Environmental Psychology

Environmental Psychology James Neill, 2008 University of Canberra

Overview
What is Environmental Psychology?
Negative Environmental Influences
Environmental Design
Natural Environment
Evolutionary Psychology
Biophilia

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

Scope
Environmental psychology is also known as, or closely related to:
environmental social sciences
architectural psychology
socio-architecture
ecological psychology
ecopsychology
behavioural geography
environment-behavior studies
person-environment studies
environmental sociology
social ecology
environmental design research

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)

“ 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

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

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

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

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)
Density = # of people per space
Crowding = subjective -ve experiences due to density

Human spatial behaviour: Density and Crowding

Environmental Stressors
Crowding
Daily hassles & life events
Noise
Temperature
Environmental conditions that interfere with optimal human functioning include:

Environmental Risks
Risk perception studies e.g., of:
Natural disasters
Diseases
Pollution
Food contamination
Accidents
Nuclear power
Terrorism

We 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

Assessing & planning : Describing & predicting human behaviour for artificial designs
Architectural psychology
Consumer psychology : e.g., Shopping Mall Design
Permaculture
Wayfinding

“ We shape our buildings and our buildings shape us” - Churchill

Natural Environment
Preference
Biophilia Hypothesis
Nature's Psychological Effects
Nature-Deficit Disorder

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

“ 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.”

"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)

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

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.

Examples of “nature’s” imprint on consciousness…
90% of children’s stories, cartoons, etc. feature animals as the main characters
Photos and artworks of nature and natural scenes adorn our homes, work-places, used as screen savers, etc.
Dwellings with views of nature (e.g., ocean views) are highly valued

Nature's Psychological Effects
Research reveals positive, healthy effects of nature-based experiences e.g., effects of
Animals
Nature scenes
Adventure therapy
Green exercise

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

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.

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

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

Humans  Environment
Environmental Concerns
Attitudes & Behaviors
Population  Consumption
Barriers
Technology
Policy
Sustainability

Proenvironmental attitudes , beliefs and values about the relationship between humans and the natural environment
Considers the environment as valuable in its own right and as worthy of protection, care, and preservation by humans.

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

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

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

Population

Psychologists can make important contributions to preserving natural resources.
Needed changes are largely behavioural, e.g., recycling and energy conservation.

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

Attitude-Behavior
Actions do not necessarily follow attitudes.
Need awareness of serious personal consequences or strong proconservation personal norm .
Prompts are more successful if they are:
polite (rather than demanding),
request a response that is easy to perform and are
administered close to the point of response
Geller, 1981

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

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

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

Environmental Paradigms (or Weltanschaung = Worldviews)
Egocentric e.g., Western worldview
Anthropocentric e.g., Humanism
Ecocentric e.g., Deep Ecology

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

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

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

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

Interventions / Models
Informational interventions
Social interventions
Slow growth
Technology transformation
Sustainable community
Permaculture

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

Public Policy Areas
Energy Use
Pollution
Solid Waste
Environmental Justice
Natural Resource Management
Population

Public Policy Strategy
Strategies range from static to dynamic psychology models
Remove obstacles
Introduce incentives & punishments
Educate
Feedback e.g., energy use monitors
Change norms (worldview)

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

Title Only The New Nature

The New Nature

Feedback

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

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

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:
community attitudes, values and concerns,
the relative effectiveness of differing communication and behaviour change strategies,
‘ the people side’ & the planning & design of sustainable human settings & natural environment based services.

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Environmental Psychology

by James Neill

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