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Study Guide for Environmental Psychology T
♦ Definition of environmental psychology Environmental Psychology is the study of transactions between individuals and their physical environment. ♦ Brunswik, Kurt Lewin – know theory (s) Brunswik: Probabilistic Functionalism Lens Model: Both the perceiver and the environment are important. It’s about how people perceive and comprehend their environment. For the lens to work there must be some type of dynamic activity, or probabilistic process. The lens is used by the perceiver in order to make sense of the chaotic environment from the various cues. Probabilism in his theory posits that no specific cue is perfectly reliable or perfectly unreliable; rather, it contains a certain probability. Ecological validity is the degree of “truth” in the probabilistic relations between the environment and the cues. Cue Utilization represents the probabilistic weights given to each cue by the perceiver, whether the cue is valid or not. When the cue utilization closely matches ecological validity, achievement will be high. Kurt Lewin: Life Space, Action Research Field theory was an attempt to represent the person and the environment in the graphic terms of topology, a branch of mathematics. B=f(P,E) P= person existing in the psychological environment (E), the person’s representation of the physical and social influences in the surroundings. P and E comprise the life space. Outside the life space, the foreign hull consists of alien facts, the real aspects of the world which have not been incorporated into the life space of a particular individual. Action research was the first major push in psychology toward linking scientific research with real social change.
♦ Function of theory in environmental psychology Theory in EP is vital, diverse, and still developing. Some emphasize stimulation. No single theory applies to all the topics in EP. Each of today’s theories in EP probable is an accurate but partial explanation of human behavior in physical contexts. ♦ Psychological reactance Control theory, Personal Control. Lack of control often leads to psychological reactance, the attempt to regain the freedom one has lost. ♦ Interactionism vs. transactionalism Interactionism – Persons and environments are considered to be separate entities, but they are continually engaged in a series of interactions. Transactionalism – Emphasizes that person and environment are part of one inclusive entity. Neither individuals nor setting can be adequately defined without reference to the other. ♦ Multiple paradigm
Different researchers may employ not only different methods, but entirely different kinds of methods, based on different philosophies of science. It is an overall perspective about what the field as a whole is all about. Adaptation paradigm – sees biological and psychological survival as the key process. Opportunity Structure paradigm - considers the env. As a place for us to actively fulfill goals, as opposed to reacting to the environment’s threats and demands. Sociocultural paradigm – recognizes that environmental psychology is nested within other contexts and disciplines. ♦ Challenges that environmental psychology face in the future
- Translating research into practice
- Discovering more appropriate research methods
- Achieving a more coherent core.
- Further integrating and developing theory.
♦ (^) Environmental perception
Environmental perception is the emphasis on large-scale scenes, treats and whole entities. Participants often move in and around the scene; they are part of the scene from various perspectives. The perceiver is often connected to the environmental display by a clear goal or purpose.
♦ Ways to study environmental psychology (know strengths and weaknesses of each method)
- Self-report method – Ask perceivers what they see but are useful as reasonable accurate, economical ways to study environmental perception. Weakness: perceivers may produce inaccurate reports of their own perception and may be filtered through language.
- Time-sampling – Studying what perceivers in everyday situations attend to. Ask observers to move through a setting and report, at certain intervals, exactly what they are looking at, listening to, etc. Weakness: self-report, what perceivers are paying attention to without relying on memory.
- Behavior-inference method- infer something about perception from the perceiver’s behavior.
- Psychophysical method- people can reliably adjust some physical variable in direct proportion to the perception of a psychological construct. Magnitude estimations allow for the calculation of equations called power function.
- Phenomenological approach – researcher is usually the perceiver. Its goal is to use a single very carefully trained observer whose goal is to perceive the essence of a setting in a qualitative way.
♦ (^) “Terrestrial saucer” – how does it influence perceptions and in what contexts?
Terrestrial Saucer – Described many perceptual illusions that occur in natural settings. Fog, for example, makes features of the environment such as trees or hills appear to be farther away and larger than they actually are.
♦ Know Stuart Kaye’s study of spaciousness of rooms and lighting
When light illuminates only its walls, a room looks larger than when light illuminates the middle of the room, but not its walls. Rooms with windows look larger than those without, and those with more furniture look smaller than those with less.
♦ What has research shown regarding how individuals learn the layout of their own building?
♦ Environmental appraisal
An individual’s personal impression of a setting.
♦ What are some of the criticisms of the self-report method of studying emotions and the
environment?
♦ Mehrabian and Russell’s emotional response theory
Emotion as a mediator between the environment and personality (as pre-existing influences), and behavior (as the outcome). Pleasure and arousal are the primary emotions are viewed as being independent from one another; that is, we may experience any combination of them. Both Environment (light, temp, incoming speed of info) and personality variables (sociability or arousal-seeking tendency) are believed to influence the level of emotion experienced in a given setting. Pleasure-arousal hypothesis: individuals will want to approach physical setting which are, apart from their other characteristics , moderately arousing and maximally pleasurable.
♦ Why do we include personality traits in the study of environmental psychology?
Personality is a part of environmental psychology because traits do not merely refer to persons, but include consideration of how persons interact with their environments, help predict the behavior of individuals in the environment, specifically characterize our environmental tendencies, and for an important part of the person half of person-environment compatibility.
♦ Henry Murray – know theory
Henry Murray’s Personology introduced the concepts of alpha and beta press (the actual and perceived power of the environment to affect our welfare), and internal and external proceedings (subjective and objective accounts of the initiation and completion of behavior sequences).
♦ Alpha press vs. beta press
Alpha Press: The environment considered from an objective, third-party point of view. Beta Press: The environment considered from the individual’s own perspective.
♦ Kurt Lewin’s field theory of personality and environment
Field theory was an attempt to represent the person and the environment in the graphic terms of topology, a branch of mathematics. B=f(P,E) P= person existing in the psychological environment (E), the person’s representation of the physical and social influences in the surroundings. P and E comprise the life space. Outside the life space, the foreign hull consists of alien facts, the real aspects of the world which have not been incorporated into the life space of a particular individual. Action research was the first major push in psychology toward linking scientific research with real social change.
♦ Internal vs. external locus of control, how does this affect responsible environmentalism?
Persons with internal locus of control generally prefer smaller interpersonal distances and may experience less stress in higher-density situations. They arrange furniture in a more open manner, perceive landscapes differently, and have a better sense of direction than reserved individuals.
Internals often engage in more pro-environment activities, such as recycling, although other factors can alter this. They may also prefer more “controlled” architecture. Spatial behavior is influenced by the joint effects of personality and the physical setting.
♦ Little’s theory
Some persons are attuned to objects and environments, where others are more attuned to people. Person Specialist Thing Specialist Generalists – show marked interest in both people and things
Non-specialists / Self-specialist – Not very interested in either people or things. Thing-cognitive complexity – An attempt to assess the complexity of an individual’s conceptualization of things.
♦ Environmental trust, adaptation, pastoralism
Environmental Trust – The tendency to be secure in the environment, be competent in finding one’s way around, and be unafraid of new places or of being alone. Antiquarianism –The tendency to enjoy historical places and things, prefer traditional designs, collect more treasured possessions than most other individuals, and appreciate the products of earlier eras. Pastoralism – The tendency to oppose land development, preserve open space, accept natural forces and influences, and prefer self-sufficiency.
♦ Environmental identity
The part of one’s self-concept that represents a sense of connection to the natural environment.
