Umweltpsychologie und Nachhaltige Entwicklung Peter Schmuck Interdisciplinary Centre

Umweltpsychologie und Nachhaltige Entwicklung Peter Schmuck, Interdisciplinary Centre of Sustainable Development, University Goettingen * Was ist Umweltpsychologie? * Die globale Lage: Hoffnung oder Verzweiflung? * Psychologische Beiträge für eine Nachhaltige Zukunft Innovative theoretische Perspektiven: * Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaft und Aktionsforschung * Göttinger Ansatz der Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaft * Das Kugelmodell der Persönlichkeit Ergebnisse der Göttinger Forschungsgruppe * Psychologische Gewinne für NH Engagierte * ca. 80 Bioenergiedörfer in Deutschland

Was ist Umweltpsychologie? Und Nachhaltige Entwicklung (NE)? * Umweltpsychologie: angewandte Teildisziplin der Psychologie als Wissenschaft vom Erleben und Verhalten von Menschen * Gegenstandsbereich: • Analyse des Einflusses von Menschen auf die Mitwelt (Täter. Rolle oder Retter-Rolle) • Analyse des Einflusses der Mitwelt auf Menschen * Nachhaltige Entwicklung: Eine Entwicklung, die auf faire Resourcenverteilung, Mitwelterhaltung heute und Erhaltung der Lebensqualität heute sowie mit Blick auf künftiges Leben anstrebt

Die globale Lage - Und die Vision der NE Growing disparities in life chances - Intragenerational justice Species extinction - Interspecies justice Climate change - Intergenerational justice Wasting ressources - Efficiency Relying on fossile fuels - Consistency Growing consumption - Sufficiency

Verzweiflung oder Hoffnung? Growing advertizement Export of consumerism Growing consumption Growing number of humans Few progress since Rio Rising number of activists engaging for SD Rising number of people adopting VS lifestyles The political agenda of Rio and Johannesburg No more happy people Incredible much happened in only three decades Rising number of diseases We are here today

Global trend of CO 2 and mean temperature since 1000 AD

Climate change happens! polar/greenland ice melting; sea level rising; increase of extreme weather events AND increasing social injustice

Leading (mis) beliefs of the 20 th century Sustainability guidelines of the 21 st century Money buys happiness Respect, fairness and love make happy Humans as competition driven Beings Humans as social beings, social fairness, partici pation principle Humans as top of evolution Humans respecting all forms of life, Infinite growth of material production Efficiency, sufficiency, precautionary principle steady state economy Endless material resources Consistency, cradle to cradle Financial interest rates Fair distribution of resources, no interest rates

A new kind of research: “Sustainability science” Traditional science Sustainability science Monodisciplinary Interdisciplinary Basic research as ideal Transdisciplinarity Analytic, linear synthetic, parallel Strict division of research and application Action research: Initiating changes in participative processes + performing research _____________ See: www. sustainabilityscience. org, www. sciencemag. org/cgi/content/full/292/5517/641

The Göttingen approach of sustainability science Scientists´ role A: RESEARCH ___________________________ Scientists´ role B: Contribution to solve global problems 1 Select a global critical problem 2 Create an 3 Search for alternative political and solution financial Support 6 Transfer of the solution toward the global level 4 Search for 5 perform a partners in local practice demonstration model

Our research area: Transformation to renewable energy, focus on bioenergy Do we have enough renewables? YES

Start on the village level: What is a Bioenergy Village ? A village that meets electricity demand the heat or cooling requirements with biomass. Idea has been worked out On a future workshop In 1998 The first bioenergy village in Germany: Jühnde (since 2005)

Bioenergy Village Jühnde Göttingen 800 inhabitants 9 farmers 1300 ha farmland 800 ha forest

The bioenergy village JÜHNDE in Germany CHRONOLOGY 1997: Meeting of 10 concerned scientists at University Göttingen 1999: One of the project plans: A bioenergetical village PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS * Foster motivation for the transformation * Test long term changes in well-being, control beliefs, self efficacy • Transfer to other villages in Germany and worldwide See: www. bioenergiedorf. info 2000: Interdisciplinary Center for Sustainability founded 2000: German Ministry for Agriculture agreed to support 2001: 18 villages could be motivated to join 2002: Jühnde was selected as model village: From 2005 heat and electricity for the village will be produced from local biomass

