Empirical research in environmental psychology: Past, present, and future

Have research interests in environmental psychology changed over the years? If so, in which direction? What can we learn from the past to direct future research? To answer these questions, empirical studies published in Environment & Behavior (E&B) and in Journal of Environmental Psychology (JEP), from their foundation to 2005, were reviewed. The articles were classified in relation to the following criteria: mode of human–environment transaction, research topic, type of setting and function of places, socio-demographic characteristics and environmental role of people, mode of presentation of the setting, sampling procedure, and source of data. Results showed both variations through the years and differences between the journals. The main research topics can be identified as the study of the residential environment, environmental cognition, observation of actual behaviour in the environment, and concern for the ecological value of the global environment. Trends in research interests showed a stable interest in the analysis of the built environment, a more place-specific approach in the beginning, strongly anchored in observational studies, and a central concern for sustainability and conservation of the environment in recent years. With respect to journals, the central role attributed to psychology by JEP, and the stronger participation by designers and planners in E&B, are reflected in the emphases given to the different modes of human–environment transaction. Trends in research interests help address the strengths and weaknesses of the discipline, thus suggesting future directions of inquiry.     

The role of perceived government style in the facilitation of self-determined and non self-determined motivation for pro-environmental behavior

Most North Americans are concerned about the environment and feel that responsibility for its protection lies primarily with government; however, no research to date has examined the influence of the government's approach toward environmental regulation on the motivation of individual citizens. According to self-determination theory, social contexts that support one's autonomy should facilitate self-determined motivation and social contexts that thwart autonomy should lead to non self-determined motivation and a sense of apathy or amotivation. In this study (n = 283), we examined the influence of perceptions of the government's approach toward environmental regulation on motivation toward the environment and frequency of self-reported pro-environmental behavior (PEB). Using structural equation modeling, we tested the hypothesis that frequency of PEB is predicted by motivation toward the environment and that motivation is predicted by the extent to which individuals perceive the government to be autonomy-supportive versus controlling in the implementation of environmental policies. The analysis revealed that perception of government autonomy-support contributed positively to autonomous motivation and negatively to amotivation, while perception of government control was positively related to both controlled motivation and amotivation. As predicted, autonomous motivation was positively, and amotivation was negatively, associated with frequency of PEB.     

STEREOTYPICAL PROCESSING: THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT

Previous research examining stereotype dilution had illustrated the importance of task instructions (Neuberg & Fiske, 1987), outcome dependence (Erber & Fiske, 1984; Neuberg & Fiske, 1987), and information about the target individual (Krueger & Rothbart, 1988; Macrae et al., 1992). This paper presents two studies investigating the stability of an occupational stereotype under different environmental conditions. Specifically it examines the maintenance and dilution of stereotypical judgements about licensees (pub managers) amongst undergraduate students. The results of the first study provide evidence for a context-free stereotype about public house licenses. However, results from the second study suggest that this stereotype is influenced by environmental conditions. That is, subjects do not simply continue to stereotype regardless of context, rather, under certain environmental conditions they individuate and reduce the impact of their stereotypical judgements. Implications for stereotype research and the role of environmental variables are made.     

Environmental management in an international consumer goods company

Many management processes and tools can provide companies with information to support their environmental decision making. Risk assessment, environmental auditing, life cycle assessment and environmental reporting are but a few examples. Each of these has typically evolved independently as the need for it has arisen. Today, however, this abundance of tools can lead to confusion: What is the exact objective of each tool? How do they differ? Are some ‘better’ than others? Should they be used in parallel, sequentially or in place of each other? More importantly, how do they fit together into a coherent environmental management framework that will ensure sound environmental and economic decision making in a company? This paper seeks to answer these questions. It describes the overall environmental framework that has been developed internally within Procter & Gamble and which allows the company to make coherent economically and environmentally sound decisions, in both the short- and long-term.     

