Environmental Psychology

The purpose of this lecture is primarily to introduce and explore the main themes and foci of environmental psychology and to also consider inter-relations between environmental and social psychology.

1. Environmental Psychology
James Neill, 2008
University of Canberra

2. 2
Overview
nWhat is Environmental Psychology?
nNegative Environmental Influences
nEnvironmental Design
nNatural Environment
nEvolutionary Psychology
nBiophilia

3. 3
What is Environmental
Psychology?
"Environmental psychology
studies the interactions and
relations between people
and their environments."
(Oskamp & Schultz, 1998, p.
206)

4. 4
What is
Environmental
Psychology?

5. 5
Scope
Environmental psychology is also
known as, or closely related to:
uenvironmental social sciences
uarchitectural psychology
usocio-architecture
uecological psychology
uecopsychology
ubehavioural geography
uenvironment-behavior studies
uperson-environment studies
uenvironmental sociology
usocial ecology
uenvironmental design research

6. 6
Environment  Humans
"Traditionally...environmental
psychology has emphasized how the
physical environment affects human
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
However, much recent
environmental research has
stressed the other side of the coin -
how human actions affect the
environment."
(Oskamp & Schultz, 1998, p. 206)

7. 7
“Ecological issues of people's
relationship to their environment,
both natural and human-made,
have assumed crucial importance
to our quality of life, and even to
the survival capacity of humanity.”
(Oskamp & Schultz, 1998)
Environment  Humans

8. 8
nIs a reasonably new 'discipline'
nGrew out of social psychology
nHas evolved in its own directions
nIs interdisciplinary, e.g., related to
anthropology, architecture, urban
planning, politics, sociology
Environmental Psychology...

9. 9
Psychology & the Environment
APS Interest Group
http://www.groups.psychology.org.au/peig/
Population & Environmental
Psychology
APA Division 34
http://apa34.cos.ucf.edu/
Interest Groups

10. 10
Negative
Environmental Influences
1.Human spatial behavior
2.Environmental stressors
3.Environmental risks
4.Environmental design
5.Complex relations b/w physical
stressors and people's mental and emotional
adjustment to it (e.g., control)

11. 11
Human spatial behaviour:
Density and Crowding
“some of the negative impacts of
crowding can be reduced if
people feel that they have some
control over their crowded
conditions”
(Oskamp & Schultz, 1998, p. 206)
uDensity = # of people per space
uCrowding = subjective -ve experiences due to
density

12. 12
Human spatial behaviour:
Density and Crowding

13. 13
Environmental Stressors
nCrowding
nDaily hassles & life events
nNoise
nTemperature
Environmental conditions
that interfere with optimal
human functioning include:

14. 14
Environmental Risks
Risk perception studies e.g., of:
nNatural disasters
nDiseases
nPollution
nFood contamination
nAccidents
nNuclear power
nTerrorism

15. 15
nWe tend to perceive as most
risky, environmental variables
we “can't” control e.g., predator
attacks as opposed to risks we
perceive that we can control
e.g., driving.
Environmental Risks

16. 16
Environmental Design
nAssessing & planning: Describing &
predicting human behaviour for artificial designs
nArchitectural psychology
nConsumer psychology: e.g.,
Shopping Mall Design
nPermaculture
nWayfinding

17. 17
Environmental Design
“We shape our
buildings
and our buildings
shape us”
- Churchill

18. 18
Natural Environment
1.Preference
2.Evolutionary Psychology
3.Biophilia Hypothesis
4.Nature's Psychological Effects
5.Nature-Deficit Disorder

19. 19
Natural Environment
nPreference for natural over built
environments (Ulrich, 1986) e.g.,
leisure and recreation, real estate.
nPositive physical and psychological
reactions to exposure to natural
environments.
nMental imagery and sounds of
natural environments has +ve
psychological effects. (Kaplan).

