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Personal Autonomy and Environmental Sustainability

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Human Autonomy in Cross-Cultural Context

Part of the book series: Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology ((CAPP,volume 1))

Abstract

Environmental sustainability is becoming an important, ongoing challenge as people around the world show an increasing concern about how we can meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. To achieve sustainability, we must not only attempt to reconcile growing concerns about a full spectrum of environmental issues with socio-economic issues and societal quality of life issues; we must also achieve a substantial shift in values, attitudes, and behaviors so that pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) are sustained and become a part of people’s lifestyles. In the present chapter, we examine how self-determination theory (SDT) can provide an effective theoretical framework to guide research and interventions on PEB and sustainable development. Recent research shows that, like the internalization of activities in other life domains, conditions that respect people’s needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, as well as their desire to be effective in dealing with the challenges of the ecological situation, allow them to gradually internalize socially valued PEBs and make them personally endorsed activities. The achievement of sustainability also provides a unique context to advance our knowledge on how SDT can guide research on the impact of government policies, on the influence of media, and on how people deal with the internal conflicts that result from simultaneously being aware of environmental issues, socio-economic issues, and societal quality of life issues.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1N 6N5

    Luc G. Pelletier

  2. University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1N 6N5

    Daniel Baxter & Veronika Huta

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  1. Luc G. Pelletier
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  2. Daniel Baxter
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  3. Veronika Huta
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Correspondence to Luc G. Pelletier .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Campus Drive 9, Saskatoon, S7N 5A5, Saskatchewan, Canada

    Valery I. Chirkov

  2. Dept. Psychology,, Psychiatry & Education, University of Rochester, Rochester, 14627, New York, USA

    Richard M. Ryan

  3. Dept. Psychology, University of Missouri, McAlester Hall 112, Columbia, 65211, Missouri, USA

    Kennon M. Sheldon

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Pelletier, L.G., Baxter, D., Huta, V. (2011). Personal Autonomy and Environmental Sustainability. In: Chirkov, V., Ryan, R., Sheldon, K. (eds) Human Autonomy in Cross-Cultural Context. Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9667-8_12

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