Model of the realised biomass energy facilities at Jühnde Storage hall for wood chips Heat plant and offices Combined heat and power generator (CHP) Silage depot 1 st fermentation plant 2 nd fermentation and storage plant Foto: Weitemeyer Water pond

Energy facilities at Jühnde in November 2005

Course of the hot water grid at Jühnde Central Heating Plant Total length of the pipeline : 5. 5 km 70 % About of Jühnde´s households voluntarily signed heat supply contracts

Hot water grid under construction in 2005 Branch line to the house

Heat transfer into the house Break through for hot water grid heat exchanger with heat meter Single fossile boilers can be removed!!

Complex problems need complex solutions! We need an interdisciplinary approach! Universities Goettingen and Kassel in Germany Involved Disciplines: Agronomy & Crop Science Soil Sciences Geosciences Economy Sociology Psychology Political Sciences

The inter- and transdisciplinary context The project partners from outside the university - People in the bioenergetical village - The project sponsor (German Ministry for Agriculture) - An ingenieur team planning the technical parts - An counselling expert group from different groups of society

Social implementation in the village through motivation and participation of individuals and groups

Information evenings, workshops, discussions with experts resulted in a strong commitment of the villagers in the project

Important success factor: to visit comparable plants - see, touch, hear, smell, and discuss!

Organisation of the planning process Eight groups work in special fields Planning the 1. operating company 2. biogas plant 3. energy crop cultivation 4. biomass conservation 5. housing technique 6. central heating plant 7. heat grid 8. public relations They are moderated by the university team.

Members of the central planning group Municipal council e. g. Mayor Speakers of the specific planning groups University team Junior representatives District council Representatives of clubs, societies, and associations Church council Senior representatives

And the climate protection effect? Reduction of CO 2 output by 3, 300 tons/a = 60 % CO 2 reduction per capita and year in Juehnde reached now the CO 2 -Reduction goals of the European Union for 2050

Transfer: Many visitors come to Jühnde

Transfer results: Four further bioenergy villages were established between 2006 and 2009 Wollbrandshausen Krebeck Jühnde Barlissen Reiffenhausen Financially supported by the District Government of Goettingen

Transfer results: Many villages in Germany are on the way to bioenergy villages Bioenergy villages in Germany march 6 2012 circles: finished 66 triangles: in planning Process 28 (number is changing almost every week) www. wege-zum-bioenergiedorf. de

Bioenergy regions in Germany Federal State Lower Saxony: Ministry of Science and Culture grants the development of three „integrated renewable energy districts“ 2009 – 2012 - 2014

Renewable energy regions in Germany 2012 Dark blue: 100%-RE-Region Light blue: Starter 100% RE regions Yellow: Klimaschutzinitiative Orange: European Energy Award Red: Klimabündnis Green: 25 Bioenergy-regions, number will be doubled in 2012!!!

The project´s psychological part: Two main goals * Foster motivation for the transformation Method - interviews in comparable best practice projects - applying the success factors in the own project Hypothesis: the majority of the village will cooperate * Test of long term changes in psychological variables - sense of community, - environmentally friendly behavior, - self efficacy - well-being Method: - longitudinal study with control group based on a questionnaire - interviews with the most engaged people of the village Hypothesis: the people will profit psychologically from the change

Results regarding main goal one * Foster motivation for the transformation - Success factors in similar projects: personal contacts, visiting model-assets, media campaigns, festivities. . . - Applying these principles led to a consensus among the majority of the villages´ inhabitants to perform the change: 71 % of the heating energy and 100% of the electricity will be produced by using local biomass

A new personality model: The “Globe model” Esalen, 2002

The globe model of personality Concern may be focussed on one of three circles, The outer ones including the inner ones BIOSPHERE HUMANS EGO

Four segments EMOTIONAL B E H A V I O R A L C O G N I T I V E SPIRITUAL

From the disk to the globe: Including time perspective Concern for the future Interest for the past

Main prediction derived from the globe model If the evolution provides the outlined potential for personality unfolding And if the direction of evolution is a constructive one aiming at growing complexity/negentropy Then Human individuals unfolding these potentials should be rewarded with the most valueable currency evolution has to offer: Individual well-being

Results regarding main goal two: The interview results N=11 most active inhabitants in Jühnde Interviewed twice: in 2002 and in 2007 Sense of community : 10 report in both interviews that their contact network has improved as a consequence of the project Self efficacy: 8 report in the second interview, that groups of people can change things, based on the experience of guiding guests in Jühnde Well-being: All are content that their engagement was successful. 10 reported that they enjoyed the project work. 5 additionally reported that the project gave them additional sense in their life.

