This textbook introduces the reader to the new and emerging field of Conservation Psychology, which explores connections between the study of human behavior and the achievement of conservation goals. People are often cast as villains in the story of environmental degradation, seen primarily as a threat to healthy ecosystems and an obstacle to conservation. But humans are inseparable from natural ecosystems. Understanding how people think about, experience, and interact with nature is crucial for promoting environmental sustainability as well as human well-being. The book first summarizes theory and research on human cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses to nature and goes on to review research on people's experience of nature in wild, managed, and urban settings. Finally, it examines ways to encourage conservation-oriented behavior at both individual and societal levels. Throughout, the authors integrate a wide body of published literature to demonstrate how and why psychology is relevant to promoting a more sustainable relationship between humans and nature.

First handbook to integrate environmental psychology and conservation psychology.

People are inseparable from natural ecosystems, andunderstanding how people think about, experience, and interact withnature is crucial for promoting environmental sustainability aswell as human well-being. This is the new edition of what is now the leading textbook inconservation psychology, the field that explores connectionsbetween the study of human behavior and the achievement ofconservation goals. Completely updated, this book summarizes theory and research on ways in whichhumans experience nature; it explores people’s conceptions ofnature and environmental problems, their relationship with nature,and their moral lenses on nature; and examines ways to encourageconservation-oriented behavior at both individual and societallevels. Throughout, the authors integrate a wide body of researchdemonstrating the role of psychology in promoting a moresustainable relationship between humans and nature. New sections cover human perceptions of environmental problems, newexamples of community-based conservation, and a “positivepsychology” perspective that emphasizes the relevance ofnature to human resilience. Additional references are to be foundthroughout this edition along with some new examples and areorganisation of chapters in response to reader feedback. This fascinating volume is used for teaching classes to seniorundergraduate and graduate students of Conservation Psychology,Environmental Psychology and Conservation Science in departments ofPsychology, Geography, Environmental Science, and Ecology andEvolution. It is equally suitable as a starting point for otherresearchers and practitioners - psychologists, conservationbiologists, environmental scientists, and policy-makers - needingto know more about how psychological research can inform theirconservation work.

Psychology for Sustainability, 4th Edition -- known as Psychology of Environmental Problems: Psychology for Sustainability in its previous edition -- applies psychological theory and research to so-called "environmental" problems, which actually result from human behavior that degrades natural systems. This upbeat, user-friendly edition represents a dramatic reorganization and includes a substantial amount of new content that will be useful to students and faculty in a variety of disciplines—and to people outside of academia, as well. The literature reviewed throughout the text is up-to-date, and reflects the burgeoning efforts of many in the behavioral sciences who are working to create a more sustainable society. The 4th Edition is organized in four sections. The first section provides a foundation by familiarizing readers with the current ecological crisis and its historical origins, and by offering a vision for a sustainable future.The next five chapters present psychological research methods, theory, and findings pertinent to understanding, and changing, unsustainable behavior. The third section addresses the reciprocal relationship between planetary and human wellbeing and the final chapter encourages readers to take what they have learned and apply it to move behavior in a sustainable direction. The book concludes with a variety of theoretically and empirically grounded ideas for how to face this challenging task with positivity, wisdom, and enthusiasm. This textbook may be used as a primary or secondary textbook in a wide range of courses on Ecological Psychology, Environmental Science, Sustainability Sciences, Environmental Education, and Social Marketing. It also provides a valuable resource for professional audiences of policymakers, legislators, and those working on sustainable communities.

A compact overview of the process, theory and practice of conservation and its central place in environmental issues.

Psychology and Climate Change: Human Perceptions, Impacts, and Responses organizes and summarizes recent psychological research that relates to the issue of climate change. The book covers topics such as how people perceive and respond to climate change, how people understand and communicate about the issue, how it impacts individuals and communities, particularly vulnerable communities, and how individuals and communities can best prepare for and mitigate negative climate change impacts. It addresses the topic at multiple scales, from individuals to close social networks and communities. Further, it considers the role of social diversity in shaping vulnerability and reactions to climate change. Psychology and Climate Change describes the implications of psychological processes such as perceptions and motivations (e.g., risk perception, motivated cognition, denial), emotional responses, group identities, mental health and well-being, sense of place, and behavior (mitigation and adaptation). The book strives to engage diverse stakeholders, from multiple disciplines in addition to psychology, and at every level of decision making - individual, community, national, and international, to understand the ways in which human capabilities and tendencies can and should shape policy and action to address the urgent and very real issue of climate change. - Examines the role of knowledge, norms, experience, and social context in climate change awareness and action - Considers the role of identity threat, identity-based motivation, and belonging - Presents a conceptual framework for classifying individual and household behavior - Develops a model to explain environmentally sustainable behavior - Draws on what we know about participation in collective action - Describes ways to improve the effectiveness of climate change communication efforts - Discusses the difference between acute climate change events and slowly-emerging changes on our mental health - Addresses psychological stress and injury related to global climate change from an intersectional justice perspective - Promotes individual and community resilience

This book brings together a selection of theoretical reflections, empirical researches and professional experiences to showcase the increasing production of psychological studies in rural contexts developed in Latin America in recent years. Psychology’s tradition of science and eminently urban profession has produced a void of reflections and approaches on important actors of the societies that constitute their existence in rural contexts and in relation – whether of integration, conflicts and contradictions – with urban agents. But a new generation of psychologists are turning their attention to rural contexts, especially in Latin America. This volume aims to present a selection of these psychological studies and interventions developed in rural contexts from a psychosocial and interdisciplinary perspective, developed together with various social actors who live and work in rural spaces, that have an important relationship with land and nature both in terms of the elaboration of their history, the production of their subjectivities and identity ties with the territory, and the engagement in struggles for the right to land and for public policies that guarantee access to education and health services, technical assistance and infrastructure for its working activities. The book is divided in five parts, each one dedicated to a dimension of psychosocial studies and interventions in rural contexts: theoretical approaches; mental health and rural populations; social movements, communities and resistance practices; gender relations and subjectivation processes; and environment and sustainability. Chapters in each axis prioritize reports of experiences and research conducted with participatory approaches, producing new perspectives and reflections that contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field of psychology, both regionally and globally.