‘It's the Psychology, Stupid!’: Understanding Human Cognition Biases to Inform Sustainable Behavior
Research output: Working paper › Working papers
Standard
Rochester: SSRN Social Science Research Network, 2017. (SSRN; No. 3086532).
Research output: Working paper › Working papers
Harvard
APA
Vancouver
Bibtex
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
T1 - ‘It's the Psychology, Stupid!’
T2 - Understanding Human Cognition Biases to Inform Sustainable Behavior
AU - Engler, John-Oliver
AU - Abson, David
AU - Wehrden, Henrik
PY - 2017/12/14
Y1 - 2017/12/14
N2 - We synthesize and discuss the available knowledge on the role of human cognition biases for sustainability and sustainable behavior. Human cognition biases are defined as any deviation in decision making from the standard framework of rational choice. We distinguish between biases in individual decision making and biases in group decision making, and highlight the relevance of each for sustainable behavior. We find that while both categories contribute to unsustainable behavior, human cognition biases in group settings are central to understanding many of the current sustainability issues. Moreover, we argue that the effects of group-related biases may outweigh those on the individual level in driving unsustainable behavior, and that biases that have been discussed under various labels in the literature can be interpreted as manifestations of human cognition biases in group settings.
AB - We synthesize and discuss the available knowledge on the role of human cognition biases for sustainability and sustainable behavior. Human cognition biases are defined as any deviation in decision making from the standard framework of rational choice. We distinguish between biases in individual decision making and biases in group decision making, and highlight the relevance of each for sustainable behavior. We find that while both categories contribute to unsustainable behavior, human cognition biases in group settings are central to understanding many of the current sustainability issues. Moreover, we argue that the effects of group-related biases may outweigh those on the individual level in driving unsustainable behavior, and that biases that have been discussed under various labels in the literature can be interpreted as manifestations of human cognition biases in group settings.
KW - Sustainability Science
KW - Psychology
KW - human cognition biases
KW - rational choice
KW - sustainable behaviour
KW - Sustainability sciences, Management & Economics
KW - environmental decision making
UR - https://ssrn.com/abstract=3086532
U2 - 10.2139/ssrn.3086532
DO - 10.2139/ssrn.3086532
M3 - Working papers
T3 - SSRN
BT - ‘It's the Psychology, Stupid!’
PB - SSRN Social Science Research Network
CY - Rochester
ER -