20. 20
Evolutionary Psychology
“Ishi was sure he knew the
cause of our discontent. It
stemmed from an excessive
amount of indoor time...
'It is not a man's
nature to be too
much indoors.”

21. 21
Evolutionary Psychology
"If today I had a young mind to direct,
to start on the journey of life, and I
was faced with the duty of choosing
between the natural way of my
forefathers and that of the... present
way of civilization, I would, for its
welfare, unhesitatingly set that
child's feet in the path of my
forefathers. I would raise him to be
an Indian!“ (Tom Brown)

22. 22
Biophilia Hypothesis
Edward Wilson, an etymologist
proposed that: humans have an
instinctive affinity with life-like
processes i.e., nature, due to our
evolutionary history
"innate
tendency to
focus on life and
lifelike
processes."
- Wilson

23. 23
Biophilia Hypothesis
Proposition:
Human beings have a genetic
predisposition towards “life-like”
or “nature” processes.
Humans evolved as creatures
deeply enmeshed with the
intricacies of nature, and that we
still have this affinity with nature
ingrained in our genotype.

24. 24
Examples of “nature’s” imprint
on consciousness…
n90% of children’s stories, cartoons,
etc. feature animals as the main
characters
nPhotos and artworks of nature and
natural scenes adorn our homes,
work-places, used as screen
savers, etc.
nDwellings with views of nature (e.g.,
ocean views) are highly valued

25. 25
Nature's Psychological Effects
Research reveals positive,
healthy effects of nature-based
experiences e.g., effects of
nAnimals
nNature scenes
nAdventure therapy
nGreen exercise

26. 26
Nature-Deficit Disorder
nA term coined by Richard
Louv in his Last Child in
the Woods (2005)
nArgues that children are
spending less time
outdoors, resulting in
behavioural problems
(e.g., ADHD), exacerbated
by parental fears,
restricted access to
nature, and technology.

27. 27
Green Prescription
Doctors and psychologists
are being encouraged to
consider “green”
experiences (in touch with
nature) and “green
prescriptions” as part of
the physical and
psychological health
promotion, prevention, and
treatment regimens.

28. 28
Howard Frumkin
nLiterature review of the positive
physical health effects of nature
(in American Journal of Preventive Medicine)
nBiophilia hypothesis as
underlying the positive benefits.
nResearch reveals positive,
healthy effects of nature-based
experiences e.g., effects of animals,
nature scenes, adventure therapy, etc.

29. 29
Humans  Environment
"Most psychologists still think that
environmental problems are the
concern of environmental scientists
but environmental problems are
caused primarily by human
behaviors, feelings and attitudes.
We can't solve these problems
without psychology's help and we
really need psychologists to go work
on them."
- Deborah Winter

30. 30
Humans  Environment
nEnvironmental Concerns
nAttitudes & Behaviors
nPopulation  Consumption
nBarriers
nTechnology
nPolicy
nSustainability

31. 31
Environmental Concerns
nProenvironmental attitudes,
beliefs and values about the
relationship between humans
and the natural environment
nConsiders the environment as
valuable in its own right and as
worthy of protection, care, and
preservation by humans.

32. 32
Environmental Concerns
nRising since the 1960s
nGallup & Gallup (1993)
surveyed ~1000 people in
each of 22 countries. In 20
countries, environmental
protection was the top social
concern.

33. 33
Environmental Concerns
Approx. one quarter of Westerners think
environmental concerns are
exaggerated (N > 1000 per country).
Roy Morgan
Research
(2002)

34. 34
Population Psychology
nBigger picture examination of
the impacts of human population
and consumption on the
environment.
nAlso examines psychological
strategies for changing rates of
population growth and
psychological impacts of
population.

