Transforming environmental psychology

Although it is recognised that the individual and the external world are linked in complex and mutual ways and can only be treated together as one phenomenon there is little evidence that transactionalist approaches, despite potentially providing a truly distinctive approach for environmental psychology, have been fully understood or operationalised. We take as our starting point the theoretical proposition that individuals are the sum of their social relations, i.e., they are the cause and consequence of their relations to others and the environment. Therefore environmental psychology should give priority to examining the reciprocity between people and environment and the ways in which they mutually reproduce the material conditions for their existence. Drawing on the example of sustainable development, we argue that any attempt to develop a sustainable society has to understand how the relationships between individuals and their social contexts can be changed. Thus the emphasis in a transformative environmental psychology should shift to the relations of production and consumption and the social and political relations within which values, attitudes and behaviours are formed, and unsustainable ways of living and working as well as the environment are produced and reproduced.     

Swedish environmental psychology

Environmental psychology research in Sweden is reviewed beginning with studies in the 1960s. The traditional main foci of the Swedish research are the visual perception of form, space, colour, and texture, the meaning of social and physical environments; and the effects of the indoor and outdoor ambient environment (noise, air quality and temperature). More recent research foci include environmental cognition (perceptual categorization, cognitive mapping, orientation, planning), affective reactions to the environment, and systems applications. It is concluded that the Swedish research is integrated with environmental psychology research in other countries in terms of a common data base and methodology, despite the fact that the problems investigated are to some extent national in tone. It is also pointed out that the Swedish research appears to have the potential of theoretical contributions to environmental psychology, which is badly needed within the field as a whole.     

Environmental psychology in Venezuela

Environmental psychology is a new discipline in Venezuela, which is developing together with, and in response to, the conditioning social and political background of the country. A review of this background and an analysis of the present status of scientific research in the field is presented. The most frequent, and the most neglected, research fields are considered in addition to the principal direction found presently in university education, which will help to determine the formation of future professionals. It is concluded that research in the field is increasing in terms of frequency and variety of themes despite its brief history in the country.     

Environmental psychology in Japan

The article briefly summarizes the development of environmental psychology in Japan, and discusses its characteristic areas of research and their relation to contemporary Japanese environmental conditions. The more important studies are reviewed as well as the general methodological orientation of Japanese environmental psychology.     

The phenomenological contribution to environmental psychology

This essay considers the value of phenomenology for environmental psychology, first, by examining differences between a conventional scientific approach and phenomenology; second, by presenting substantive phenomenological research meaningful for environmental psychology. Three substantive themes are discussed: (1) a phenomenology of human experience; (2) a phenomenology of physical environment; (3) a phenomenology of the person—world relationship. The essay concludes that conventional research in environmental psychology has sometimes uncritically accepted theories and concepts which are out of touch with the actual fabric of environmental behavior and experience. A phenomenological perspective looks at the person—environment relationship afresh and thus helps to revitalize the ontological, epistemological and methodological foundations of environmental psychology.     

Environmental psychology with a Latin American taste

This paper describes and analyzes the actual and potential contributions of Latin American environmental psychology (EP) to the study of environment–behaviour interactions. Latin America is a richly socoi- and bio-diverse region; the multitude of problems caused by threats to its diversity requires especial conceptual and methodological approaches for studying and solving those problems. Latin American environmental psychologists have contributed ideas and studies according to the specificities (indigenous psychologies) of their nations. These specificities include Latin American traditions of collective participation, holistic worldviews, emotional attachment to places and other individuals, biospheric attitudes and preference for diversity, among others, in addition to the cultural traditions inherited from Europe. These traditions are considered in EP studies conducted by Latin American authors, which are described and commented upon. The importance of formative programs for a professionalizing environmental psychology in the area is discussed. Finally, this paper envisions the future of EP in Latin America. Such a forecast includes our vision of how environmental psychologists in the region could contribute to the general development of a universal environmental psychology.     

