Stephanie Paidas-Dukarm
APA Paper Proposal Submission for 2010 Conference
Type: Individual presentation
Title: “Eco-Stew: Stirring the Pot of Environmental and
EcoPsychological Literature”
Division: 34, Population and Environmental Psychology
Abstract:
In the 2008 Presidential Address at the 116th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA), Alan E. Kazdin, Ph.D., explored psychology’s contributions toward the cultivation of environmental sustainability. Then-President of the APA highlighted existing research sampled broadly from the various fields of psychology and the relevance of said research to environmental issues. However, Kazdin repeatedly mentioned that psychology’s efforts have not yet reached the masses: “We have a stew full of theory and research, but it has yet to be served on a scale that feeds a very hungry world” (2009, p. 352). Having generated an astounding volume of research findings, Kazdin suggested that psychology might begin to disseminate its knowledge to the needing, awaiting public.
Perhaps nowhere else is psychological literature more fragmented and diffuse than in the branches of psychology most directly related to environmental concerns. Research efforts in Environmental and Eco-Psychologies have contributed greatly to the “stew” of theory and research that can shed light on environmental issues. However, the simultaneous arising of these subfields, the lack of recognition in the past among mainstream psychologists, as well as the often-obscure places in which this research has been published in the past, have resulted in fragmentation, marginalization, and disunity among these branches of psychology. In many ways, psychology as a whole has yet to recognize and understand the work which has already been done under the umbrella term of Environmental Psychology. As such, psychology has yet to wholly identify the ingredients these fields have brought to the stew which Kazdin called forth to feed the hungry world.
This study seeks to bring together the diffuse and disparate studies within these subfields by investigating Environmental and Eco-Psychologies using a qualitative methodological approach to identify themes in existing research. Drawing from PsychInfo databases using keywords related to “Environmental Psychology” and “Ecopsychology,” this study reviewed over 350 books and journal articles (N = 352) related to these fields. Each piece of research was evaluated and coded for qualitative themes according to methods outlined by Creswell (2009). Where books and chapters were concerned, multiple codings were allowed. Codings were then classified into overall themes for the sample.
Fifteen major themes emerged from the qualitative analysis of Environmental and Eco-Psychology literature, and are presented in order of prevalence: (a) Environmental education and program evaluation, (b) Cognitive factors related to environmental concerns and perceptions (e.g., attitudes, values, and beliefs), (c) Pro-environmental behaviors and barriers to pro-environmental behaviors (e.g., knowledge and awareness), (d) Investigations of environmental concerns and attitudes in specific locations (e.g., U.S., Mexico, Turkey, Israel, Asia, etc.), (e) Psychological significance of place and landscape, (f) Developmental and attachment issues in relating to environment, (g) Impact of environment on health/well-being, (h) Knowledge and awareness assessments, (i) Personality and identity structures, (j) Activism and political considerations, (k) Methodological and measurement issues (including the development of specific scales and indices), (l) Mass media and advertising, (m) Eco-justice, (n) Eco- and wilderness therapies, and (o) Spirituality and transpersonal considerations.
Major findings related to each theme are highlighted in this text. The paper concludes with future research directions for these fields aimed at synthesizing existing research and disseminating findings in order to best “reduce” the stew for service to Kazdin’s “very hungry world.”
-------------------------------------------------
Creswell, L. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Kazdin, A. E. (2009). Psychological science’s contributions to a sustainable environment. American Psychologist, 64(5), 339-356.
