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Environmental Psychology: History, Scope, and Methods

Linda Steg

University of Groningen, The Netherlands

Agnes E. van den Berg

University of Groningen, The Netherlands

Judith I. M. de Groot

University of Groningen, The Netherlands

CHAPTER OUTLINE

• 1.1 INTRODUCTION
• 1.2 HISTORY OF THE FIELD
  • 1.2.1 Towards ‘Architectural’ Psychology
  • 1.2.2 Towards a Green Psychology
• 1.3 CURRENT SCOPE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FIELD
  • 1.3.1 Interactive Approach
  • 1.3.2 Interdisciplinary Collaboration
  • 1.3.3 Problem‐Focused Approach
  • 1.3.4 Diversity of Methods
• 1.4 MAIN RESEARCH METHODS IN ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
  • 1.4.1 Questionnaire Studies
  • 1.4.2 Laboratory Experiments
  • 1.4.3 Computer Simulation Studies
  • 1.4.4 Field Studies
  • 1.4.5 Case Studies
• 1.5 OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK
• GLOSSARY
• SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING
• REVIEW QUESTIONS

1.1 INTRODUCTION

This book aims to give an introduction in environmental psychology. We define environmental psychology as the discipline that studies the interplay between individuals and the built and natural environment. This means that environmental psychology examines the influence of the environment on human experiences, behaviour, and well‐being, as well as the influence of individuals on the environment, that is, factors influencing environmental behaviour, and ways to encourage pro‐environmental behaviour. This second edition of the book gives a state‐of‐the‐art overview of theories and research on each of these topics.

In this introductory chapter we first give a brief overview of the history of the field of environmental psychology, followed by a discussion of characteristics of the field and a description of the main methods used in research. The chapter ends with an outline and rationale of the book.

1.2 HISTORY OF THE FIELD

Environmental psychology has been recognized as a field of psychology since the late 1960s and is therefore a relatively ‘new’ field in psychology (Altman 1975; Proshansky et al. 1976; Stokols 1977, 1978). Hellpach was one of the first scholars who introduced the term ‘environmental psychology’ in the first half of the twentieth century (Pol 2006). Hellpach (1911) studied the impact of different environmental stimuli, such as colour and form, the sun and the moon, and extreme environments, on human activities. In his later work, he also studied urban phenomena, such as crowding and overstimulation, and distinguished different types of environments in his work, including natural, social, and historical‐cultural environments (Pol 2006). Although the topics of Hellpach are typical of the field of environmental psychology as it has been practised from the 1960s onwards, it was still too early to speak of an independent field of systematic research into human–environment interactions.

Brunswik (1903–1955) and Lewin (1890–1947) are generally regarded as the ‘founding fathers’ of environmental psychology (Gifford 2007). Neither of these scholars had significant empirical work that we would classify today as environmental psychology. However, their ideas, such as the interaction between physical environment and psychological processes and studying human behaviours in real‐life settings instead of artificial environments, were influential for many later studies on human–environment interactions (see Box 1.1).

BOX 1.1 FOUNDING FATHERS OF ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Egon Brunswik (1903–1955) was one of the first psychologists who argued psychology should give as much attention to the properties of the organism's environment as it does to the organism itself. He believed that the physical environment affects psychological processes outside people's awareness. He strongly advocated research that includes all aspects of the environment of the person we are trying to understand rather than the fragmented and artificial environments that were more typical in psychological studies of the day.

Kurt Lewin (1890–1947) similarly argued that research should be driven by real‐world social problems. He introduced the term ‘social action research’ including a non‐reductionist, problem‐focused approach that applies theories in practice and thereby emphasizes the importance of discovering ways to conduct research to solve social problems (Benjamin 2007). Moreover, like Brunswik, Lewin conceptualized the environment as a key determinant of behaviour. He argued that behaviour is a function of the person and the environment (Lewin 1951). Lewin mostly focused on the social or interpersonal influences instead of the physical environment (Wohlwill 1970), but he inspired different students to continue and expand on his ideas. These students included Barker and Bronfenbrenner, who are both seen as forerunners of environmental psychology.

1.2.1 Towards ‘Architectural’ Psychology

Around the late 1940s and 1950s, systematic research in everyday physical settings and psychological processes slowly increased with some pioneering studies on, for example, human factors in work performance (Mayo 1933), the lighting of homes (Chapman and Thomas 1944), and child behaviours in natural settings (Barker and Wright 1955). So, it was not until the late 1950s and early 1960s that human‐environment interactions slowly received recognition as a full discipline. As most of the studies focused on how different environments influence people's perceptions and behaviours, they were labelled as studies in ‘Architectural Psychology’ to show the distinction from the more traditional forms of psychology (Canter 1970; Pol 2007; Winkel et al. 2009).

In this early period of the field of environmental psychology, much attention was given to the built physical environment (i.e. architecture, technology, and engineering) and how it affected human behaviour and well‐being (Bonnes and Bonaiuto 2002). This focus on the built environment was largely guided by the political and social context of the time. Modern architecture tried to respond to post‐war challenges (Pol 2006), such as decent housing. Questions like how homes, offices, or hospitals could best be built for their potential users and how environmental stressors (e.g. extreme temperatures, humidity, crowding) would affect human performance and well‐being were the focus of many environmental psychological studies (Wohlwill 1970). Environmental psychology as a study to design buildings that would facilitate behavioural functions was officially born.

1.2.2 Towards a Green Psychology

The second period of rapid growth in environmental psychology started during the late 1960s when people increasingly became aware of environmental problems. This resulted in studies on sustainability issues, that is, studies on explaining and changing environmental behaviour to create a healthy and sustainable environment. The first studies in this area focused on air pollution (De Groot 1967; Lindvall 1970), urban noise (Griffiths and Langdon 1968), and the appraisal of environmental quality (Appleyard and Craik 1974; Craik and Mckechnie 1974). From the 1970s onwards the topics further widened to include issues of energy supply and demand (Zube et al. 1975) and risk perceptions and risk assessment associated with (energy) technologies (Fischhoff et al. 1978). In the 1980s the first studies were conducted that focused on efforts promoting conservation behaviour, such as relationships between consumer attitudes and behaviour (Cone and Hayes 1980; Stern and Gardner 1981).

1.3 CURRENT SCOPE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FIELD

From the beginning of the twenty‐first century, it has become evident that environmental problems such as climate change, pollution, and deforestation are major challenges threatening the health, economic prospects, and food and water supply of people across the world (IPCC 2013). It is also generally recognized that human behaviour is one of the main causes of these environmental problems. A continuing and growing concern of environmental psychology is to find ways to change people's behaviour to reverse environmental problems, while at the same time preserving human well‐being and quality‐of‐life. To this end, a broad concept of sustainability, which encompasses environmental as well as social and economic aspects, has been widely adopted (World Commission on Environment and Development 1987). This broad concept of sustainability has increasingly become a central guiding and unifying principle for research in environmental psychology (Giuliani and Scopelliti 2009). Indeed, it has been suggested that, over the past...