A critical approach to environmental psychology in Italy

The historical and cultural situation in which environmental psychology has developed in Italy is described. Although this field raises great interest in scientific circles, it has not reached the same stage of development as in other countries. The causes of this include the following: the distrust of idealistic philosophy, the complexity of theoretical approaches and the scepticism from the long-established tradition of Italian culture, the growing bureaucracy of the Italian university system, the network of economic and political interests behind the environmental issue.Some theoretical implications attributed to this disciplinary choice are then outlined: the character of applied science, the references to the field, the lack of compatibility with behaviourist and materialistic schools, the risks of public participation, and the inclination towards idealism and reformism.Finally, a short survey is made of the most intensively studied areas of research: the image of the city, the subjective quality of the environment, hazard perception, the development of environmental cognition in the child, the images of unknown lands in historical documents, and the psycho-social and anthropological implications of environmental perception.     

The social psychology of biodiversity conservation in agriculture

We investigate farmers’ intentions to apply biodiversity conservation practices from a psychological perspective, using an adapted version of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), including group norms and putting emphasis on moral norms and self-identity. The study is based on a quantitative survey (n = 99) in Belgium, analysed using confirmatory factor analyses and path analysis. Results suggest that the impact of attitudes, social norms and perceived behavioural control on intentions is almost fully mediated through moral norms and self-identity. To have a sustained impact, change actions should strive to embed biodiversity conservation into the social norms and into the good farmer identity of the farming community. While acknowledging the explanatory nature of this study, the findings could suggest another view on how to induce behavioural change.     

Environmental psychology: Manifold visions, unity of purpose

An attempt is made to understand and integrate the different perspectives on and approaches to environmental psychology. As a whole, the field is oriented to fundamental science, to practice, and to informing policy. Some approaches focus more on the person, some more on the environment, but all acknowledge its unity of purpose to understand the complex relations between people and the built, natural, and living environments around them. Environmental psychology is developing around the world from its North American and European roots, and this growth is enriching its collective vision. Interest in human transactions with the built environment remains, and concern for the natural world, including the optimizing of human relations with other species and the planet is very strong; these manifold visions are the very definition of environmental psychology.     

Educational issues, school settings, and environmental psychology

This paper reviews selected research on classroom and school environments, using a framework that views schools from three perspectives—as places for learning, as places for socialization and as places for psychological development. Studies are included that deal with the impact of noise and classroom design on learning; the relationship between seating position, achievement and status; spatial cognition; the classroom environment and sex role stereotyping; privacy; and density. The need for classrooms to enhance children's feelings of competence, security and self-esteem is also stressed. The goal of the paper is to point out ways in which environmental psychologists can contribute to the improvement of the educational system and to the quality of life in schools.     

Positive psychology in education for sustainable development at a primary-education institution

The present global environmental crisis is demanding serious rather than superficial changes within the cultural assumptions of human-to-human and human-to-nature relationships. In this sense, education is one of the strongest tools to model our future and a key factor of cultural change. One of the principal aims of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is to develop cognitive and affective skills that affect people's values, such as empathy and critical thinking. Together with compromise and responsibility towards a group, it is possible to build new values and ways to interact with both people and the environment. In the present study we used positive psychology principles in creating teaching interventions to empower empathy and critical thinking through an ESD programme at a Chilean primary school. The results show that an intervention of this kind helps to harmoniously build reflective thinking and empathy within students. This enables them to achieve important changes in their disposition to make sound personal and environmental decisions, and prepares them to positively meet imposing present and future challenges.     

Research on residential thermal comfort: some contributions from environmental psychology

Recent research on thermal comfort is reviewed, with particular reference to contributions from environmental psychology. Three trends are distinguished, and delineated in terms of their concepts, methodology and research results. The major and earliest trend is physicalistic, laboratory-based and normative; the second adopts a more psychological and multivariate approach, using field-studies; finally, the most recent is an applied orientation which focuses on issues of energy-conservation. Conclusions are drawn with respect to the direction of future research on thermal comfort.     

Energy consumption and conservation psychology: A review and conceptual analysis

The burgeoning literature devoted to the psychology of energy consumption is categorized by specific methodological approach, is critically reviewed, and is conceptually analyzed. Three main categories of energy research are discerned, these categories corresponding to the traditional methodological typology of the survey study, the field experiment, and the laboratory investigation. For each of these major approaches, several subcategories and special topic areas are noted and discussed. The intention of these conceptual analyses is to stimulate research interest and to provide directions for future research activities. The review concludes with the encouraging observation that several directions can be generalized from the literature. More importantly, these generalizations are corroborated across experiments conducted within each major methodological approach. The importance of behavioral approaches to energy issues and the necessity for additional governmental support for these activities is also emphasized.