Many people are aware of the need to lessen the burden on the environment, but the step from awareness to action is often seemingly difficult to take. In our research group, we are examining the barriers that prevent people from displaying sustainable behaviour, and we are developing strategies for overcoming these barriers. We research not only when and why people are prepared to change their behaviour, but also how these changes can be embedded in people’s everyday lives.

Extra focus on the city

With regard to understanding and promoting sustainable behaviour, we focus specifically on the complex transition challenges in large cities in the fields of housing, eating, consuming, and travelling. There is also a strong emphasis on climate adaptation and strengthening existing urban nature. In this context, we examine the willingness of people to adjust their behaviour as well as the factors that influence this process.

Cities and behavioural change on the part of residents play a crucial role in the worldwide fight against climate change and the adaptation to increasingly extreme circumstances. With the help of practice-based research, the research group is developing insights that are directly applicable in urban environments.

Why we are doing this

The ultimate aim is to develop effective strategies that accelerate the transition to climate neutrality and contribute towards the broad social acceptance of sustainable lifestyles. In doing so, the research group is working at the interface of behavioural psychology and sustainability issues, while seeking to support cities and their residents in their transition to a climate-neutral future.

Together with others

Based on the conviction that complex issues can be resolved only in partnership with other parties, the research group is collaborating with field-based partners and with researchers from a range of disciplines. In almost all the research group’s projects, the practical field and research come together from a range of disciplines, including the behavioural sciences, natural sciences, the creative industry, and technological innovation.

Close collaboration with Bachelor’s programmes

The research group enjoys an intensive collaborative partnership with the Applied Psychology Bachelor’s programme at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. Sustainable behaviour is one of the four integral themes on this programme. Teachers collaborate on a structural basis on this theme with researchers in the research group as well as with various partners in the practical field. The optional module, Climate and Behaviour, of which the research group was one of the developers, is also available to students. Additionally, the research group is involved with the new interdisciplinary Disinformation and Misinformation minor.

Structural link with the Master’s in Climate Psychology and Behaviour

From the very start, the research group has been involved with the development of the new Master’s in Climate Psychology and Behaviour, which was launched in September 2023. Part-time students on the programme work on specific behavioural issues in the area of sustainability from their own work-based experience. The Master’s is closely linked with the research group. The researchers from the research group play an important part, as teachers, coaches, and guest speakers.