Human Interaction With the Environment

Psychology and sustainability

Sustainability research has been ongoing in the CSU Psychology Department for more than 35 years, including studies into how people determine that air pollution is present; visitor behavior in national parks and similar recreational settings; atmospheric visibility and air quality in national parks and its impact on visitor experiences (for the National Park Service); detection of bands of haze (a project for the U.S. Navy); noneconomic models of how to value environmental goods; social norm approaches to establishing policies for managing wildfires and wildlife; economic versus social factors involved in how parents make decisions about environmental risks to their children’s health; and consumer decisions related to organic food.