Issues like climate change, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, and pollution worry the average person, yet many fail to make adjustments to their own lifestyles in response. Drawing attention to the impact of one’s actions on the environment is simply not enough to enact significant change – but is there a way more people can be encouraged to take action? Could positive psychology be the answer? This session proposes that promoting the impact on personal wellbeing, rather than on the environment, is key to encouraging people to reduce their ecological footprint.

One way to lessen one’s ecological footprint is through the adoption of a low-consumption lifestyle that deliberately reduces material consumption. Indeed, low-consumption lifestyles and sustainable behaviors have surged in popularity over the past decade, and besides obvious benefits for the environment, research is emerging that these lifestyles can positively impact wellbeing (Hausen, 2019; Kang, Martinez & Johnson, 2021; Lloyd & Pennington, 2020).

This session will explore this research and examine the processes by which low-consumption lifestyles lead to improved wellbeing, through psychological needs fulfilment, rejection of materialism, intrinsic values orientation, self-limiting choice, and the proliferation of positive emotions. Relevant theories, including eudaimonic wellbeing theory (Ryan & Deci, 2001), self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), and the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2001) will provide backing for these processes.

The session will also present preliminary findings of an online program that combines traditional positive psychology interventions (including gratitude, mindfulness, savoring, meaning, and strengths) with interventions that aim to encourage participants to minimize their possessions and simplify their lives. Participants will engage in self-paced learning and support via social media. Measurements of wellbeing will be taken pre- and post-intervention.

Ultimately, this session aims to provide the audience with encouragement to reduce their consumption to enhance their wellbeing. Because if people will not change their behavior for the sake of the planet, perhaps they will for the sake of their own wellbeing.