7 Making Connections (IntroPSYC and SDG 9): Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

By Meghan E. Norris and Riley J.T. Bonar

Welcome to our unit that explores common methodologies in psychology. Psychology is often considered a “hub” discipline as it can be applied in a variety of ways. Many of you are familiar with psychology playing a critical role in contexts related to mental health, and that is certainly one important aspect of psychology! However, psychological science and principles play a critical role in business, human resources, athletics, consumer contexts, engineering, user experience, artificial intelligence, teaching and learning, medicine, and more!

This week, as we begin to explore common methodologies, we want to introduce you to  Sustainable Development Goal #9, which aims to “build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.” This SDG focuses on targets and indicators such as developing high-quality infrastructure, inclusive industrialization, and enhancing scientific research and encouraging innovation.

You can learn more about this SDG here: Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – United Nations Sustainable Development

How does this connect to methods in psychology? A great question! Did you know that there is a subdiscipline in psychology called Environmental Psychology? This subdiscipline focuses on topics such as how humans navigate spaces, and features of healthy environments. People with training in this area are well positioned to support evidence-based infrastructure design of spaces (both physical and electronic!), and they are trained in how to identify and innovate solutions to challenges through the application of the scientific method–including methods you will learn about in this unit. Does this type of pathway pique your interest? You won’t often find a job titled “Environmental Psychology.” Instead, you’ll find job postings that are looking for specific forms of expertise. You can learn more about this subdiscipline in this open access chapter, written for the Canadian context.

The Canadian Psychological Association also has a section dedicated to the topic of environmental psychology.

If you are interested in statistics and methodologies, and research happening within this domain in Queen’s Psychology, check out the work of Dr. Lee Fabrigar. Dr. Fabrigar is a Social Psychologist who studies topics including attitudes and behaviour, but who is also a leading expert in topics related to statistics and methodologies in psychology. Indeed, he was elected to the prestigious Society for Multivariate Experimental Psychology!

References

Canadian Psychological Association. (n.d.). Environmental psychology. https://cpa.ca/sections/environmentalpsychology/

United Nations. (n.d.). Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/infrastructure-industrialization/

Ng, C. F., Gifford, R., Veitch, J. A., & McCunn, L. J. (2019). Environmental psychology. In M. E. Norris (Ed.), The Canadian handbook for careers in psychological science. eCampusOntario. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/psychologycareers/chapter/environmental-psychology/

How to cite this using APA Style:

Norris, M. E., & Bonar, R. J. T. (2026). Making connections (IntroPSYC and SDG 9): Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. In PSYC 100: Principles of psychology.  eCampusOntario. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/testbookje/chapter/making-connections-intropsyc-and-sdg-9-build-resilient-infrastructure-promote-sustainable-industrialization-and-foster-innovation/