How Can Psychological Research Support Movements for Socio-Ecological Change? A Qualitative Study on Psychological Challenges and Questions of Activists

Research on collective climate action has been increasing in the past years. Yet, as scholars base their ideas on previous research and discussions in the scientific community, research may pass by the most pressing challenges that people working for socio-ecological change currently experience. To address this problem, we conducted 22 semi-structured qualitative interviews with participants from Europe and beyond to gain a better understanding of the psychological challenges and questions within socio-ecological movements. Inductive content analysis revealed eight key questions: How can movements and their members (1) handle specific emotions, (2) become resilient, (3) deal with structural barriers, (4) create a (shared) identity, (5) work together constructively, (6) motivate others and themselves, (7) strengthen efficacy perceptions, and (8) how does societal change work? While a few of the raised themes have already received some attention in environmental psychology, most questions have not been sufficiently addressed. We therefore present a transdisciplinary research agenda for environmental psychology. The study was conducted as part of the EU Erasmus Plus Programme project “Education for Pro-Environmental Active Citizenship”, in short EPEAC. The project has received funding from the Euro EU Erasmus Plus Programme, through a KA2 Strategic Partnership Grant under grant agreement No. KA204-851C2AD9. Neither the European Union, the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), nor any person acting on behalf of these institutions is responsible for how the following information is used. The views expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the EACEA. reviewed acceptedVersion