What is “green guilt” and how is it promoting
environmentally sustainable behavior? Learn more when an associate professor of
psychology gives a free lecture on his research at the University of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
“When is Guilt Actually Good for the
Environment?” will be presented by Mark Ferguson at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March
11. Held in the Pinery Room of the Portage County Library, 1001 Main Street,
Stevens Point, it is the sixth of the eight-part 2013-14 Community Lecture
Series sponsored by the College of Letters and Science at UW-Stevens Point.
“People commonly think that feeling guilty about one’s own behavior promotes
better choices in the future. Although this can happen, we suspect that feeling
guilty about others’ behavior might work better,” said
Ferguson. “Consider climate change. Although my carbon emissions might
seem insignificant, our emissions as a state or nation might have more
of an emotional impact on us. We find that feeling guilty about our
collective behavior, rather than my individual behavior, is more effective at
encouraging sustainable choices.”
Ferguson earned his bachelor’s and master’s
degrees from Western Michigan University and his Ph.D. in social psychology from
the University of Kansas. He teaches courses in introductory psychology,
social psychology, environmental psychology and advanced research methods in
psychology. His research examines the role of group identity and group-based
emotion in promoting environmentally sustainable behavior.
The entire College of Letters and Science
Community Lecture Series schedule and previously recorded videos may be viewed
at www.uwsp.edu/cols/lectureseries.