Susan Clayton, PhD, is presented with this Presidential Citation for her exceptional leadership and longstanding commitment to improving the national and global response to climate change to protect psychological well-being, promote community resilience, and conserve wildlife.
Clayton is the Whitmore-Williams Professor of Psychology and Chair of Environmental Studies at the College of Wooster in Ohio. A social psychologist by training, she has become a leading conservation psychologist whose research focuses on improving our understanding of the human experience of nature and promoting healthy relationships between humans and nature. In her recent work, she examines the implications of climate change on psychological well-being and the social processes that promote environmental concern and environmental identity.
Studying people's relationship with nature has helped Clayton create messages that encourage people to protect the environment, be more receptive to conservation messages, and change their attitudes about climate change. She recognized that for psychological research to have influence, psychologists need to find ways to interact and communicate with researchers from other disciplines as well as with policymakers, and has been an exceptional representative of psychology around the world.
Her scientific contributions include being a lead author on the United Nations’ 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body of experts convened by the United Nations. The comprehensive report, written by 270 researchers from 67 countries, describes the perils of climate change and the negative impacts felt around the world and encourages psychologists to become part of the integrated scientific effort to support the achievement of climate change targets.
Clayton is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association; Division 34, the Society for Environmental, Population and Conservation Psychology; and Division 9, the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI). She is also a member of Division 8 (the Society of Personality and Social Psychology) and currently serves as a member-at-large on the Board of Directors of the American Psychological Association. Clayton was the Board liaison to the APA Climate Change Task Force.
She also served as the 2016 President of Division 9. During her tenure as SPSSI President, Clayton brought together a group of colleagues to create a resource for local communities on how to build resilient communities in the face of climate change. She continues to conduct research on how people connect environmental issues to social issues, such as public health and racial justice. For these contributions, it is my honor to present her with this Presidential Citation.