Week 11 Review - Environmental Psychology Flashcards
What is Environmental psychology?
interdisciplinary field of study that examines the complex interrelationships between individuals and their physical and virtual settings
Lewin’s field theory
behaviour is a function of the combination of the person and the forces in the surrounding environment or field; B = f(P,E)
a person’s behaviour could be predicted more accurately on the basis of the ______ in which they were located rather than relying on aspects of their __________.
Situation, personality
What are Environmental cues?
elements in the environment that convey information that triggers affective reactions
What is a normative goal?
to act appropriately (to fit in to society where we live)
What is a hedonic goal?
to feel better right now (fulfill our needs)
What is a gain goal?
to guard and improve one’s resources
What is personal space?
interpersonal area surrounding a person’s body, undefined by visible boundaries, and determined by circumstance, distance, angle of orientation and type of interaction
What is Proxemics?
The study of the perception, use, and communication of personal space.
Crowding
a personally defined subjective experience of too many people in a given space,
altered by people per m, heat, alcohol, aggression, unhealthy environments, and relationship with homelessness.
What is Territoriality?
a pattern of behavior and attitudes held by an individual or group based on perceived, attempted, or actual control of a definable space, object, or idea by means of habitual occupation, defence, personalisation, and demarcation.
What is primary territoriality?
space owned or controlled on a relatively permanent basis (e.g., home, bedroom)
What is tertiary territoriality?
public area open to anyone (e.g., beaches, footpath, public transport)
What is place attachment?
Affective bonds we form with place (intersection of people and their physical, virtual, or imaginary setting)
Scannell and Gifford (2010) proposed a three-dimensional framework that suggests that place attachment is a multidimensional concept with person, place, and process dimensions.
person: individual + collectively based meanings (memories of places, sacred places
place: physical components and social aspects
process: how people attach psychologically to places and how they express it
tragedy of the commons:
depletion of a shared resource due to individuals, acting to further their own interest, behaving in a manner which is contrary to the common good of the group
What are heuristics?
Mental shortcuts that can facilitate problem-solving and probability judgments.
How do heuristics play into climate change denial?
people use easily accessible judgements (temperature that day) as opposed to less accessible ones (global temperature trends) to inform their climate change perceptions (global warming)
o availability heuristic: if relevant weather events are accessible/come to mind, they influence our perceptions
o affect heuristic: mental shortcut in which people make decisions heavily influenced by their current emotions
Group processes in the debate over climate change
stereotype each other in ingroup-favouring ways (e.g., “we are the defenders of the environment, they are the destroyers”)
use of ingroup messengers to increase norm conformity (more trusted/credible)
use of superordinate goals to reduce intergroup conflict
Gifford’s (2011) barriers (‘dragons of inaction’) hindering people’s motivation to engage in action to tackle climate change
Limited cognition, Comparision with others, Perceived risks, Sunk Costs, Ideologies, Discredence, and Limited behaviour.
Norms predicting pro-environmental behaviours - Cialdini’s (2008) study examining hotel towel reuse program
5 messages with different focus
o Help the hotel save energy
o Help save the environment
o Partner with is to help save the environment
o Help save resources for future generations.
o Join your fellow citizens in helping to save the environment.
#(5) descriptive norm (person’s perception of how people typically behave) most effective
Attitude-behaviour models
e.g., theory of planned behaviour applied to recycling (attitudes, subjective norm/pressure from others, identity)
empathy-altruism hypothesis
more empathetic individuals reported greater concern for the harmful consequences of environmental problems and also higher levels of pro-environmental behaviour (Schultz, 2001)
Green consumerism
Myers (2003): materialism does not enhance life quality
identity: as a green consumer motivates purchasing choices