Responding to Pressure on Local Natural Resources: the Story of Three Villages in South-Eastern Nigeria

There has been a recent move by development professionals away from formal “scientific” attempts to address problems caused by changing environmental conditions, towards a greater reliance on the innovative ability and indigenous knowledge of local people. This has necessitated a greater understanding of the way in which communities respond to environmental and socio-economic change. Using a model that predicts community responses to pressure on local natural resources, and data collected in three villages in south-eastern Nigeria, an attempt is made to document the way in which people react and adapt to change. It is concluded that with sufficient time communities will usually develop new resource management and agricultural systems. However, where change is occurring rapidly, a facilitator is required to encourage and accelerate local innovation so that farming and natural resource management systems can be appropriately adjusted before severe environmental degradation takes place.     

A social topography of home and horizon: The misfit, the dutiful, and longing for home

The environmental perception wave at Clark University was already in full swing when Anne Buttimer arrived in Fall 1970 with curiosities about social space, ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’, ‘home’ and ‘reach’, from a project on residential area design in Glasgow, Scotland. Lessons learned from the intense interaction between geographers and psychologists were enormously valuable for subsequent work with geography students at Clark during the 1970s. Since then she has worked on temporality and environmental experience, migration and identity, with colleagues in Sweden, and has pursued autobiographically-based approaches to questions of creativity and context and the history of geographic thought and practice. In retrospect, she claims, one of the most valuable results of the perception wave was to provoke awareness of the lenses through which reality is experienced by people in different cultures, and that includes the disciplinary cultures into which researchers themselves are socialized.     

Phenomenology and the clark experience

The author argues that his research and teaching interests are very much a legacy from Clark University, especially because of events there during the years 1970–72. The essay first identifies four factors—place, time, people, and atmosphere—which seem to have shaped developments in environment-behavior research during that time at Clark and considers how those developments touched the author personally. Second, the author reviews his present research interests in terms of three themes: fostering careful looking and seeing; examining environmental experience; and establishing a phenomenology of place and place-making. He argues that each of these themes is in part a product of his Clark experience during the early 1970s.     

How green is your thumb? Environmental gardening identity and ecological gardening practices

For gardeners, the garden is a significant aspect of identity. The number of people who garden and consider themselves environmentally friendly is growing. This exploratory study investigated whether “environmental gardening identity” is a measurable construct that motivates environmentally-friendly home gardening cultivation practices above that predicted by the previously validated environmental identity scale (EID, Clayton, 2003). A mail questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 800 urban-suburban self-identified gardeners (61% return rate.) The survey contained four sections: (1) the environmental identity scale (EID); (2) a new scale instrument designed to measure environmental gardening identity (EGID), (3) multiple choice questions addressing specific gardening practices, and (4) demographic questions. Results show that environmental identity, as measured by the EID, significantly predicts ecological gardening behavior. Additionally, it was found that the environmental gardening identity scale (EGID) comprises five subscales, all of which are highly correlated with the environmental identity scale (EID), and three of which explain the variability in gardening practices above that explained by the EID. However, it does not appear that these three subscales of the EGID specifically measure identity. Additional analyses show that respondents' reasons to have a garden are linked to the strength of both EID and EGID, especially for those respondents who garden as a way to connect with nature.     

Integrated landscape planning and remuneration of agri-environmental services. Results of a case study in the Fuhrberg region of Germany

Until now, existing remuneration of environmental services has not sufficiently supported the goals of spending money more effectively on the environment and of motivating farmers. Only a small share of the budgets for agriculture in the EU, as well as in US and other countries, is available for buying environmental goods and services beyond the level of good farming practice (GFP). This combined with the insufficient targeting of compensation payments to areas where special measures are needed leads to an unsatisfactorily low impact of agri-environment measures compared to other driving forces that stimulate the intensification of farming. The goal of this paper is to propose a management concept that enhances the ecological and cost efficiency of agri-environment measures. Components of the concept are a comprehensive environmental information base with prioritised goals and targets (available in Germany from landscape planning) and new remuneration models, which complement conventional compensation payments that are based upon predetermined measures and cost. Comprehensive landscape planning locates and prioritises areas which require environmental action. It contains the information that authorities need to prioritise funding for environmental services and direct measures to sites which need environmental services beyond the level of GFP.Also appropriate remuneration models, which can enhance the cost efficiency of public spending and the motivation of the farmers, can be applied on the base of landscape planning.Testing of the planning methodology and of one of the remuneration models (success-oriented remuneration) in a case study area (“Fuhrberger Feld” north of Hanover, Germany) demonstrated the usability of the concept and led to proposals for future development of the methodology and its application in combination with other approaches.     

