Consumer neuroscience to inform consumers-physiological methods to identify attitude formation related to over-consumption and environmental damage

Climate change, the need for efficient and environment-friendly energy use and health-related issues like obesity and addictions, these three crucial topics build a triad that the global society has extensively been discussing and caring about during the past decades. First, according to the recently published fifth IPCC climate change assessment report (2013), intense weather conditions have been on the rise. These changes will in extreme cases impose life-threatening dangers to some civilizations, but it will mostly influence individual attitudes and decision-making and thus finally modify consumption behavior quite dramatically during the next decades. Second, the European Union is aiming for a 20% cut in Europe's annual primary energy consumption by 2020 (Energy Efficiency Plan, 2011). This government-driven aim does not only affect global industry, but again also the consumption behavior of each individual end-user. Third, according to the World Health Organization (2013), worldwide obesity has nearly doubled since 1980. In fact, 65% of the world's population lives in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight (World Health Organization, 2013). Given these unpleasant scenarios we need to get active now in order to prevent the worst and to ensure the best possible and highest standards of life across the globe.