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Conservation psychology is the scientific study of the reciprocal relationships between humans and the rest of nature, with a particular focus on how to encourage conservation of the natural world. Rather than a specialty area within psychology itself, it is a growing field for scientists, researchers, and practitioners of all disciplines to come together and better understand the earth and what can be done to preserve it. This network seeks to understand why humans hurt or help the environment and what can be done to change such behavior. The term "conservation psychology" refers to any fields of psychology that have understandable knowledge about the environment and the effects humans have on the natural world. Conservation psychologists use their abilities in "greening" psychology and make society ecologically sustainable. The science of conservation psychology is oriented toward environmental sustainability, which includes concerns like the conservation of resources, conservation of ecosystems, and quality of life issues for humans and other species.

Pioneers in this growing field
Psychologists from many fields (including philosophy, biology, sociology, industrial and organizational, health, and consumer psychology) and related subfields (like environmental education and conservation biology) come together to put their knowledge to practice by educating others to work together and encouraging a congruous relationship between humans and the environment around them. These psychologists work together in places such as zoos and aquariums, putting positive messages out and educating the public on the homes and needs of the animals that live there. They attempt to interact with and teach the public about the consequences of their day to day actions on animals and the environment, rather than simply viewing the animals as tourists or spectators. Psychologists and sociologists are visiting workshops and think tanks at these places to evaluate if the animals are shown to the best of their ability while still giving informative knowledge to the public.

Conducted Research
Conservation psychology research is characterized by descriptive and theoretical analyses and studies that explore ways to lessen the impact of human behavior on the natural environment and increase sustainable and harmonious relationships. Some of the research estimates exactly how much land and water resources are used by each human at this point and how usage will change in future generations. This research considers the size of the current human population and its potential growth in the future, as well as the percentage of humans the limited amount of land supports and how humans use the land. The research also considers the positive and negative consequences for the biodiversity of plant and animal life after humans have used the land to their advantage. In addition to creating better conceptual models, more applied research is needed to: 1) identify the most promising strategies for fostering ways of caring about nature, 2) find ways to reframe debates and strategically communicate to the existing values that people have, 3) identify the most promising strategies for shifting the societal discourse about human–nature relationships, and 4) measure the success of these applications with respect to the conservation psychology mission. The ultimate success of conservation psychology will be based on whether its research results in programs and applications that make a difference in environmental sustainability. The effectiveness of these programs needs to be measured in terms of their impact on behavior formation or behavior change using tools developed by conservation psychologists.

Main concepts
Conservation psychology assesses as a whole four different concepts. These were discussed at the first Conservation Psychology conference held in the United States.

Connection of humans and animals
The first topic being discussed is the connection of humans and animals. The Multi-Institutional Research Project (MIRP) works diligently on finding ways to develop a compassionate stance towards animals in the public eye. Many different questions were assessed to find answers to questions concerning ways to help develop loving attitudes for animals and the earth. With these questions and answers, effective educational and interpretive programs were made that would help review the progress.

Connections of humans and places
The second concept that was discussed at the conference concerned connections of humans and places. A new language of conservation will be supported if there are abundant opportunities for meaningful interactions with the natural world in both urban and rural settings. Unfortunately, as biodiversity is lost, every generation has fewer chances to experience nature. There were many questions asked concerning how humans in their everyday lives could be persuaded or educated well enough to make them want to join in programs or activities that help maintain biodiversity in their proximity. Local public and private organizations were asked to come together to help find ways to protect and manage local land, plants, and animals. Other discussions came to whether people on an individual or community level would voluntarily choose to become involved in maintaining and protecting their local biodiversity. These plus many other important questions were contemplated. Techniques in marketing are a key tool in helping people connect to their environment. If an identity could be connected from the environment to towns becoming more urbanized, maybe those living there would be more prone to keep it intact.

Environmentally friendly attitudes
The third discussion covered the aspects of producing people who act environmentally friendly. Collectively, any activities that support sustainability, either by reducing harmful behaviors or by adopting helpful ones, can be called conservation behaviors. Achieving more sustainable relationships with nature will basically require that large numbers of people change their reproductive and consumptive behaviors. Any action, small or large, that helps the environment in any way is a good beginning to a future of generations who only practice environmentally-friendly behavior. This may seem to be a far-fetched idea but with any help at all in educating those who do not know the repercussions of their actions could help achieve this. Approaches to encouraging a change in behavior were thought about carefully. Many do not want to change their way of life. A more simplistic lifestyle rather than their materialistic, current lives hurt their environment around them rather than help, but could people willingly change? To take public transportation rather than drive a car, recycling, turning off lights when they are not needed, all these things are very simple yet a nuisance to actually follow through with. Would restructuring tax-code help people to want to change their attitudes? Any concept to reach the goal of helping people act ecologically aware was discussed and approached.

Values between people and the environment
The fourth and final point at the first Conservation Psychology convention was the discussion of the values people have to their environment. Understanding our relationship to the natural world well enough so that we have a language to celebrate and defend that relationship is another research area for conservation psychology. According to the biophilia hypothesis, the human species evolved in the company of other life forms, and we continue to rely physically, emotionally, and intellectually on the quality and richness of our affiliations with natural diversity. A healthy and diverse natural environment is considered an essential condition for human lives of satisfaction and fulfillment. Where did they get these values and are they ingrained to the point they cannot be changed? How can environmentally educated people convey value-based communication to a community, a nation, or even on a global level? National policy for this model is something that is desired but under such a strong political scrutiny this could be very challenging. Advocates for biodiversity and different programs came together to try and find methods of changing Americans' values concerning their environment and different methods to express and measure them.

Connections between conservation topics in biology and psychology
Conservation biology was originally conceptualized as a crisis-oriented discipline, with the goal of providing principles and tools for preserving biodiversity. This is a branch of biology that is concerned with preserving genetic variation in plants and animals. This scientific field evolved to study the complex problems surrounding habitat destruction and species protection. The objectives of conservation biologists are to understand how humans affect biodiversity and to provide potential solutions that benefit both humans and non-human species. It is understood in this field that there are underlying fields of biology that could readily help to have a better understanding and contribute to conservation of biodiversity. Biological knowledge alone is not sufficient to solve conservation problems, and the role of the social sciences in solving these problems has become increasingly important. With the knowledge of conservation biology combined with other fields, much was thought to be gained. Psychology is defined as the scientific study of human thought, feeling, and behavior. Psychology was one of the fields that could take its concepts and apply them to conservation. It was also always understood that in the field of psychology there could be much aid to be given, the field only had to be developed. Psychology can help in providing insight into moral reasoning and moral functioning, which lie in the heart of human–nature relationships. Everyone that is now involved from the field of psychology had knowledge of ways to conceptualize the relationship of humans to their environment. Biology has always been involved in advances of conservation considering biodiversity, and the organisms in it are part of the main field of biology. Psychology has been absent from conservation for some time, but educators and scientists are realizing that with the help of both we can come to a better understanding of humans and their social interactions with their environment and everything in it.