three books on the psychology of environmental problems

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Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2004, pp. 261--264 Book Reviews Three Books on the Psychology of Environmental Problems D. Du Nann Winter and S. M. Koger The Psychology of Environmental Prob- lems (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004. ISBN: 0-8058-4630-1 (287 pp., $36). R. S. Nickerson Psychology and Environmental Change. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003. ISBN: 0-8058-4096-6 (318 pp., $34.50). G. T. Gardner and P. C. Stern Environmental Problems and Human Behavior (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2002. ISBN: 0-536-68633- 5 (371 pp., $57.33). Psychological research on environmental problems dates back more than 30 years. Yet for the majority of this time, there was no coherent summary of this liter- ature; studies tended to be scattered across disciplines, or imbedded within a spe- cific theoretical perspective. Wayward and without an academic home, researchers studying these topics aligned themselves with the emerging field of Environmental Psychology. The literature was incorporated into environmental psychology texts, published in journals like Journal of Environmental Psychology and Environment and Behavior, and scholars were welcomed at professional meetings. But the connection was not an easy one. Environmental psychologists study the relationships between individuals and their environments. While nature clearly constitutes one such environment, it is only one of many: offices, classrooms, hotels, leisure environments, prisons, and many others are of interest to environ- mental psychologists, but not to those of us who study environmental issues. Con- versely, psychological research on strategies to promote conservation behaviors, such as reduced energy consumption and recycling, or the relationship between attitudes, values, and conservation behaviors, are generally not a core interest with environmental psychologists. This uneasy marriage is reflected in Division 34 (Population and Environment) of the American Psychological Association (Richards, 2000), and more recently the emergence of Conservation Psychology (Saunders, 2003). 261 C 2004 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues

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Page 1: Three Books on the Psychology of Environmental Problems

Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2004, pp. 261--264

Book Reviews

Three Books on the Psychology of Environmental Problems

D. Du Nann Winter and S. M. Koger The Psychology of Environmental Prob-lems (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004. ISBN:0-8058-4630-1 (287 pp., $36).

R. S. Nickerson Psychology and Environmental Change. Mahwah, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003. ISBN: 0-8058-4096-6 (318 pp., $34.50).

G. T. Gardner and P. C. Stern Environmental Problems and Human Behavior(2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2002. ISBN: 0-536-68633-5 (371 pp., $57.33).

Psychological research on environmental problems dates back more than 30years. Yet for the majority of this time, there was no coherent summary of this liter-ature; studies tended to be scattered across disciplines, or imbedded within a spe-cific theoretical perspective. Wayward and without an academic home, researchersstudying these topics aligned themselves with the emerging field of EnvironmentalPsychology. The literature was incorporated into environmental psychology texts,published in journals like Journal of Environmental Psychology and Environmentand Behavior, and scholars were welcomed at professional meetings.

But the connection was not an easy one. Environmental psychologists studythe relationships between individuals and their environments. While nature clearlyconstitutes one such environment, it is only one of many: offices, classrooms,hotels, leisure environments, prisons, and many others are of interest to environ-mental psychologists, but not to those of us who study environmental issues. Con-versely, psychological research on strategies to promote conservation behaviors,such as reduced energy consumption and recycling, or the relationship betweenattitudes, values, and conservation behaviors, are generally not a core interest withenvironmental psychologists. This uneasy marriage is reflected in Division 34(Population and Environment) of the American Psychological Association(Richards, 2000), and more recently the emergence of Conservation Psychology(Saunders, 2003).

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C© 2004 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues

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It was against this backdrop that the three texts reviewed in this article emerged.In the same year, Gardner and Stern (1996) and Winter (1996) published the firstacademic texts devoted to the behavioral aspects of environmental problems (thesecond editions of each are reviewed below). More recently, Nickerson’s (2003)text was published. While all three texts are intended for undergraduate coursesin psychology and environmental studies, they also provide a useful review of theliterature for academics, and a number of applied examples for practioners.1 Inthe sections that follow, we review the organization, content, and most relevantaudience for each.

Psychology and Environmental Change (Nickerson, 2003) is intended forpsychological researchers with an interest in environmental problems. The au-thor sticks to empirical examples, with few personal or hypothetical illustrationsof the concepts and strategies presented. The wealth of empirical research pre-sented makes the text a great starting point for psychologists interested in studyingenvironmental problems.

The book begins with a discussion of the role of psychology in understandingand solving environmental problems. Then comes the obligatory chapter on theextent and severity of environmental problems, and (importantly) the link betweenindividual behavior and these problems. What follows is a diverse set of fivechapters on strategies to promote conservation behaviors (attitude change, socialinfluence, technology enhancement, technology change, design). The final fourchapters focus on issues of competition, risk, economics, and policymaking. Eachchapter is heavily referenced and reads more like a literature review than a textbook.

