Future of Environmental Psychology

Please note that this Research Topic is open in particular to the following article types: Perspective, Opinion, Conceptual Analysis, and Hypothesis and Theory. It does not accept Original Research, Registered Reports, or Technology and Code articles. Non-invited authors are asked to first submit a short summary for initial evaluation by the Topic Editors before submitting a full manuscript.Environmental psychology is an interdisciplinary field that examines the dynamic relationships between individuals, communities, and their physical, social, and ecological surroundings. Historically, the field has provided crucial insights into how people perceive, experience, and interact with built and natural environments, informing place-based experiences and guiding interventions aimed at promoting pro-environmental behavior, health, and wellbeing. As the scale and complexity of environmental challenges intensify, driven by rapid urbanization, climate change, biodiversity loss, as well as environmental experiences shaped by technology, the field faces a new set of questions and responsibilities. There is a growing need to understand how people interpret environmental risks, what makes environmental warnings actionable and trusted, and how social ties, trust, and communication shape individual and collective responses and resilience, particularly in times of crisis. Recent research underscores the importance of cross-cultural and inclusive approaches, as environmental burdens and capacities for adaptation and resilience remain unevenly distributed globally.This Research Topic aims to explore emerging directions in environmental psychology, focusing on how psychological science can foster adaptive, healthy, and sustainable human-environment relationships. The core goal is to advance theoretical perspectives that connect person-level psychological processes to community, infrastructural, and policy-relevant outcomes, while reflecting on methodological developments where these support conceptual innovation. Central objectives are to refine our understanding of perception, cognition, emotion, and behavior in diverse environmental settings; to identify factors that facilitate or hinder risk communication and resilience; and to strengthen links between environmental psychology and neighboring disciplines such as public health, disaster risk reduction, urban design, and sustainability science. We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Climate-risk perception, uncertainty, and meaning-making• Extreme-event warnings: tailored, accessible message design and behavioral uptake• Trust, credibility, and crisis communication strategies• Digital connectivity, information overload, and environmental misinformation, as they shape psychological processes of sense-making, trust, and behavior• Social processes in crises: social ties, trust, norms, and collective efficacy in preparedness, response, and recovery• Place-based, infrastructural, and community resilience (cross-cultural and inclusive perspectives)• Decision and policy pathways: participatory governance, legitimacy, and justice in environmental decisions, and how these enable pro-environmental behavior and collective outcomes• Theory-driven methodological innovations that connect person-level psychological processes to community, infrastructural, and policy outcomes• Mental health, wellbeing, and psychological restoration under climate stress, including eco-anxiety/climate worry, coping, and adaptive pathways• Human–nature relations under environmental change: nature connectedness, environmental identity, values, empathy, stewardship, and coexistence pathways under biodiversity loss• Place attachment, sense of place, heritage, and place-based meanings in adaptation, relocation, and recoveryContributions addressing everyday and non-crisis human–environment interactions are also welcome, provided they engage explicitly with core psychological processes.This Research Topic primarily encourages Perspective and Opinion articles that offer forward-looking, conceptual, and critical reflections on the future of environmental psychology. We also welcome Conceptual Analysis and Hypothesis and Theory contributions that advance theoretical integration across levels of analysis. Review and Mini Review articles may be considered where they provide clear, future-oriented insights aligned with the aims of the collection. At this time, the following article types will not be accepted: FAIR² Data, FAIR² Data Direct Submission, Original Research, Registered Report, and Technology and Code. Other article types may be considered where they clearly contribute to the forward-looking and integrative aims of the Research Topic. Topic editors: Francesco Aletta, Francesco Ruotolo Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77723/future-of-environmental-psychology