A KALEIDOSCOPE MODEL: DEFINING NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS

Research on the relationship between people and nature has rarely incorporated a definition of natural environments. This exploratory project was designed to uncover underlying themes which comprise conceptualization of natural environments. Fourteen interviews were conducted with adult respondents, combining a biographical section with a picture sorting exercise. Content analysis revealed a myriad of dimensions and attributes which can be organized into four meta-level themes used to categorize environments as natural or not natural. The meta-themes included: (1) people as separate from nature; (2) assessment of natural elements; (3) human impact on nature; and (4) the human place within natural environments. Further analysis of the meta-level themes led to hypothesis generation about possible subcategories of natural environments, including ‘totally natural’, ‘civilized natural’, ‘semi-natural’ and ‘quasi-natural’. ‘Non-natural’ environments were also included in this schema, as they define the boundary of natural environments. A kaleidoscope model is used to illustrate how nature is defined through a complex web of interrelationships.     

Recycling and reducing packaging waste: How the United States compares to other countries

This report summarizes current developments in the United States and 18 other industrial countries regarding packaging waste. It presents available data concerning the types, amounts, and methods of managing such waste and provides information concerning the policies established or under consideration to reduce the amount of such waste being disposed. The countries discussed are all members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).In recent years, waste disposal capacity has become more scarce in most OECD countries. As a result, waste management policies have focused on efforts to reduce and recycle major components of the waste stream. Packaging represents about one-third of municipal solid waste in many countries. Because of this, measures to reduce the amount and toxicity of packaging and to encourage its recycling are currently being considered in at least 18 OECD countries. In addition, the EC and the Nordic Council are developing programs to address packaging on a regional basis.The report is divided into four main sections. Section I summarizes available information for the OECD countries. The second section discusses waste generation and recycling rates for six types of packaging material: paper, glass, metal, plastic, wood, and composites. The third section discusses key questions raised by the information presented in the report. The fourth briefly discusses packaging waste issues facing the Congress.In general, the report finds, other countries use less packaging than the United States, recycle more of it, and are considering policy measures stronger than the measures generally being considered in America. As noted in detail, other countries have adopted or are developing requirements that:

• • set mandatory requirements for packaging waste reduction;

• • require reusable or refillable packaging;

• • impose taxes to discourage single-use packages;

• • prohibit the use of non-recyclable packaging,

• • prohibit or limit disposal of packaging, and

• • require manufacturers of packaging materials to collect and recycle post-consumer waste.

Perhaps the most fundamental issue raised by these approaches is whether local governments will continue to bear responsibility for funding and operating recycling programs or whether all or some of this responsibility might be shifted to industry. To date, this issue has not been joined in the Congress directly; however, there is a growing consensus in other countries concerning the advantages of industry responsibility.     

THE INFLUENCE OF SETTINGS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EVENTS ON METAMOTIVATIONAL STATE AND AROUSAL: FURTHER TESTS OF REVERSAL THEORY ON ASIAN SAMPLES

The two studies reported further test reversal theory hypotheses concerning human psychological responses to different types of settings and environmental events on an Asian sample. In study 1, individuals in four settings representing different combinations of metamotivational state and arousal level (telic and paratelic/low arousal; telic and paratelic/high arousal) completed the telic state measure (TSM; Svebak & Murgatroyd, 1985). Significant differences between participants' mean scores across the four settings were obtained for TSM items serious–playful, planning–spontaneous, felt arousal, preferred arousal, effort and arousal discrepancy. In study 2 different environmental events in the same setting (changes in reading tasks), used in a crossover design, were used to induce reversals in individuals' operative metamotivational states. The results obtained from TSM scores pretask 1, between tasks and posttask 2. indicated significant time-of-testing interaction effects on the TSM serious–playful, planning–spontaneous and effort items. In addition, a main effect for TSM felt arousal was found. These results showed that reversals in metamotivational states were induced by the environmental event and that felt arousal scores increased across the three administrations of the TSM.     

