From 10:10 to the government's Act On CO2 campaign, it is now widely accepted that tackling climate change will require tackling behaviour change too. But until now, a key piece has been missing from the puzzle – psychology. The study of human behaviour has been conspicuous by its absence from the climate change debate. Full Story »
Posted by Derek Hawkins
Adam Corner seeks an "input of psychologists" aimed at changing personal behaviour in order to stop climate change. Psychological research should - in his opinion - show ways to change human behaviour so that climate would become a major concern in the lives of all people. How the impact of psychology on human life should be achieved, and how an ordinary life influenced or even ruled by psychologists should work in detail - is largely left to the imagination of the reader.
Adam Corner seems to find his main hope in the impact of "psychology" (I read this as "psychologists") on human nature. He expects some experts of human behaviour to find and build ways to generally change humans into the direction desired by him. Adam Corner disregards the problems of this approach, and he overstates the ability of "psychology" to change society. His ideas did not convince me, and I do not consider it desirable to manipulate human behaviour - in any direction.