Conservation Psychology

Question 1

True or False: The term “conservation psychology” is interchangeable with
“environmental psychology.”

Answer 1

False

Question 2

According to the model proposed in the Clayton and Brooke article, conservation
behavior is influenced by:
a) The degree to which his/her family is conservation minded.
b) Situational context, existing schemas or past experiences, and personal motivation.
c) Growing up in Western vs. non-Western culture.
d) Religion

Answer 2

B-Situational context, existing schemas or past experiences, and personal motivation

Question 3

For the following questions, pick the appropriate motive that is driving interpretation of context:

a. Sense of control
b. Positive self-image
c. Sense of belonging

1) You buy coffee in a recycled package, with pictures of rainforest animals on the front.
2) You only buy coffee from a vendor that donates 10% of proceeds to orangutan
conservation.
3) You choose your fair trade coffee brand as a way of ensuring fair labor practices in
developing countries.
4) You get coffee at a local coffeehouse that knows your regular order and greets you by
name.

Answer 3

1) A
2) C?
3) B
4) C

Question 4

Use Clayton and Brook’s conservation psychology model to analyze the phenomenon of
people planting yards with turf and exotic plants and provide suggestions for convincing
people to create wildlife friendly front yards. 8 points: There are 4 components of the model
and the last two components have 3 parts each.

Answer 4

The first premise of our model, and probably the most fundamental tenet of social psychology, is that people are affected by their context.
The second premise of the model acknowledges that people’s interpretation of their context is strongly influenced by their past experience and resulting stored
knowledge.
The third premise of the model is that people’s interpretation of their context is strongly influenced by their fundamental motives.

Our model suggests a tripartite approach to changing homeowners’ practices: change the context within which they make decisions about these practices; change the ways in which they perceive “yards” as opposed to “nature,” and change the implications for identity of various lawncare practices.