35. 35
Population

36. 36
Population  Consumption

37. 37
nPsychologists can make
important contributions to
preserving natural resources.
nNeeded changes are largely
behavioural, e.g., recycling
and energy conservation.
Population  Consumption

38. 38
Recycling
Approx. three-quarters of Westerners
report being recyclers.
Roy Morgan Research (2002)
.
Factors
Demographics
Knowledge
Concern
(Attitudes)
Personality

39. 39
Attitude-Behavior
nActions do not necessarily follow
attitudes.
uNeed awareness of serious personal
consequences or strong
proconservation personal norm.
nPrompts are more successful if they are:
upolite (rather than demanding),
urequest a response that is easy to
perform and are
uadministered close to the point of
response
Geller, 1981

40. 40
Attitude-Behavior
nAntecedent strategies are not
very effective unless combined
with behavioral consequences
e.g., reinforcement, punishment, and
feedback.
nHowever, use of behavioral
contingencies can create an
external locus of control.

41. 41
Attitude-Behavior
nUse persuasion, social
influence, remove obstacles,
and avoid social traps (e.g.,
logging industry vs. greenies) to
increase desired
environmental behaviours.

42. 42
Attitude-Behavior
nLobby for policy changes
which help to create optimal
conditions for adoption and
maintenance of sustainable
living behaviours.
nFoster individual specific,
local, internal, emotional
connections to nature.

43. 43
Environmental Paradigms
(or Weltanschaung =
Worldviews)
nEgocentric
e.g., Western worldview
nAnthropocentric
e.g., Humanism
nEcocentric
e.g., Deep Ecology

44. 44
Deep Ecology
nShallow Ecology: Concern About
Pollution and Resource Depletion.
nIntermediate-Depth Ecology:
The Spaceship Earth Analogy.
nDeep Ecology: Bioequality.
Morally speaking, humans are not
more important than nonhuman life
forms and are not fundamentally
different than, or separate from,
them.

45. 45
Ecofeminism
“The ecofeminism
movement holds that
solving the problems of
sexism and environmental
destruction requires
acceptance of the
feminine paradigm and
rejection of the male
paradigm.”
Oskamp & Schultz, 1998, p. 212

46. 46
Best Solution?
nSlow Growth – currently unlikely
in market economy, but necessary
nFaster Transition to
Sustainability – we can be 15 x
as efficient if current best
technology was implemented
nSuch changes are only possible
via combined effects of public
policy & psychological strategy.

47. 47
Best Solution?
“Yes we need
more research,
but we know
enough to act”
- Howard Frumkin

48. 48
Interventions / Models
nInformational interventions
nSocial interventions
nSlow growth
nTechnology transformation
nSustainable community
nPermaculture

49. 49
Environmental Impact
I = P x A x T
nI = Impact on the environment
nP = The population
nA = Consumption per person
(affluence)
nT = environmental effect of
particular technologies that support
the level of affluence.

50. 50
Public Policy Areas
nEnergy Use
nPollution
nSolid Waste
nEnvironmental Justice
nNatural Resource Management
nPopulation

51. 51
Public Policy Strategy
nStrategies range from static to
dynamic psychology models
nRemove obstacles
nIntroduce incentives & punishments
nEducate
nFeedback e.g., energy use monitors
nChange norms (worldview)

52. 52
Conservation Economy
Pattern Map of a
Conservation Economy
http://www.conservationeconomy.net/pattern_map

53. 53
Title OnlyThe New Nature

54. 54
The New Nature

55. 55
Feedback

56. 56

57. 57
Permaculture
nPermanent – Culture
nBill Mollison, a psychologist in
Tasmania co-developed the
framework with one of his
students, David Holmgren.

58. 58
Permaculture
It's about design of systems
using natural principles in
order to minimise human
effort and maximise returns
in a sustainable way.

59. 59

60. 60
Psychology & The Future
Many psychologists work for environmental
management agencies, planning
authorities, & government bodies, & advise
on psychological and social considerations
and issues, including measurement and
assessment of:
ucommunity attitudes, values and concerns,
uthe relative effectiveness of differing
communication and behaviour change
strategies,
u‘the people side’ & the planning & design of
sustainable human settings & natural
environment based services.