Human Centric Environmentalism: Opportunities for the Human Factors Community to Contribute to Global Environmental Solutions

Abstract

Previous psychological research into human induced causes of environmental change has stemmed largely from a behavior modification approach and has shown only modest results. We suggest that the lack of long term success in this area may be due to the lack of attention toward the underlying design dimensions to these problems. In this paper, we attempt to illustrate that by using our understanding of design principles related to human behavior and performance, the human factors community has the unique potential to make significant strides in improving these underlying design dimensions. Along these lines, applicable research areas include cognitive decision making, product design, surface transportation, and environmental design. We argue that, by shaping technologies in a way that is both user friendly and environmentally benign, the science of human factors has the potential to grow in new areas of research – areas that are not only theoretically relevant but also of societal importance.