental dimensions of our
common future (WCED, 1987)
Here: focus on environmental
sustainability and relations to quality of
life
positive and negative qualities of living
environments
HEN 597 2011 22
Environmental sustainability as a
social problem
Environmental status
◦ In general, the world has become more aware
of the need for renewable energy resources
◦ Still, we can observe a clear quantitative and
qualitative reduction of environmental
resources
◦ A number of environmental problems are,
basically, social and behavioural problems
HEN 597 2011 23
The state of the environment
Many of the problems are already solved:
◦ Lead is removed from fuel
◦ DDT is removed from pesticides
◦ Asbestos is removed from building materials
◦ Hazardous waste is treated more responsibly
◦ There is a common understanding of the need
for renewable energy
HEN 597 2011 24
10.11.2011
9
The state of the environment
Much left to do
◦ Population growth results in intensified material
consumption and thus quantitative and qualitative
deterioration of environmental resources
◦ Reasons to worry
Fragmentation of the natural environment
Loss of biodiversity
Lack of freshwater
Overfishing
Global warming
Extreme weather
Urban air pollution,
Noise
HEN 597 2011 25
The state of the environment
Less industrialized regions: Poverty
degrades both people and environment
◦ Deforestation
◦ Lack of drinking water
◦ Floods in coastal areas
◦ Serious air pollution in the cities
◦ The wild animals of Africa will be extinguished
outside of national parks
HEN 597 2011 26
The state of the environment
A large number of the problems are in a
fundamental sense social and environmental
problems
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA, 2005)
◦ During the last 50 years human activity has altered vital
ecosystem services faster and more comprehensively than
during any other comparable historical period
◦ Effective measures to ensure sustainable resource
management will demand considerable change in
institutions and regulations, economic policies and
incentives, social and behavioural factors, technology and
knowledge
HEN 597 2011 27
10.11.2011
10
The evolution of environmental
resource use
Steadily increasing population, consumption and
technological strength are overshadowing
environmental innovations
Increasing consumption is particularly related to
the incresing use of motorized vehicles for
transportation of passengers and goods since
WWII.
Travelling is the primary cause of growth in
carbon emissions in rich industrial countries:
Life style changes driven by increasing income
levels – particularly increased “automobility”
HEN 597 2011 28
Driving forces of society behind
environmental deterioration
Ehrlic & Holdren (1971):Total environmental
resource use is a multiplicative function of
population,consumption and technology:
◦ Impact = P (population) x A (average Affluence:
consumption per person) x T (average resource
intensity for Technology applied per production
unit)
Other important forces:
◦ Institutions: the organisation of society supports
these processes
◦ Culture: general values, norms and beliefs
HEN 597 2011 29
Driving forces of society behind environmental
deterioration
Takács – Santa (2004): long term trends in the
evolution of human societies
◦ Clearing of more and more vegetation for buildng
purposes
◦ Increased separation of human societies and the
natural environment
◦ Development of technological efficiency and capasity
◦ Intensified use of raw materials and fossile energy
sources
◦ Proliferation of transport infrastructure and vehicles
◦ In addition: Mass motorisation and the computer
revolution
However:The total effect of human activities
may be reduced via a consistent policy to
change the driving forces described above
HEN 597 2011 30
10.11.2011
11
Driving force 1: Population
Assumed to increase to 9 billion about
2050
Population control is an obvious means to
prevent increased poverty and reduce
environmental problems
Experts believe that higher living standard
leads to reduced population growth –
social psychological theory may
contribute here
HEN 597 2011 31
Driving force 2:Affluence
In affluent countries increased consumption is due to a
gradual transition from satisfaction of basic needs to
satisfaction of endless temptations (”luxury fever”):
household equipment, exotic travels, SUV’s retc
There is a need for considerable changes in consumer
behaviour, production and distribution of gods and
services and people’s ability to fulfill their needs and
values in a sustainable way through non-material
measures of quality of life
Most consumers are locked into social structures and
