First of all, it should be noted that climate change and environmental problems are behavioral in nature. This can be explained by the fact that in addition to production and global causes, less large-scale, but no less significant ones, determined by human consciousness, stand out. The fact is that a certain number of people are either indifferent to the state of the environment, or they do not believe in their own influence (Brain, 2015). This is the most relevant psychological aspect of the issue under consideration, since such a worldview in the individual forms precisely the public consciousness. In other words, the indifferent or consumer behavior of each person in particular and of society as a whole is the cause of environmental problems. Proceeding from this, an important psychological task of specialists appears, the essence of which is to overcome and destroy barriers that are a brake on the development of consciousness.
There are several such barriers, one of which is the social barrier. Seeing the disinterest of others in environmental and climate problems, an individual can interpret his own concern as deviant, non-actual behavior. Based on the desire not to stand out in society, a person suppresses such feelings and aggravates the overall situation. Finally, citizens have created stereotypes and associations imposed by political currents. Thus, the active support of nature and the promotion of eco-friendly behavior in the worldview correlates with the radical left, which includes only a small part of the planet’s population. In order not to classify themselves as part of a political movement, citizens also prefer to be passive in this matter.
Nevertheless, psychologists have an effective tool for solving the problem that has arisen. It is necessary from childhood to develop in a particular individual the desire for self-expression and individuality, which in the future will lead to independence from public opinion. Thus, a person will not correlate between himself and others. Finally, psychologists need to emphasize to citizens with the help of psychodiagnostics that they are closely connected with nature. This will lead to an increase in compassion and care for animals and birds, which means it will bring up a caring attitude towards nature (99% Invisible, 2022). In particular, such a mechanism was used in Toronto, where with the help of bright posters and emotionally charged words, people manage to get involved in the fight for the safety of birds (Lange, 2022). This emphasis on environmental values will gradually change the behavioral factor in the field of ecology.
References
99% Invisible. (2022). Murder most fowl.
Brain, D. (2015). What planet needs to sustain life [Video]. TED.
Lange, A. (2022). Buildings don’t have to be bird-killers. Bloomberg.