Psychology for a Better World: Strategies to Inspire Sustainability

Psychology for a Better World is for people who believe it is worth trying to make a world in which both our species and the ecological systems we are part of can flourish. The book is based on the latest research in psychology and is jam packed with action strategies. It offers new ways to think about how people interact in social settings, why we are tempted to stick with what we know, and how the same characteristics that currently keep us hooked into unsustainable practices can be used to move us forward. The final chapter is a guide to help you analyse what you are doing to contribute towards a better world, and how you can be more effective while simultaneously increasing your personal wellbeing.

Listen to Niki’s interview about Psychology for a Better World with Kim Hill on the Radio New Zealand website and her interview with Sustainable Simon on the 95bFM website.

Niki Harré is an associate professor at the University of Auckland where she has taught social and community psychology for twelve years. Her recent research projects have focused on sustainable communities and schools, positive youth development and political activism. In 2007 Niki edited, with Quentin Atkinson, the book Carbon Neutral by 2020: How New Zealanders Can Tackle Climate Change. Niki is an active member of the Pt Chevalier Transition Town.

Niki’s homepage and contact details

Order hard copies for $15 each

Download a free PDF copy

A Kindle version is now available on Amazon.com

Booksellers please email: n.harre@auckland.ac.nz

If you are interested in the ups and downs of publishing and promoting a book, check out my blog.

Summarising fascinating research and insights from social and positive psychology, Niki persuades us in a personable and convincing way to look more deeply at our motivations and strategies when advocating for improved social and environmental conditions. Our intuitive approaches of arguing more aggressively with our perceived opponents, and telling others how wrong they are, are often not effective ways to get lasting behavioural change. Instead Niki provides a wide range of evidence to show that boosting positive emotions, role modelling, understanding the power and dynamics of identity and moral context all need to be authentically applied if we are to be effective change agents. This involves looking at our own motivations very carefully, which can be uncomfortable, but which Niki admirably does herself throughout the book. This book provides an urgently needed example of using sound evidence from the social sciences, particularly psychology, to engage people more positively in environmental sustainability. It also has a broader applicability, providing insights on effective advocacy for other areas of social change, for instance health promotion.
Hugh Norriss, Mental Health Foundation, New Zealand

Psychology is the study of mind & behaviour and should therefore harbour essential information for anyone interested in how humans may be able to change in order to create a more sustainable society. Alas, little has been done to take full advantage of this and so Niki Harré’s new book is particularly welcome. A key argument of her crisp and lucid discussion is the need to drag environmental issues from the conventional into the moral domain for the next generation. Harré manages to navigate the complexities of moral psychology with admirable ease and insightful purpose – balancing the objective of scientifically informed political advocacy with her own struggles to be the change she wants to see in the world. This book should inspire.
Thomas Suddendorf, Professor, University of Queensland, Australia

A sensational book by a visionary psychologist and thinker. You are a national treasure, Niki. Keep up the inspiration.
Pam Corkery

Congratulations on your fabulous new book which I read, thanks to you, as a free PDF. It is so wonderful to see members of the psychology community applying their knowledge and insights as you do in order to make a positive difference at this dangerous point human history.
John F. Schumaker, Author of In Search of Happiness: Understanding an Endangered State of Mind

Niki Harré is a highly regarded academic social psychologist and a sustainability advocate. Her book applies the latest psychological research to understand the dilemmas sustainability advocates and activists face and gives sound advice on how to grasp opportunities for change. Her account of the role identity plays in Chapter 4 is simply magnificent! This chapter makes the task of building a workable synthesis look easy. But identity is not only one of the most important human motivators but also one of the most vague and confusing areas of the social sciences. Niki offers a compelling and highly accessible analysis of this difficult territory, putting together in Part One a hugely impressive review of all the relevant work and the latest findings. Part Two is then an original and thoughtful application of the action principles she deduces from the research. Anyone interested in understanding the wellsprings and implications of belonging, action and affiliation must read this chapter.
Margaret Wetherell, Emeritus Professor in Social Psychology at the Open University, UK

Psychology for a Better World is really easy and enjoyable to read and offers so much insight and resources and depth. Thank you so much for putting it in the world, it is a brilliant resource.
Maya Nova, Mindbalance

Psychology for a Better World: Strategies to inspire sustainability is a labour of passion that carries the reader all the way through to the end. It is largely targeting sustainability advocates and those who have strong inclinations towards a more sustainable world. Dr Niki Harré draws on different approaches to sustainability and shows which ones work best and then explains why. As you turn the pages, you will be exposed to a variety of issues and concepts from identity, intention, and morality to copying and the long lasting benefits of positive emotions. It is well researched, accessible, easy to read, and packed with case studies and practical examples. The most important message? If sustainability is to work, it needs to become a way of life. This book tells you how. If you believe in a better world or are flirting with sustainability, this may be the addition your library is waiting for.
Tomas Pernecky, Ph.D, School of Hospitality and Tourism, AUT University, New Zealand