processes resulting in environmentally harmful
cmsumption patterns: Psychological changes are
necessary
HEN 597 2011 32
Driving force 3:Technology
There is a great potential for more
efficient materials, energy saving, waste
reduction
The benefit from environment-friendly
technologies depends mainly on how they
are used
◦ The rebound-effect: the degree to which
increased demand for a product is exceeding
the increase in production efficiency per enhet
HEN 597 2011 33
10.11.2011
12
Driving force 4: Institutions
In industrialized countries the transition to a
sustainable society depends upon major
changes in fundamental beliefs about welfare,
quality of life and related political goals
We need an economy providing better
quality of life independent of resource
consumption
HEN 597 2011 34
Driving force 5: Culture
A prominent feature of human societies is
environmental short-sightedness both in a
physical and social sense
Sustainabel development requires:
◦ A long term perspective
◦ A more collectivistic culture
◦ Environmental awareness and environmental
responsibility
◦ Understanding that humans are parts of nature
◦ Understanding that non-human nature is of crucial
economic and social importance
Considerable psychological and sociological
changes are necessary
HEN 597 2011 35
Central themes in social and behavioral
research
Commons dilemmas
◦ A social situation in which a collective risk or cost
is generated via the combined negative
eksternalities from many individuals acting
independently
◦ The external effects of many individually optimal
(”rational”) decisions may in combination lead to
a suboptimal (”irrational”) result that no-one
really wants
HEN 597 2011 36
10.11.2011
13
Managing our common
resources
A psychological perspective on commons dilemmas
HEN 597 2011 37
Factors in individual use of natural
resources including refined products
◦ Rate: can normally be quantified
Ex.: water consumption
◦ Quality
Can water consumption be defended?
◦ Who manages ?
Society/macro level
Individual/micro level
Psychologically interesting: From microlevel upwards
38HEN 597 2011
Resource management at the micro
level
Individuals monitor own consumption,
observe effects, and are aware of the
consumption of others
Important: management at the micro level
sums up to the macro level
39HEN 597 2011
10.11.2011
14
Resource management and sustainability
as a commons dilemma
The commons are established on the
assumption that the supply of this resource can
meet the demands of the community
Earlier one did not realise that the commons
were limited, so unlimited exploitation was
allowed
”The invisible hand” would make sure that the
entire society would benefit from free
exploitation
40HEN 597 2011
Hardin (1968):The tragedy of the commons
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/162/3859/1243
”Each man is locked into a system that compels
him to increase his herd without limit – in a
world that is limited. Ruin is the destination
towards which all men rush, each pursuing his
own best interest”
The commons is any desirable resource held jointly by a
group of individuals
Althoug we know that natural resources are about to be
depleted,exploitation of them is in fact increasing
Hardin:The only solution is to put an end to the freedom
of the commons and agree upon the introduction of
mutual coercion, i.e. laws and regulations
41HEN 597 2011
Local management of the commons:
Two success stories
The mountain villageTörbel, Switzerland
◦ Successful common management of forest and
pastures with regulations going back to 1483
Lobster fisheries in Maine, USA
◦ State government decided restrictions on size
and sex of the lobster
◦ Informal control: Fishermen were given specific
territories
42HEN 597 2011
10.11.2011
15
Community management
Self - organised
Resource users develop their own management
rules, accept these rules voluntarily, and may
alter them collectively
The rules become shared social norms that
people follow because they believe in them
(internalisation)
Little need for external control or coercion
Transferability/generalisation: Limited to small
scale conditions
43HEN 597 2011
Community managment
Group needs have priority over narrow
self interest without depleting the
resources and without coercion
Independent of information and attitude
campaigns
Does not require deep religious or moral
commitment
44HEN 597 2011
Self-interest and the public interest
Commons dilemma
◦ The choice between acting in self-interest and in
the public interest.
◦ Environmental psychologists: Under which
conditions do individuals act in self-interest?
