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Psychology's Role in Reversing Unsustainable Trends

Explore how psychology can contribute to reversing the detrimental environmental and social trends of unsustainable development. This symposium examines the value base of sustainable development, classifications of human values, and approaches to fostering values compatible with sustainable development.

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Psychology's Role in Reversing Unsustainable Trends

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  1. „Rio 1992 reveals itself a vain promise. While governments at the Earth Summit had committed themselves in front of the eyes and ears of the world to curb environmental decline and social impoverishment, no reversal of these trends may be seen a decade down the line. ON THE CONTRARY: The world is sinking deeper into poverty and ecological decline.“ Johannesburg Memorandum, 2002, p.11 What has psychology to offer to reverse these trends?

  2. The value base of Sustainable Development Peter Schmuck Technical University Berlin & Interdisciplinary Center for Sustainable Development, Göttingen University * Global ecological, economic and social problems and the challenge: Sustainable Development * Common speculations regarding causes for non-sustainable Development * Classifications of human values * Values indispensible for Sustainable development social altruist values biospheric values * Comparison of approaches to foster values compatible with Sustainable development

  3. Global ecological, economic and social problems and the challenge: Sustainable Development * Global problems ecology: change of the atmosphere economy: fast consumption of ressources social: large disparities in living chances * Sustainable development requires intragenerational justice (social aspect) intergenerational justice (economical, ecological aspects) interspecies justice (ecological aspect)

  4. Common speculations regarding causes for non-sustainable Development Humans lost the sense for unity with the biosphere (Bateson 1989) Humans are alienated from time and the life cycle of generations (Koestler, 1993) Humans aquired a mentality of an extraterrestrian conqueror (Meyer-Abich, 1998) Humans consider erraneously the control over the „rest of nature“ as progress (Koch 1969) Humans consider each other as enemies fighting for restricted ressources necessary to satisfy ever growing individual needs produced by social suggestions (Astin, 1998, Fromm, 1987, Howard, 2000) Humans created unduely narrow mythes regarding our own nature (ego-centered reinforcement seeker) which work as self-fulfilling prophecies (Howard, 1985) A possible common source: Missing reflections about our VALUES

  5. Classifications of human values SELFCENTEREDSELF - TRANSCENDING Schwartz, 1992 Self -enhancement Self transcendent Stern & Dietz, 1994 Egoistic Altruistic Biospheric Zinn, 2003 Egoistisch Altruistisch Biosphärisch Sheldon & Schmuck self enhancement group enh. global enh. 2001 Gorke, 2003 Anthropozentrismus Pathozentrismus Biozentrismus Holismus Thompson & Bar- Anthropocentric Ecocentric ton, 1995 ANTHROPO - CENTEREDANTHR.TRANSC.

  6. Values indispensable for Sustainable development social altruist values to enable realization of intergenerational and intragenerational justice biospheric values to enable interspecies justice

  7. Comparison of approaches of behavior change towards Sustainable development Questionnable approaches (Stern, 2000, McKenzie-Mohr, 2000): Purely cognitive approaches Purely behavioristic (reinforcement) approaches Dissectionning environmental, social and economic aspects Hopeful approaches: Community based social marketing (McKenzie-Mohr, 2000) inter- and transdisciplinary approaches (Schmuck et al, 2003) action-research within a sustainability science

  8. Focal Points of a Psychology of Sustainable Development[Convenors: Schmuck, P. and Cervinka, R.] Part 1: 14.00-15.30Bonnes, M., Carrus, G. and Bonaiuto, M.: Sustainable Deve- lopment: From the 'Partial' to the 'Full' Ecology PerspectiveSchmuck, PeterThe Value Base of Sustainable DevelopmentKruse, LenelisSufficiency - Indispensable for Sustainable Development?Hartig, T.: What Nature to Save? and Why? Thoughts on Experiential Bases of Sustainability

  9. Focal Points of a Psychology of Sustainable Development [Convenors: Schmuck, P. and Cervinka, R.]Part 2: 16.00-17.30Uzzell, D.Responsibility and Sustainable DevelopmentMoser, G.: Integrating Cultural and Temporal Dynamics in Environmental Psychology for the New MilleniumSteg, L. and Vlek, C.Sustainable Transportation and Quality of LifeCervinka, R.: Sustainable Development and Its Monitoring in Austria - Recent Developments

  10. Guiding Questions for the Symposium Are human beings able to take into consideration the future after the own life cycle? Are we able to feel ourselves as a part of nature responsible for conserving the net of life we are living from? Are we able to reduce our consumption of resources to an amount which does not impair the carrying capacity of our earth? Are we able to share justly the available resources within the human generation living now and between us and future generations? How we can come to conjoint actions?

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