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The pandemic and climate change are mortality salience triggers. Environmental issues, attitudes, and climate change risk perceptions were hypothesised to impact how individuals perceived the threat of COVID-19 and climate change during the pandemic. The study explored: 1.) the associations between seeing a link between COVID-19 and climate change and environmental concerns; 2.) the associations between mortality salience and environmental concerns; 3.) the associations between feeling less worried during the pandemic and environmental concerns; and 4.) what these associations tell us about the relationship between mortality salience, the perceived link between COVID-19 and climate change, and feeling less worried during the pandemic. A sample of 665 respondents was achieved from an online survey in 2021. The results of the multiple regression analysis and structural equation modelling showed that environmental issues, attitudes and perceptions, time spent in nature, and climate change risk perception played a role in the extent to which individuals perceived COVID-19 as an indicator of climate change threats, whether mortality salience was made conscious, and whether there was distancing of concern about climate change and social issues during the pandemic. The study makes an important contribution to understanding psychological processes that are activated during disasters that trigger mortality salience, and how this is impacted by the human-nature nexus, and climate change risk perception.

This paper provides a scoping literature review of research methods that seek to measure individual productivity and organisational performance in office buildings containing enhanced green building features and initiatives that focus on Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). The paper follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) framework and includes thirty-nine academic papers for the period 2000 to 2020. Different research instruments are discussed, including post-occupancy evaluations (POE), longitudinal surveys, and interviews. Furthermore, a narrative focuses on specific measures, including location, amenities, comfort, engagement, individual productivity, and organisational performance. This provides insight into common research approaches and highlights where lesser used research approaches could be applied in the field of green building features and initiatives (GBFIs), including the assessment of individual productivity and organisational performance. Key findings highlight that individual productivity was measured via self-assessment in previous research. At the same time, there has been no research that has successfully measured organisational performance within the context of GBFIs. Gaps have been identified in the literature concerning the relationship between knowledge-based building occupants and measuring/monetising the implementation of GBFIs. Implications of this research indicate that there are common approaches that highlight both strengths and, more importantly, weaknesses concerning linking GBFIs to individual productivity and organisational performance. Addressing weaknesses that predominantly encompass measuring organisational performance creates the opportunity for future research in this field.

COVID-19 is a global event that has impacted every individual on earth in some way and can be viewed as a mortality salience trigger. Although there were reports of increased nature exposure across the world, research is needed to understand whether the pandemic event impacted the underlying psychology of the human-nature nexus. Given the likelihood of pandemics and environmental challenges increasing in frequency in the future, there is a need for a deeper understanding of how pandemics impact individuals’ relationship with the natural environment in South Africa. To achieve this, the study applied psychological types (grouping individuals based on homogeneity) to explore potential shifts as human nature is neither fixed, nor universal. The study asked: Given the multiple significant impacts of COVID-19 on the African continent, how have perceptions and attitudes towards the natural environment changed within and between types of individuals from 2016 (pre COVID) to 2021 (COVID) in South Africa? In a longitudinal, quantitative study, separate samples 721 in 2016 and 665 in 2021 were obtained. Participants in 2021 were grouped into the same six types using the same criteria, for comparison with the 2016 data. The results showed limited potential for pandemics to act as catalysts for long-term individual change towards increased pro-environmentalism. The study confirmed the main tenets of Terror Management Theory that individuals tend to be driven to uphold worldviews when confronted with mortality. Furthermore, there was a reduced experience of personal control over outcomes that increased reliance on sources of control outside the self as an attempt to buffer against mortality concerns. The study contributes towards Terror Management Theory's application during pandemics, and how that relates to individual environmental attitudes and perceptions.