45HEN 597 2011
10.11.2011
16
Commons dilemma
Overuse of natural resources as a result
of a conflict between individual and
group interests
When the natural resource is extracted
faster than it’s renewal
46HEN 597 2011
Social trap
Temporal trap. Caused by the fact that
individuals or societies give in to
immediate rewards that has built-in and
gradual costs becoming very large over
time
◦ Ex.: Smoking, the use of DDT
47HEN 597 2011
Social dilemma (Dawes)
Includes the commons dilemma, social
traps and the prisoner’s dilemma
Central features
◦ Each participant profits more from acting in
self-interest than in the public interest
◦ Participants as a group benefit more if all act
in the public interest than if they all choose to
defect (act in self-interest)
48HEN 597 2011
10.11.2011
17
Research strategies
Field experiments
◦ Very difficult to control the resource and the
situation
Field studies
◦ Lack of control: Difficult to know which
explanation is the right one
49HEN 597 2011
Simulations as research strategy
• Defection versus cooperation - 3 alternative
situations that can be studied in simulations
1. If one participant acts in self-interest (defects)
while all others act in the public interest
(cooperate) the defector will have the highest
payoff
2. If everyone cooperates, everyone will receive a
higher payoff than if everyone defects
3. If everyone defects the commons will be destroyed
50HEN 597 2011
Simulations :Are they realistic?
Not enough knowledge
Some observations indicate reasonable
validity
51HEN 597 2011
10.11.2011
18
What influences sustainability-related
behaviour such as resource management?
Four categories of influences
◦ The resource: Is it important, almost depleted or
relatively plentiful?
◦ The participants as individuals:Age, experience,value
orientation etc
◦ The participants as group members: Number, mutual
trust, do they know each other?
◦ The structure of the dilemma: Relative payoff for
cooperation versus self-interest,is it possible to
communicate, are choices made public, are they
informed about the nature of social dilemmas, are
there leaders or not…
52HEN 597 2011
The natural resource management
process
53
Outcome
•Extinction
•Sustain-
ability
The structure
of the dilemma
•Payoff
•Rules
•Communication
Cognitive processes
during harvesting
•Fear
•Ignorance
etc
The resource:
•Value
•Degree of depletion
Participants :
•Experience
•Cooperative ?
The group:
•Number
•Trust?
•Friendship? HEN 597 2011
Simulations of resource
dilemmas
Some general findings (see for example Gifford
(2007), or Gardner & Stern (2003))
HEN 597 2011 54
10.11.2011
19
The resource
Must be desirable, not depleted
Size of resource
◦ Uncertainty about size influences harvesting
Cooperation decreases with importance of resource
◦ When the resource becomes very important (fresh air during a cinema
fire)
◦ Not when payoff for cooperation/punishment for defection is large
◦ Cooperation increases in half-polluted commons
How fasts the resource is depleted
◦ Slow depletion leads to increased exploitation
◦ With little trust, harvesting was about the same regardless of how fast
the resource disappeared, with more trust harvsting was higher at slow
depletion
Plentiful resource
◦ Harvesting more
55HEN 597 2011
Participants : Individual characteristics
Age
◦ Up to age 16 there is an increased comprehension of the
value of cooperation, after this cooperation depends upon
other factors
Gender
◦ Not clear results, although women probably are raised to
cooperate more
Personality
◦ Tre types:Those who always cooperate, those who always
refuse to cooperate and those between the two extremes
◦ 1/nth personality – the tendency to cooperate or choose
strategies for the common good
High 1/nth personality females cooperated more
56HEN 597 2011
Participants : Individual characteristics
Social values
◦ Cooperativeness (”maximize mine and your profit”)
Moderat harvesting from the resource
◦ Competitiveness (” maximize my profit relative to
yours”)
◦ Individualism (”I maximize my profit and does not
care about yours”)
◦ Altruism (”maximize your profit relative to mine”)
◦ Murder-suicide (”minimize mine and your profit”)
57HEN 597 2011
10.11.2011
20
Participants : Individual characteristics
Experience and knowledge
◦ Better understanding of commons dilemma
results in more cooperation
◦ Earlier experience with one-person resource
management had a larger effect than group
experiences
58HEN 597 2011
Participants: Group characteristics
Conformity
◦ Doing as the others : playing safe
◦ Anti-conformist behaviour may lead to resource protection: When
one person took a loss others conserved more
The number of harvesters
◦ Self-interest increases with group size, because
The harm from single defectors is diluted
Defection becomes less visible
The effect of the harm done is less visible to the defector
Negative feedback to the defector is difficult to sustain in a large group
Friendship
◦ Friends know each other’s needs, they share experiences of giving and
taking, they wish to continue their friendship – so they cooperate!
