NCJ Number
15296
Editor(s)
H M PROSHANSKY,
W H ITTELSON,
L G RIVLIN
Date Published
1970
Length
701 pages
Annotation
THIS TEXTBOOK EMBODIES A COLLECTION OF READINGS WHICH DEAL WITH THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BEHAVIOR AND THE SOCIETY-DEFINED ENVIRONMENT.
Abstract
THE FIRST SECTION DEALS WITH THEORETICAL CONCEPTIONS AND APPROACHES. PART TWO, ON BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESSES IN RELATION TO THE ENVIRONMENT, REVEALS THAT MUCH FUNDAMENTAL THINKING IN PSYCHOLOGY NEEDS TO BE REEVALUATED IN THE LIGHT OF GROWING KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES. BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL CONCEPTS, SUCH AS LEARNING, PERCEPTION, COGNITION, AND EMOTION, DERIVE FROM PROCESSES THAT CAN BE UNDERSTOOD FULLY ONLY IN RELATION TO THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT. TO ATTAIN THIS KIND OF UNDERSTANDING IS ONE OF THE IMPORTANT TASKS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY. PART THREE DEALS WITH BEHAVIORAL CONCEPTS THAT HAVE MEANING ONLY IN RELATION TO THE ENVIRONMENT. TERRITORIALITY AND PRIVACY, FOR EXAMPLE, REFER TO WAYS IN WHICH THE INDIVIDUAL ORGANIZES HIS ENVIRONMENT IN ORDER TO SATISFY SOME SPECIFIC NEEDS. PART FOUR DEALS WITH PROBLEMS OF SOCIAL INTERACTION, WHICH, ALTHOUGH IT HAS LONG BEEN RECOGNIZED AS AN IMPORTANT AREA FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY, HAS ONLY RECENTLY BEEN TREATED IN THE FULL ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT. HERE ALSO, OLD CONCEPTS ARE BEING NEWLY CLARIFIED, AND REVISED OR WHOLLY NEW CONCEPTS ARE EMERGING. PART FIVE DEALS WITH ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND EXPLORES THE CONTRIBUTION THAT ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY CAN MAKE TO THIS IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX FIELD. THE FINAL SECTION DEALS WITH THE METHODOLOGY OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)