Wesley Schultz is a senior research fellow in the Claremont Graduate University’s Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences. He has research affiliations with the Social Psychology Program at CGU, and with the Claremont Evaluation Center. His research focuses on issues of conservation and sustainability, and he uses principles of social 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.
For the past 25 years, Schultz has worked on projects aimed at understanding the behaviors that cause environmental issues. His work is especially focused on developing scalable solutions that incorporate technology and big data. Working with students, he has created new strategies for reducing household energy use, managing water resources, preventing litter and marine debris, and improving educational and conservation programs through zoos and aquariums.
Schultz earned his MA in social psychology from the University of Maine, and his PhD from Claremont Graduate University. Schultz holds a professorship in psychological science at California State University, San Marcos, and has held visiting positions at several universities in Europe. In applying the methods and principles of behavioral science, 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. Over the course of his career, his work has attracted more than $10 million in grants and contracts. His research has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, TedX, National Public Radio, and many other media outlets.
Currently, Schultz serves as past president of the International Association of Applied Psychology, Environmental Psychology Division. He serves on the board of directors at Keep America Beautiful, and he is a fellow at the Association for Psychological Science, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and was elected to membership of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology. He is an active writer and editor, and is currently serving as associate editor for the Journal of Environmental Psychology.
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.
De Dominicis, S., Schultz, P. W., & Bonaiuto, M. (2017). Protecting the environment for self-interested reasons: Altruism is not the only pathway to sustainability. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1-13.
Schultz, P. W. (2014). Strategies for promoting proenvironmental behavior: Lots of tools but few instructions. European Psychologist, 19, 107-117.
Van Vugt, M., Griskevicius, V., & Schultz, P. W. (2014). Naturally green: Harnessing “stone age” biases to foster environmental conservation behavior. Social Issues and Policy Review, 8, 1-32.
Schultz, P. W., Bator, R., Tabanico, J., Bruni, C., Large, L. B. (2013). Littering in context: Personal and environmental predictors of littering behavior. Environment and Behavior, 45, 35-59.
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.