Can psychology illuminate and transform our collective reluctance to address global, social and environmental challenges? Can it also help us as humans, to foster dialog with our unlikely allies and help people get along? Or is this simply too unrealistic?

Illuminate, yes.
Transform, no.

Most of what it can do is already being done, both by those trying to advance the public interest and by those trying to advance their own commercial interests against the public interest.

Odd question. Psychology can do nothing unless used by people. What are you suggesting: brainwashing to induce induce people to 'care' about things you think they should care about?

Most Psychology is severely flawed and has created more problems than it cures. At its root it denies the adamic nature. This results in numerous kids being prescribed drugs for bad behaviour. Have you not noticed that that with huges increases in the mental health budget the problem is now worse than ever.

Who's "us"? What's the collective? Where are the crises?
I've got the solution in a nutshell, how about everybody keeps their nose out of other people's business and concentrates on what's immediately in front of them?

Runner, you have no idea what you are talking about.
Psychologists can't prescribe drugs, as they are not licensed to do so.
Wrong again.

Humans behave as they do because that is how they evolved in order to survive in a hostile environment. It is as impossible to change human behaviour as it is to change that of a snake or a rat.

Experienced writers may say, “don't mention Socrates. Every reader will immediately stop reading”.

I'm using Socrates example as a comparison between ideas.

According to July 11, last story of Andrew Marr's History seen on GEM: Greek philosopher, considered father of philosophy Socrates (died 399 BCE) was living under a Greek Athenian ruling class controlled democracy. Freedom of speech in open forums was allowed. For every free to criticise Greek Athenian citizen it was estimated citizens had two slaves. Socrates was lecturing to his young students to question everything. Socrates was arrested and convicted of 'corrupting the youth of the city'.
Socrates story could be considered as a parable threat.

Promoting free speech societies sounds ideal propaganda for people to believe citizens live in a truly democratic society. Yet, if modern day citizens are completely taken in by media stories since citizens as children were capable of understanding speech, children feeling good in understanding political stories. Human brains constantly being updated with media's varying political stories. Politicians acting as though they're trying to improve society, allowing society citizens to express open forum free speech.

Compulsory schooling, beginning children's school education at aged 5 and 6 years. Kindergarten teachers guiding young children to hold focus on teachers spoken words for many hours each school day. Many children building up hatreds for listening to drawn out spoken teacher instructions, hurrying hyperactive behaviour mentally stressed children having to concentrate on what teachers are saying. Students building fearful subconscious emotional reactions to long explanations and instructions, increasing work loads teacher spoken sentences. Children capable of listening to short spoken sentences repeated ideas as though teachers are: actors and actresses; news presenters.

Young children forget what they don't want to remember. In later years, children have forgotten why poor performing learning behaviours came from and why poor performances are carried out

Beginning with, aged 5 years children, being told fairy tale stories containing: murders; royal patronage; appointed leaders; dragons; princesses and princes.
As children age, television news media gives young children: politicians making short speeches; news readers making short news political stories; murder stories; police actions; finance news; sports. Teachers asking students questions on previous nights news political stories, has children listening to news story' details, preparing themselves for the next school day's teacher's questions. Children's emotional rewards for anticipating future rewards (getting teacher questions correct) provides children reasons to pay attention to political news stories for many years after teachers stop asking Q&A questions. Feel good human behaviours is like training young dogs to chase tennis balls.

The behaviour of school taught young children being asked questions on media story events, children feeling rewarded for answering teacher questions correctly, I assume was what happened during the post WW1 generation German school children, being indoctrinated into Adolf Hitler's cult leadership military wars, WW2. Children including adults, can't help in not believing in Adolf Hitler's guidance and encouragement speeches.

Children are being programmed to listen to short shallow stories, children have no reason to doubt what's being heard, ready to feel rewarded by teacher's questions, getting answers correct, stimulating feel good is true endorphins.

In such a society that programs listeners, every citizen taking school education seriously will believe democracy is real, free speech open forums or not.

I write up long readings in attempts to convince readers democracy is faked. As I verbally say the same to people, people saying in reply, “dictatorships free speech is band” as short attention span listeners for detailed knowledge evidence, hate to instantly feel their answered teacher questions are incorrect.

Media: radio; television; now Internet... have entered people's homes. Story media bring to people's attention many fictional stories containing: U.S. presidents; FBI investigations; police; crime; science fiction. The many serious stories support not only the benefits of democracies supporting capitalism... because viewers are seeing the same story themes, I strongly assume, people believe in their ability in intelligent understanding, are having their human senses fooled by media's same story themes looking entirely new and seemingly having different themes.

