ABSTRACT
Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of Psychology for Sustainability, 5th edition, comprise a section titled Psychology for a Sustainable Future, which educates readers about psychological theory and research relevant for understanding, and changing, unsustainable behavior. This first chapter of the section provides a primer on methods that psychologists use to ask and answer questions in the context of sustainability. Psychology offers an extensive array of perspectives, theoretical insights, scientific data, and useful strategies for building a more sustainable world through individual behavioral changes. The basics of quantitative and qualitative empirical research such as variables (including independent, quasi-independent, dependent, predictor, and criterion), constructs, operational definitions, hypothesis testing, random assignment, confounds, deception, confederates, and debriefing are covered, as are descriptive and inferential statistics, statistical significance, and effect sizes. Internal validity and external validity are explained with respect to naturalistic observation, laboratory experiments, self-report surveys, interviews, focus groups, simulations, field experiments, quasi-experiments, and meta-analyses. The psychometric properties of measures such as reliability, validity, and sensitivity are discussed by using examples of the most commonly used and innovative measures relevant to proenvironmental behavior and human health and wellness. The chapter also addresses the importance of replication and peer review, the implications of Type I and Type II errors, WEIRD versus representative participant samples, and the precautionary principle for the process of building an accurate and representative body of research. Real examples from psychological research on sustainability are integrated throughout.