Research psychologists are clearly the appropriate audience for this book asPsychology and Environmental Change (Nickerson, 2003) lacks graphs and il-lustrations to keep a student audience interested. We recently used this book foran upper-division course in conservation psychology, with an enrollment of 40students. From our perspective (as instructor and teaching assistant) the book pro-vided a broad coverage of the topics discussed in the course. However, from thestudents’ perspective, the book was dry and difficult to read. Furthermore, manyof the study aids that students are accustomed to seeing in a text are missing:chapter outlines, summaries at the end of each chapter, a list of key terms, re-view questions, and bolded key terms within the text. The many references andcomprehensive coverage give the book a scholarly flavor, but the evenhanded anddispassionate style made the book difficult for students. Unique to this text is athorough discussion of the field of environmental psychology, including the focusof past research in this field and how it has fallen short in addressing the humanimpact on the environment. This discussion will be useful to the researcher who

1 We use the term practitioner to refer to individuals who are engaged in the development, im-plementation, or evaluation of environmental programs. Examples would include staff members ofprograms at the city (e.g., city recycling or hazardous waste coordinator), county, or state levels; staffat zoos, aquaria, parks or reserves; staff at activist or non-governmental environmental organizations.

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is new to the field. Psychology and Environmental Change stands an excellentchance of meeting the author’s goal of stimulating research psychologists to studyenvironmental problems.

The Psychology of Environmental Problems (Winter & Koger, 2004) is a textfor undergraduate students studying psychology or environmental studies, as wellas interested lay people. The beginning of each chapter is dedicated to importantterms and theories of the particular psychological perspective being taken. Thisstructure allows the reader without a background in psychology to stay afloat. Thetwo voices of the authors blend nicely, and examples from the personal lives ofthe authors help to illustrate many of the points and make the book come alive.

The book begins with a broad overview of psychology, environmental prob-lems, and their interface. The remainder of the book is organized around psycho-logical disciplines, with chapters on social, behavioral, physiological, cognitive,and gestalt psychology. Each chapter contains a number of drawings, cartoons,and figures to highlight and reinforce the textual material. The extensive subjectindex is helpful, as is the appendix on “How to Do It.” There are a number ofuseful pedagogical tools integrated into the chapters, including bolded key terms,conclusions for each chapter, and a list of key terms.

Compared to Nickerson, The Psychology of Environmental Problems(Winter & Koger, 2004) provides a more cursory overview of current environmen-tal problems and relies less on empirical evidence and more on deduced theoreticalconnections. Unlike Nickerson, the text is passionate, and more importantly, it isoptimistic—individuals can make a difference and an understanding of basic psy-chological theories can help. The Psychology of Environmental Problems (Winter& Koger, 2004) would probably appeal most to lower division undergraduates andstudent activists who are less likely to fault the lack of references and more likelyto notice the appendix, which provides tips and resources for living lightly on theEarth. After reading The Psychology of Environmental Problems the reader willbe familiar with each of the psychological perspectives discussed and will be in abetter position to examine their own impact on the environment.

The audience for Environmental Problems and Human Behavior (Gardner &Stern, 2002) is undergraduate students in psychology, social science, and environ-mental studies, and other science courses. Gardner and Stern present a detailedoverview of each chapter, and vivid graphics to complement the examples pro-vided in the text. This structure, as well as its clarity and readability, make itwell suited as a primary text for relevant undergraduate courses. The book is or-ganized around different conceptual approaches to understanding and promotingenvironmental protection, including, religious and moral approaches, educationalinterventions, incentives, and genetic behavioral predispositions. The second edi-tion has been updated in a number of important ways, including new research onthe value-belief-norm model and newer public opinion data.

Of the three texts, Environmental Problems and Human Behavior (Gardner& Stern, 2002) is the only text that provides an expanded discussion of public

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opinion data. This author (Schultz) used the first edition of Gardner and Stern as arequired text for a course in environmental psychology. As an instructor, I found thecoverage excellent, and the examples that were integrated into the text made greatlecture examples. While it does not contain as many personal anecdotes as Winterand Koger (2004), my students enjoyed the reading, but found the organization ofchapters difficult to follow. The outlines presented at the beginning of each chapterprovide a useful tool for students, as does the detailed subject index, but only afew chapters have explicit summaries, and the key terms are not clearly markedwithin the text or summarized at the end.

In closing, we find merit in each of the books, as each offers a differentperspective and varied content. The applied psychologist, human ecologist, con-servation psychologist, and environmental practitioner should have all three textson their bookshelf.

—P. Wesley Schultz and Jessica M. Nolan

References

McKenzie-Mohr, D., & Smith, W. (1999). Fostering sustainable behavior: An introduction tocommunity-based social marketing. Gabriola Island, British Columbia: New Society Publishers.

Richards, J. M., Jr. (2000). A history of Division 34: The Division of Population and EnvironmentalPsychology. In D. A. Dewsbury (Ed.) Unification through division, Histories of the divisions ofthe American Psychological Association (Volume 5, pp. 113–136). Washington, DC: AmericanPsychological Association.

Saunders, C. D. (2003). The emerging field of conservation psychology. Human Ecology Review, 10,137–149.

P. WESLEY SCHULTZ ([email protected]) is an associate professor of psy-chology at California State University, San Marcos. His research interests are inapplied social psychology, particularly in the area of sustainable behavior. Recentbooks include Applied Social Psychology (1998, Prentice-Hall), and Psychology ofSustainable Development (2002, Kluwer). He earned a B.A. from the Universityof California, Irvine, an M.A. from the University of Maine, and a Ph.D. fromClaremont Graduate University. Website: www.csusm.edu/schultz.

JESSICA M. NOLAN is a graduate student in the M.A. program at CaliforniaState University, San Marcos. She has a B.S. in Natural Resources from CornellUniversity. Her current research interests center around understanding the rela-tionship between environmental attitudes and behaviors, and changing behaviorusing social influence principles.