….....................

Brexist has had the British Bank governor reduce bank reserve requirements, banks using reserves requirement money to lend to borrowers.

U.S. DOW Industrial index is in record highs, fueled by good employment statistics. Other world markets indexes are climbing, in speculation of world governments are increasing/releasing more stimulating packages.
Many past market crashes have lead with new market quick to move up to peek index record highs.

Any person with a sense to take notice of finance news over past decades, remembering relevant comments, will be aware that most economic collapses were caused by too much leading, at too lower interest rates. Borrowers difficulty in servicing loans at the end of boom periods. Yet, economic growth booms are being encouraged by democratic governments, because democratic governments have no other source of ideas to increase economic growth other than increasing immigration intake, increasing lending to private, non-government borrowers building speculations.

1972, Richard Nixon said “we're all Keynesians now”, Nixon meant government was taking over from private investment borrowing, rather than banks doing what banks generally do after a period of growth expansion: banks declaring themselves bankrupt. The faith built up by (noticeable by myself) increased propaganda stories, such bankruptcies are believed won't happen. I am sure previous generations felt the same beliefs before banks went belly up.

Governments are periodically peaching how governments are over extended experiencing high deficits, channel 11 “Deadhead” series. This does not mean bad things are about to happen, yet all the signs are there that markets (I say are rigged) provide anecdotal evidence that a big bust is about to happen. If nothing does happen, than wise good thinking memorising people are being intentionally mislead.

If some bad market crash does happen, people with good memories, remembering events, can be drawn into an end of time scare media spokes person prediction, “take money out of banks, bury money in parks” to allow money to be taken by establishment stalkers; Sell property cheaply during low property valuation periods, scam.

For the same reason Socrates was asking Athenians to question everything about what was stated as democracies, Socrates vaguely accusing Athenian ruling class leaders of tricky, in persuading Athenian citizens to support something that verbally assures citizens to work longer hours and more efficient in some hopeful idea that increased work will lead to increased future wealth, citizens risking whether work and unfortunate circumstances will lead to poverty. Socrates was suggesting ruling classes were manipulating as in creating unfortunate circumstances.
Like religions want religious believers to work hard now, rewards to be received in the afterlife.

Because people who have similar ideas to myself, can't successfully inform people, because people's democracy government beliefs are very strong, my typed out words will be ignored.

I said to a retired from physically exhausting work elderly man, to how money bank credits were invented from nothing. He quickly and loudly replied that “if governments create money, economic events would lead to a depression”.
I say, the man has read a statement saying “if money was invented, economies would go into a depression”. The man while reading, quickly had no reason to doubt what he was reading, quickly judging the reading as true.
When I tried to convince him governments invent money out of nothing, he felt his judgments were being challenged, becoming angry with me.

Book readings and finance news state, governments state they create money out of nothing, at the same time creating a same value bond... selling the bond on the bond market, sucking up spare created money credits. I believe, the idea has stupidity attached.
Governments have debt attached to itself and or bonds sold off to bond holders. Rating agencies AAA ratings are due to governments can invent more money to pay interest. Governments can't default on bonds because governments merely create more money to buy back government bonds.

To be clear, once more:

The Andrew Marr's History on Socrates democracy history story, Andrew said an unstable period: democracy became a dictatorship, became a democracy, became a dictatorship, became a democracy. My assumed theory was ruling class dictatorships were stealing Athenian free citizen's wealth during ruling class dictator periods, allowing citizens confidence in democracy periods to rebuild wealth to have democracy eventually abolished do to some invented reason, once more, allowing dictators to steal free citizens wealth. Socrates was telling students to question whether democracy was real or merely a trick to get people to feel working increasing exhausting labours would give them personal long term wealth rewards, similar to Athenian ruling classes.

Dictatorship to democracy to dictatorship etc, is like boom bust cycles theory.

Steve 101...
This made me smile: I quote:

"To be clear, once more:
The Andrew Marr's History on...[100 words later]...Socrates was telling students to question whether democracy was real or merely a trick to get people to <feel working increasing exhausting labours would give them personal long term wealth rewards, similar to Athenian ruling classes.> i.e. accept the status quo.[my interpretation]
If brevity is the soul of wit, Steve, it seems somewhat witless to write so much to say so little of relevance to the topic.

At its core, psychology is based on one or a group of human beings observing the behavior and mind of another human being or groups of them. There is no way this can truly be objective.

There is more to the human experience that just living in your head all the time. Some call this spiritualism, an aspect of existence beyond measurable consciousness. That is measurable within the scientific definition.