The field of ecopsychology focuses on the affective relationship between individuals and nature that is based on the premise that what individuals love and care for, they will protect. There is however a methodological gap within the field of ecopsychology that relates to the qualitative exploration of the human-nature nexus. Elicitation techniques are a popular method used for exploring subconscious processes or to engage participants in a subject that might seem abstract such as affect towards nature. Currently, there exists no methodological guideline on how to develop a picture elicitation technique to explore the human-nature nexus and there is no technique to assist with this exploration. This article describes the methodology used to develop the Nature Nexus Elicitation Technique to enable the tacit exploration of the affective relationship that individuals have with nature. Six phases of the elicitation technique development are explained. The phases included a Systematic Literature Review, parallel study conducted online ( N = 43), emergent category validation, technique visual development, feasibility testing ( N = 5), and technique use ( N = 44). The results show the technique development processes as well as the output which is a range of cards that cover human-nature expressions that include intimacy, empathy, engagement, ambivalence, apathy, and alienation.

Most studies on sustainable mobility focus on technological, socio-structural, or psychosocial influences while neglecting individual motivations and practices. In this study, we examine mobility motivations and practices as part of a complex interplay between psychosocial and socio-structural dimensions within the mobility infrastructure of Metrorail in the Western Cape. Drawing on Albert Bandura’s theory of personal agency and the model of triadic reciprocal causation, we interviewed 38 commuters (mean age 33 years, SD 11, 50% women/men) and analyzed the data using hermeneutic content analysis and multidimensional scaling. Based on our analyses, we identified three pathways that describe the mobility practices of Metrorail users, each with its own purpose and function. We explore these pathways and their consequences for sustainable mobility in relation to daily commuter agency, motivations, and past experiences.

Objective: The most commonly used instrument for the research and treatment of excessive internet use is Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT). While the IAT has been translated to several languages (including Persian) and has demonstrated good psychometric properties across several independent studies, there is still a room for alternative assessment instruments. This study reports a validation of the Persian version of the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIUQ). Method: A sample (n = 296) from Kerman, Iran was administered the translated Persian version of the PIUQ as well as the Persian version of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness scale, Satisfaction With Life scale, and questions related to use of technology and the internet. Results: Analyses using confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses demonstrated that the Persian version of the PIUQ had good internal reliability and concurrent validity (with loneliness and satisfaction with life), but they also had an alternative factor structure that did not support the original factor structure. Conclusion: The Persian version of the PIUQ produced adequate psychometric properties (internal reliability and concurrent validity), but care should be taken in the interpretation of the factor structure.

The general impression among academic staff is that non- attendance of lectures is adversely affecting students’ academic performance. This study reflects on the impact of using data collectors to collect data on lecture attendance. It focuses on some of the important issues that emerged when collecting data on class attendance by means of class registers. These issues are discussed in light of possible implications for the larger research project and in terms of the academic endeavour. This article concludes with suggestions for improving the data collection process that might prove useful for other researchers wishing to work in this area.

Authors: Helen Schultz (Ed.), Jeffrey Bagraim, Tracy Potgieter, Conrad Viedge, Amanda Werner Publisher: Van Schaik Publishers According to the authors the aim of this book is to present an interdisciplinary approach to the understanding of organisational behaviour within the contemporary South African environment. Within this framework, the book targets (senior) undergraduate and postgraduate students in Industrial/Organisational Psychology and Human Resources Management. The text is written in a simple, conversational style (as was the intention of the authors) that should be suitable for most undergraduate students at English-speaking tertiary institutions. The book is organised into three sections based on a model of four components of organizational behaviour: the individual, the group and the organisation. The fourth component of the model, the environment, refers specifically in the context of this book, to a contemporary South African approach to understanding behaviour in organisations. In the ‘individual’ section, the authors cover topics such as individual differences (e.g. personality, attitudes, perceptions, emotional intelligence, etc.), ethics, work motivation, and performance management. In the ‘group’ section, the authors look at issues of group and team dynamics, power and empowerment, communication, decision-making and leadership. Finally, in the ‘organisation’ section, the authors address issues of contemporary organisational design, organisational change and employee well-being (e.g. stress management, job satisfaction, etc.).