Political Psychology of Environmentalism and Sustainability

Biospheric values refer to the belief that humans have a responsibility to protect the natural environment and its biodiversity.

The theory of planned behavior suggests that an individual's environmental behavior is influenced by their attitude towards the environment, subjective norms (i.e., what they believe others expect them to do), and perceived behavioral control (i.e., their belief in their ability to perform the behavior).

Psychological barriers to sustainable behavior can include lack of awareness about environmental issues, habitual behavior that is difficult to change, and cognitive dissonance (i.e., the discomfort experienced when one's behavior is inconsistent with their values).

Support for environmental policies is influenced by a variety of psychological factors, including political ideology, environmental knowledge, trust in government, and personal values.

Environmental risk perception is influenced by a variety of psychological factors, including the affect heuristic (i.e., the tendency to judge risks based on emotions), the availability heuristic (i.e., the tendency to judge risks based on how easily they come to mind), and the representativeness heuristic (i.e., the tendency to judge risks based on how similar they are to other risks).

Environmental decision-making is influenced by a variety of psychological factors, including risk perception, values, cognitive biases, and emotions.

Self-serving bias refers to the tendency for people to believe that their own behavior is more environmentally friendly than the behavior of others.

Environmental activism is influenced by a variety of psychological factors, including personal experience with environmental degradation, environmental knowledge, sense of responsibility, and social norms.

Environmental policy support is influenced by a variety of psychological factors, including political ideology, environmental knowledge, trust in government, and personal values.

Learned helplessness refers to the tendency for people to believe that they have no control over a situation and that their efforts will not make a difference.

Environmental citizenship is influenced by a variety of psychological factors, including environmental knowledge, sense of responsibility, social norms, and personal values.