Description:

Environmental psychology is the area of psychology concerned with the inter-relationships between people and their built and natural environments. One of the textbook is a traditional text in the field. The material covered in that book and the associated lectures will include the perception and cognition of the environment (including cognitive maps); our response to aspects of the ambient environment such as color, weather, and noise; our reactions to other people in the environment with the topics of personal space, territoriality, and crowding; the effect of living in cities; and the influence of the decor and design of the built environment on our behavior. The other text is concerned with environmental problems--the greenhouse effect, waste management and recycling, depletion of resources, population pressures, etc. We will attempt to understand why we engage in behavior that is detrimental to earth's environment and how we can modify and change our behaviors.

Texts:

McAndrew, Francis T., Environmental Psychology.
Gardener, G. T. and Stern, P. C., Environmental Problems and Human Behavior

Grading and Requirements:

Exams: There will be three exams, each covering the material in a section of the course. The first two exams will be hour exams (50 min.); the last exam, given at the time of the final, will be a longer (100 min.) exam. The exams will be primarily multiple-choice exams but may also include a brief ( around 5 min.) shirt-answer essay question. The first two exams will contribute 22.5% to the oucrse grade; the last exam will contribute 40%.

Research Report: Students will conduct a small-scale study on a relevant topic for environmental psychology and write a report of the study. The report of your study will contribute about 15% to your final grade.

Prerequisites:

Psychology 301 with a grade of C or better, Psychology 418 or an equivalent statistics course with a grade of C or better, and upper division standing.

Updated 16 June 1998
Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts
University of Texas at Austin

Some graphics courtesy of Ann Pommerehn