‘El Gallo''s’ Last Flight for Jeremy Anderson: In Memoriam

The ‘Clark Phenomenon’ began in 1966 with two major events: the publication of a special number of the Journal of Social Issues with the (now admittedly sexist) title of ‘Man's Response to the Physical Environment’, and the arrival of Jim Blaut on campus. This watershed year, just two decades ago, also may have marked the transition from infancy to adolescence of the reborn field of ‘environmental cognition’. This article traces these early middle years of environmental cognition and its related emphases at Clark, the leadership of certain members of the faculty of the Graduate School of Geography in bringing the new field to full flower, the spinoffs and inevitable reactive forces, and the application of environmental cognition to problems of intercultural communication on environmental issues of an international scope. Such application is a later reflection of the social and political consciousness of the 1960s, the concern to relate environmental psychology to what was taking place in the U.S.A. and in the ‘emerging’ nations of the so-called developing world. In all of this, the Clark influence was, and remains, relevant.     

Are Scientists Right and Non-Scientists Wrong? Reflections on Discussions of GM

The aim of this article is to further our understanding of the “GM is unnatural” view, and of the critical response to it. While many people have been reported to hold the view that GM is unnatural, many policy-makers and their advisors have suggested that the view must be ignored or rejected, and that there are scientific reasons for doing so. Three “typical” examples of ways in which the “GM is unnatural” view has been treated by UK policy-makers and their advisors are explored. These are the Government’s position (DEFRA Report), the account of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, and the position of Nigel Halford, a scientist with an advisory role to the Government. I show that their accounts fail to mount a convincing critique. Then, I draw on an empirical research project held during  2003–2004 at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the north east of England. Scientists met with non-scientists in a range of facilitated one-to-one conversations (“exchanges”) on various environmental issues, one of which was on GM. Our findings show that some scientists who rejected the “GM is unnatural” view struggled to do so consistently. Their struggle is interpreted in terms of a conflict between a so-called “scientific” worldview, and a different worldview that underlies the concerns of those who held the “GM is unnatural” view. This worldview is explored further by an examination of their concerns. What distinguishes this worldview from the “scientific” worldview is that the instrumentalization of the nonhuman world is questioned to a larger extent. I conclude that, because the underlying concerns of those who held the “GM is unnatural” view were not with GM as such, yet with a worldview that was considered to be problematic, and of which many GM applications were held to be expressions, policy-makers and their advisors should reflect on the critical worldview of those who claim that GM is unnatural if they want to engage seriously with their concerns.     

Disposition toward environmental hazards in Hong Kong Chinese: validation of a Chinese version of the environmental appraisal inventory (EAI-C)

This paper extends prior research on risk perceptions in the West to the Hong Kong Chinese context by studying the nature of the responses of 229 Hong Kong Chinese to an adapted environmental appraisal inventory (EAI-C), which consisted of three scales with one related to the self and the other two related to the local and global environments, respectively. Results lent support to a local–global dichotomy: hazards were appraised to be more threatening in the global than the local context. Responses to the three-scale adaptation were factor analysed and three subscales were extracted for each of the EAI scales. As with findings reported in a previous study with an Irish sample, the subscales could be considered to represent techno-human, everyday-life and natural hazards. Results also indicated that Hong Kong Chinese appraised environmental hazards as more threatening than did Western samples surveyed in prior studies. This was most striking when hazards were appraised in relation to the self. Similar findings have also been reported in recent studies with Japanese samples. It was suggested that the accentuated threat to self observed in the current study might stem from a heightened sensitivity to environmental hazards in the Chinese people, which is determined by self-construction processes specific to Asian cultures. Using the EAI as a measurement for hazard appraisal may provide insights to how people from different cultures construe the impact of environmental hazards in various contexts.     

The Environment and Postmodern Spatial Consciousness: A Sociology of Urban Environmental Agendas

Planning generally views the environment as an objectively definable set of natural resource systems and relies on the natural sciences to reveal and describe its problems, such as pollution, loss of biodiversity, energy consumption or waste disposal. But why do the mass of people with little scientific knowledge or interest in the environment as a 'big issue' accept and even contentiously push forward planning's environmental agenda? This paper explores the sociological basis of environmental concern. It argues that the social dilemmas arising from the contemporary experience of space are drawn towards the environment and that it is this non-ecological, non-expert field of preoccupations which both legitimizes the environmental turn of contemporary planning and provides the real impetus behind environmental issues.     

