108 Making Connections (IntroPSYC and SDG11): Sustainable Cities and Communities
By Meghan E. Norris and Riley J.T. Bonar
We are transitioning now into our units on social psychology. Social psychology is the scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others (Society of Personality and Social Psychology, n.d.). Social Psychologists study many topics including self identify, culture, attitudes and behaviours, relationships, judgment and deicsion making, and more! Social psychology is applied in many fields including marketing, design, user experience (UX), organizational systems, defense science, environmental behaviours, politics, education, and more.
With an awareness that social psychologists study people in a context, we want to make an intentional connection with SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. According to the UN, 70% of the global population is expected to live in cities by 2050.
Cities’ infrastructure can present unique challenges, as issues include pollution, noise, crowding, and more. Psychological science is at the front of designing cities in ways that support healthy communities. Dr. Jenny Roe is an environmental psychologist and Emeritus Professor of the Center for Design & Health at the University of Virginia. We invite you to listen to this optional podcast, hosted by the American Psychological Association, talking about how we can apply psychological science to build cities in such a way that supports mental health. For example, she talks about the importance of integrating nature into our cities (including for those who are unable to be outside), and the many benefits that can result from integrating nature.
You have met many Social Psychologists at Queen’s so far through this book, and you may have noticed that they study many topics including judgement and decision making, relationships, statistics and methodologies, cross-cultural applications of psychology, and more! We would now like to introduce you to another Social Psychologist in the Department of Psychology at Queen’s University, Dr. Jill Jacobson. Dr. Jacobson studies social-cognitive and social-behavioural consequences of two distinct but related individual differences: dysphoria and causal uncertainty. Dysphoria refers to mild to moderate levels of depression, and causal uncertainty pertains to confidence in one’s ability to understand why things happen to oneself and to others. Her current research is focused primarily on trying to understand an interesting paradox: Although dysphoric and causally uncertain people are more motivated to understand other people and more accurate in their social perceptions, they also are more likely to experience interpersonal problems including greater loneliness, shyness, and social rejection.
References:
Roe, J. (2024, February 21). Designing cities to improve mental health. Speaking of Psychology: American Psychological Association [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npNUn3a-kcE
Society for Personality and Social Psychology. (n.d.). What is social and personality psychology? https://spsp.org/about/what-socialpersonality-psychology
United Nations. (n.d.). Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/
How to cite this using APA Style:
Norris, M. E., & Bonar, R. J. T. (2026). Making connections (IntroPSYC and SDG 11): Sustainable cities and communities. In PSYC 100: Principles of psychology. eCampusOntario. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/testbookje/chapter/making-connections-intropsyc-and-sdg11-sustainable-cities-and-communities/