Data showing psychological benefits for people engaging in new lifestyles (1) Preferring non sustainable lifegoals (i. e. toward excessive material consumption) correlates negatively with indicators of well-being and health (2) Peferring of “sustainable” lifegoals may serve well-being and health

(1) Preferring non sustainable lifegoals (i. e. toward excessive material consumption) correlates negatively with indicators of well-being and health Kasser & Ryan, 1993, 1996: Preference of extrinsic goals (money, fame, image) correlates negatively with well-being indicators Schmuck, Kasser, Ryan, 2000; Schmuck & Sheldon, 2001; Grouzet, Kasser, Schmuck et al. , 2005: Multicultural studies, same data pattern Cohen & Cohen, 1996, 2001: Longitudinal study with representative US sample: teenagers with predominant materialistic, extrinsic goals more frequently fall ill With psychic diseases (according to DSM IV) Salmela-Aro & Nurmi 2001: Psychopathological teenagers show more frequently self-centered goals as compared with their peers Solberg, Diener & Robinson 2004: „Why are materialists less satisfied? “ => Open end spirale, conflict with other goals, lower relationship quality

Example study: Schmuck 2001 Preference on self-centered life goals: lower self reported well-being Life goal preference: Importance score of Self centered goals (money, fame) MINUS Self-transcending goals (community, affiliation) Correlation: Study 1: -. 26 * Study 2: -. 40 * Study 3: -. 20 * Study 4: -. 29 * Well-being: compound score of vitality, self actualization, overall happyness, anxiety (neg. ), Physical symptoms (neg. )

(2) Peferring of “sustainable” lifegoals may serve well-being and health Lapierre et al. 2001: Old people engaging for social issues are healthier Fehn 2005: People living a voluntary simplicity lifestyle report higher well-being than „average“ people Sohr 2001; Eigner 2001: Volunteers for ecological issues report higher well-being as compared to non engaging people (exception: „hyperactivists“ with burnout syndrome) Boehnke & Fuß 1998: Teenagers engaging for social issues report higher well-being as compared to their peers Eigner, Schmuck & Lackschewitz 2004: The active people in Juehnde (bioenergetic village) report profits by that process for their well-being

Outlook: Open questions – the challenge for us * Future tasks: - Theoretical work on psychology of sustainable development - Integrating relevant subdisciplines within psychology - Networking activities between psychologists and other scientists, crystallizing around specific projects - Cooperation with practicians (local Agenda 21) - Bundling local activities by initiating international research projects * Create a research framework * Find the most urgent open questions

Outline of a research framework Goals of sustainable development Consistency Efficiency Sufficiency Theoretical work 1 2 3 Basic research 4 5 6 Best-practice research 7 8 9 Action research 10 11 12 Evaluation research 13 14 15

The most urgent open questions in my view How to overcome the “here and now bias” (Charles Vlek)? What is the secret of people who did overcome it, who feel not as separated individuals but as parts of a larger evolutionary cycles, who are not commited to the “mad rush for material gains” But take into consideration other living beings on this world, living now as well as in the fare future And doing this, obviously feel better, more integrated in the network of life. How can we contribute to disseminate this mode of life?

Thanks for the attention. More Information: www. peterschmuck. de I can send you chapters from: Schmuck, P. & Schultz, W. (Eds. ), (2002). Psychology of sustainable development. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Schmuck, P. & Sheldon, K. (Eds. ) (2001). Life goals and well-being. Towards a positive psychology of human striving. Seattle: Hogrefe & Huber. And other publications, please contact me and indicate which you need

Lets try to find out it together, lets climb that hill It is worth the effort Saxonian mountains near Dresden