One laptop per child,local refurbishment or overseas donations? Sustainability assessment of computer supply scenarios for schools in Colombia

With the intention of bridging the ‘digital divide’ many programmes have been launched to provide computers for educational institutions, ranging from refurbishing second hand computers to delivering low cost new computers. The fast and economical provision of large quantities of equipment is one of the many challenges faced by such programmes. If an increase is to be achieved in the sustainability of computer supplies for schools, not only must equipment be provided, but also suitable training and maintenance delivered. Furthermore, appropriate recycling has to be ensured, so that end-of-life equipment can be dealt with properly. This study has evaluated the suitability of three computer supply scenarios to schools in Colombia: (i) ‘Colombian refurbishment’, -refurbishment of computers donated in Colombia, (ii) ‘Overseas refurbishment’, -import of computers which were donated and refurbished abroad, and (iii) ‘XO Laptop’, -purchase of low cost computers manufactured in Korea. The methods applied were: Material Flow Assessment, -to assess the quantities-, Life Cycle Assessment, -to assess the environmental impacts, and the application of the Multiple Attribute Utility Theory, -to analyse, evaluate and compare different scenarios. The most sustainable solution proved to be the local refurbishment of second hand computers of Colombian origin to an appropriate technical standard. The environmental impacts of such practices need to be evaluated carefully, as second hand appliances have to be maintained, require spare parts and sometimes use more energy than newer equipment. Providing schools with second hand computers from overseas and through programmes such as ‘One Laptop Per Child’ has the disadvantage that the potential for social improvements – such as creation of jobs and local industry involvement – is very low.     

Applying the baldrige quality criteria to environmental performance: Lessons from leading organizations

Over the last thirty years, we have seen a dramatic shift in values that people and corporations place on environmental responsibility. People have become more aware of how the earth's limited resources are being rapidly depleted. High levels of consumption have resulted in increasing manufacturing and transportation needs which in turn lead to greater energy use, higher usage of hazardous and toxic substances, and decreased air and water quality. Leadership for environmental protection has shifted from vocal environmental advocacy groups to corporate executives. Driven by shifting customer requirements, competitive pressures, and resource conservation technologies, environmental issues are becoming embedded in the fundamental business strategies. In this article we will describe the application of the Malcolm Baldrige quality award criteria to environmental management and show how the focus on quality principles and tools can improve profitability. Examples from the Xerox Corporation and other companies will be provided to illustrate the breadth of environmental improvement initiatives that are being implemented.     

There is no “I” in nature: The influence of self-awareness on connectedness to nature

Environmentalists and ecopsychologists claim that focusing on “I” leads people to feel less connected to nature. The present study empirically tests this argument by manipulating participants’ objective self-awareness (OSA). Heightened OSA has been shown to increase participants’ self-focus, but also increase the impact of individuals’ attitudes and personality characteristics. Integrating these effects, we predicted that individuals lacking pro-environmental internal characteristics (nonenvironmentalists and those high on exploitativeness) would show decreased connection to nature in response to heightened OSA, while individuals with pro-environmental internal characteristics would not. For these individuals, their pro-environmental internal characteristics should counteract the effects of OSA on connection to nature. Two studies provide empirical support for this hypothesis. Implications of this research for pro-environmental actions are discussed.     

The image and experience of high rise housing in Israel

High rise housing is characterized by two major factors—height and number of people—each of which play a role in the image created and each of which are associated with advantages and disadvantages. The purpose of this study was to compare the image of high rise housing which emerges from the literature with the image and experience of high rise living as reported within a particular physical, social and cultural context—that of Israel. Three hundred and forty four individual, structured interviews were conducted with middle-class women living in buildings from four to 20 storeys high. Data are presented on their image of high rise housing; their experience of specific aspects: such as crowding, neighbor relations, childrens' outdoor play; and their general satisfaction with the building. On the whole the results indicate that these Israeli respondents' experience does not correspond to the image of high rise housing as portrayed in much of the literature. Their image is a function of their experience, which in turn is a function of the interaction between their own personal characteristics (particularly stage in the life cycle) and the height of the building—within a particular socio-cultural context.