As the title suggests, Psychology for a Better World aims to enhance our understanding of the psychology involved in inspiring those around us to live more sustainably. Written for the interested layperson, the book is aimed at professionals engaged in facilitating sustainable practices, as well as everyone who wishes to encourage family, friends or work colleagues to adopt more sustainable lifestyles.
Niki Harré is well qualified to be the author of this book. As an academic psychologist who teaches in the area of sustainability, she incorporates sustainable living into her daily life as well as being active in her local transition town.
Psychology for a Better World begins by outlining the author’s professional approach to facilitating societal change. Subsequent chapters aim to assist the reader to understand why people behave as they do and how we can ‘win’ them over to become sustainable practitioners. There are chapters on the roles that modelling, personal and group identity, and morality play in creating and sustaining change. The book ends with a useful chapter offering self-help advice and exercises to the sustainability advocate.
Niki blends her scientific understanding with wisdom and a clear set of personal ethics. The book clearly articulates its academic focus around change that acknowledges the need for collective effort, promotes making changes that are life enhancing, and that strengthens moral awareness rather than specific behaviour change.
The author backs up her arguments well with studies, mostly from the social psychological field, that are referenced and described in sufficient detail to allow the reader to come to their own conclusions. Unfortunately studies from the behavioural literature are absent that could have supported her arguments in places. This book would also benefit from an index and some visual relief from the rather dense text.
I thoroughly recommend this book to everyone engaged in the sustainability movement. Maureen Howard. Maureen Howard has a PhD in psychology and is contracted by the Dunedin City Council to provide courses and workshops for adults on sustainable living. This review appeared in Organic NZ Magazine, January/February 2012.

Do you want to make this world a better place?
Do you dream of a sustainable future where humans, animals and their ecosystems can live in harmony?
Do you wonder why so many people appear apathetic in the face of the pressing issues of today and do you want to encourage others to get more involved in a cause that is close to your heart?
Are you interested in psychology and wonder why we as humans act as we do?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, I highly recommend you read Psychology for a Better World.
In 2011 Niki taught a new graduate class at Auckland University on Psychology and Sustainability. I was lucky enough to be enrolled in the class and it was while reading the course book (a draft edition of Psychology for a Better World) that I was inspired to start this blog.
Psychology for a Better World explores the themes of positive emotions, imitation, identity and morality as they relate to the sustainability movement and provides thoughtful and practical advice for sustainability advocates on how they can be more effective change-makers in their own communities. Niki has written the book specifically for sustainability advocates but the insights and advice are equally applicable to all who work for the social good.
Throughout, Niki’s writing style is conversational – she works hard to make the research she discusses accessible for all and shares many personal anecdotes from her own life to bring the ideas to life. I have read the book three times now and each time I get a richer understanding and new ideas for my work and passions.
Posted by Cassandra Chapman, http://mylifeismymessage.org/2012/01/08/psychology-for-a-better-world/

I bumped into Niki at the SBN Sustainable Cities Showcase manning (personing) the Transition Towns Pt Chev stand. She was smiling. She smiled a lot as we spoke for 15 minutes or so during which time we got onto the topic of her book and her psychology for creating a better world. Her belief in focussing on the positive and the fun comes through from her core and is at the core of her book which is an inspiring read, particularly for someone at the coalface of industry working to change attitudes and behaviours towards our precious planet and communities. There can be a tendency to see the negative too often and people aren’t inspired by the negative. Niki took up an invitation to speak at my work without hesitation and was again generous with her smile and ideas and quickly won over my team including one of our senior managers who didn’t hesitate to buy a copy of the book. I highly recommend Psychology for a Better World and acknowledge Niki for her outstanding contribution to positive change in the world. Campbell Sturrock, Environment Advisor, Fulton Hogan Ltd

Why do so few people “get” sustainability? Do they really believe that the world is flat and limitless, accommodating a boundless reservoir of oil below and an infinite sink for CO2 above? Niki Harré's book doesn't address this exasperated question of mine, but it does offer something far more useful: it gives practical advice on how to gradually get the sustainability message across and more effectively communicate our goal of a strongly sustainable civilisation.
By presenting the results of research on human psychology Niki explains what shapes beliefs and behaviour and how they can be influenced to advance the cause of a sustainable lifestyle. She explains why it's futile and counter-productive to confront people with facts that challenge their world views. Rather we need to imagine a sustainable and pleasurable way of living and communicate it to other New Zealanders so that they want to live it. Frightening the living daylights out of your acquaintances with threats of peak oil and climate change will only lead them to take a firmer grip on their blinkers. Niki offers encouragement to keep on trying when your words and actions appear to be having no effect, because despite their resistance the people you encounter will be receiving some of your messages and observing your actions.
I was especially interested in the discussion of morality and how exacerbating climate change can be seen as a moral issue, in that it results in harm to “innocent others”. It may seem that morality doesn't hold much sway in today's society and I wondered what the response would be if when asked by friends why I refuse to fly to Australia for a holiday with them I replied “Because to me it's immoral!” But there are still some things that Western society regards as immoral and surely jeopardising the lives of your own children and grandchildren ought to be one of those things.
I was also encouraged to read that research shows that living up to one's principles confers a “sense of personal wholeness” and is beneficial to the psyche. Perhaps more importantly it engenders respect and can lead to others emulating at least some aspects of your behaviour. Niki emphasises the importance of practising what you preach and the value of a community of interest (e.g. a Transition Towns group) in keeping you true to your ideals.
I found the book an inspiring and at times entertaining read. Some of the discussions of psychological research dragged a bit, but I found the many snippets from Niki's personal experience lightened the tone and validated some of my own personal experiences. Dave Evans of Sustainable Otautahi, Christchurch

The final chapter of Psychology for a Better World brings together the strategies for change discussed in the book, and provides worksheets to enable you to decide where to put your energy. You can download the worksheets from the link below. Please note that they are designed to be used in conjunction with the book.