59HEN 597 2011
Participants: Group characteristics
Trust: Generally a weak effect, but works
through other factors
◦ Trust leads to more cooperation only in small groups
and when knowing how much others cooperate
Sense of community
◦ Easily created
Equality and reputation
◦ Conformity – ”if others do it, I will, too”
◦ Reputation as a cooperator may get others to
cooperate
60HEN 597 2011
10.11.2011
21
The structure of the dilemma
Reward and punishment
◦ Cooperation increases with higher economic
payoff or with punishment for defection
◦ The complexity of the dilemma may lead to
egoistic behaviour – one gives up trying to
understand the rules!
61HEN 597 2011
The structure of the dilemma
Communication: Leads usually to better management and
serves a number of functions
Clarifying payoffs
Reaching agreement on harvesting
Reduces distrust
Promotes group identity
Promotes public commitment to cooperation
Penalties for not following agreements
Promotes promises to cooperate
62HEN 597 2011
The structure of the dilemma
Public disclosure
◦ Knowing what others do increases
cooperation and trust
Resource partitioning
◦ Eks.: Groups get responsibility for a
certain territory
Governance: structural solutions
◦ Popular when the resource has been
overused
63HEN 597 2011
10.11.2011
22
The commons dilemma: Solutions?
Dictatorship?
Ecological Utopia governed by the
principles of behavioural psychology?
Laws that impose cooperation in the
commons?
A decentralised society based on friendship,
trust and communication?
64HEN 597 2011
Recommendations (Gifford, 2007)
The management of a part of the resource
should be given to each participant
Trust and friendship must be supported
The total amount of participants should be
kept at a low level
Participants must be encouraged to
communicate,make choices openly, and
egoistic decisions should be punished
65HEN 597 2011
Theories of social dilemmas
Biosocial theories:
◦ Behavior in the commons is mainly a
function af genetics
◦ Competition or egoism dominate human
behaviour
66HEN 597 2011
10.11.2011
23
Biosocial theory 1:
Animals manage the commons by
establishing territories
Resources are protected by spatial
distribution of the animals and by limiting
new populations
67HEN 597 2011
Biosocial theory 2:
In humans, the competition about territories is
reaching more aggressive levels and manifests as
violence, fraud and deceit
The controversial part is that the theory
explains this as resulting from our genes
Territories are the basis for social hierarchies, in
turn controlling the distribution of resources
Inequality is seen as a natural basis for society
68HEN 597 2011
Biosocial theory 3:
The selfish gene (Dawkins): Help occurs
only when a gene may ensure its own
survival
69HEN 597 2011
10.11.2011
24
Social trap – and reinforcement theories
Social trap
◦ Too many reward themselves too immediately
◦ The reinforment structure of social dilemmas must be rearranged:This
has already been done in the management of hunting and fishing
◦ A primary cause of insufficient management of the commons is that the
rewards for acting in the public interest not only are smaller than the
rewards for egoistic actions but they are also not contingent upon this
behaviour
◦ Solution 1: Let the government control the resources
Problem 1:Who will control the controllers?
Problem 2: If the government makes unpopular decisions in order to protect
the environment it will lose the next election
◦ Solution 2 : Give up freedom in favour of equality and justice
70HEN 597 2011
Limited processing theory (Dawes)
Individuals do not always act rational but
deliberately in a nonrational way
To types of nonrationality:
◦ When people do not pay attention to their
actions
◦ When the structure of a dilemma is too
complex to understand
71HEN 597 2011