Drawing on Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, this study explores the lived experience of six sustainability professionals and leaders in the UK and Canada. It identifies key psychosocial factors shaping their experience - particularly psychological threat-coping strategies, psychological needs, motivation and vitality - and models the complex interactions and trade-offs between them, including tensions between competency, relatedness and autonomy needs and coping strategies such as suppression of negative emotion and a threatened 'deep green' identity.
Psychosocial factors influencing the experience of sustainability professionals
2017
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Drawing on Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, this study explores the lived experience of six sustainability professionals and leaders in the UK and Canada. It identifies key psychosocial factors shaping their experience - particularly psychological threat-coping strategies, psychological needs, motivation and vitality - and models the complex interactions and trade-offs between them, including tensions between competency, relatedness and autonomy needs and coping strategies such as suppression of negative emotion and a threatened 'deep green' identity.
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