Wesley Schultz is Full Research Professor in the Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences at Claremont Graduate University. He has research affiliations with the Social Psychology Program, and with the Claremont Evaluation Center. His research focuses on issues of conservation and sustainability, and he uses principles of psychology to understand and solve environmental problems. His work in this area has focused on a range of issues, including climate change, water conservation, recycling and waste management, and energy conservation, among others.
Before coming to CGU, Dr. Schultz served as Professor of Psychological Science and Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at Cal State San Marcos, and he has held visiting positions at several universities in Europe. In applying the methods and principles of behavioral science, Professor Schultz has worked with a range of governmental, nongovernmental, and corporate entities. A sample of the organizations with which he has worked includes the National Science Foundation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Energy, Keep America Beautiful, the American Zoological Association, and the World Wildlife Fund, among many others. His research has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, TedX, National Public Radio, and many other media outlets.
Professor Schultz has served as president of the International Association of Applied Psychology, Environmental Psychology Division. He has been appointed Fellow at the Association for Psychological Science, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and he has been elected to membership in the Society for Experimental Social Psychology. He is an active writer and editor and is currently serving as editor-in-chief for the Journal of Environmental Psychology.
Schultz, P. W., Dear-Ferguson, S., Hernandez, P., Bergquist, M., & Nilsson, A. (2025). Changing behavior through normative social influence. In R. Prislin (Ed.), Handbook of social influence.
Pederson, R., Hernandez, P., Woodcock, A., & Schultz, P. W. (2024). When perceived similarity overrides demographic similarity: Examining influences on developmental mentor networks. International Journal of STEM Education. Available online: https://stemeducationjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40594-024-00480-9.
Schultz, P. W., & Mertens, S. (2023). If you want to change behavior, start with the environment. In B. Gatersleben and N. Murtagh (Eds.), Research handbook of pro-environmental behaviour change (pp. 373-387). Elgar.
Schultz, P. W. (2022). Secret agents of influence: Leveraging social norms for good. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 31, 443-450.
Wolske, K., Gillingham, K., & Schultz, P. W. (2020). Social influence on household energy behavior. Nature: Energy, 5, 202-212.
Schultz, P. W., Sorokina, A., & Javey, J. (2019). Social comparison as a tool to promote residential water conservation. Frontiers in Water, 10.
Woodcock, A., Hernandez, P., & Schultz, P. W. (2016). Diversifying science: Intervention programs moderate the effect of stereotype threat on motivation and career choice. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 7, 184-192. doi:10.1177/1948550615608401.
Schultz, P. W. (2014). Strategies for promoting proenvironmental behavior: Lots of tools but few instructions. European Psychologist, 19, 107-117.
Woodcock, A., Hernandez, P., Estrada, M., & Schultz, P. W. (2012). The consequences of chronic stereotype threat: Domain identification and attrition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 103, 635-646. doi: 10.1037/a0029120.
Schultz, P. W. (2011). Conservation means behavior. Conservation Biology, 25, 1080-1083.
Schultz, P. W., Nolan, J., Cialdini, R., Goldstein, N., & Griskevicius, V. (2007). The constructive, destructive, and reconstructive power of social norms. Psychological Science, 18, 429-434.
Schultz, P. W. (2001). Assessing the structure of environmental concern: Concern for self, other people, and the biosphere. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21, 1-13.