Psych 3450 Fall 2014

1. Psych 3450 Fall 2014 Environmental Psychology David L. Wiesenthal www.psych.yorku.ca/davidw

2. Contact Information: D. L. Wiesenthal • 288 Behavioural Sciences Building • (416) 736-2100, ext 30114 (voice mail available) • davidw@yorku.ca • Course website: http://www.psych.yorku.ca/davidw/courses/3450P/index.html • Office hours by appointment • Teaching Assistant: TBA • Secretary: Ms. Judy Manners, 280 BSB

3. Research Interests • Driver stress, reduction of driver stress, aggressive behaviour on roadways • Driver vengeance • Research ethics • Vandalism • Housing needs of different groups • Scientific racism

4. Course Organization • Exam 1 (40%) • Exam 2 (40% • Exam 3 (20%) • All exams cover only that unit’s work—they are NOT cumulative • Exams are equally composed of material from lecture, films and readings

5. Any last words, my son? I should have studied more for the 3450 exams Don’t let this happen to you!

6. Missed Exams • Make-up exams will only be provided to those submitting the University’s form (see course outline for details). • The teaching assistant must be contacted (preferably by e-mail) within the designated time period either prior to, or following the exam.

7. Missed Exams • Make-up exams will be held at a time and place arranged by the teaching assistant.

8. Lecture Format • Attending lectures is vital • PowerPoint presentations for each lecture will be posted on my website. • If you miss a video, you can view at the Sound and Moving Image Library on the ground floor of Scott Library • All films will be discussed and you will be informed prior to the film what you should be getting from the video.

9. Lecture Format • Lectures will be for the full three hour time slot. • A 15 minute break will occur at different times for each session.

10. No stragglers please, lectures begin at 8:30, so give yourself sufficient time to arrive and set up for the class.

11. What is environmental psychology? • Environmental psychology studies the effect of the environment (or environmental variables) on behaviour. This is the dominant approach. • Environmental psychology also studies the impact people have on the environment (e.g., studies of littering, motivation for family planning, energy conservation, recycling, use of mass transportation etc.) • Environmental psychology is a subarea (division) in both the American and Canadian Psychological Associations as well as in the International Association of Applied Psychology. • Environmental psychology dates back to 1970.

12. Kurt Lewin’s field theory P = person E = psychological environment L = life space What gave rise to environmental psychology?

13. Lewin’s interaction model of personality Nonpsychological aspects of the universe P E Nonpsychological aspects of the universe

14. What gave rise to environmental psychology? • Problems of cities, population density, pollution, inner city decay, effects of apartment house living. • Awareness and importance of the natural environment (endangered wildlife, pollution threats, etc.) • Desire of social psychology to be useful • Frustration with theory building in social psychology and in disappointment over its implementation to solve societal problems.

17. Air Pollution

20. BP’sGulf of Mexico Disaster

22. Water Pollution Halifax harbour

23. Minimata disease (mercury poisoning

24. Alberta’s Tar Sands

25. Alberta’s Tar Sands

26. Sydney (NS) Tar Ponds

28. Love Canal, Niagara Fall, NY

29. The Vatican’s (Unofficial) New (2008) Additional Sins • Birth control • Stem cell research • Pollution • Excessive wealth • Creating poverty • Widening the gap between rich and poor Source: Toronto Star, March 11, 2008, p. A3

30. Effects of Global Warming

32. Effects of Global Warming Athabasca Glacier

33. Columbia Icefield

34. Grinnell Glacier

35. Assumptions About How the Environment Operates • The environment is experienced as a unitary field. • The person has environmental properties as well as individual ones. • There is no physical environment that is not embedded in, and related to a social system. • The degree of influence of the physical environment on behaviour varies with the behaviour in question • The environment frequently operates below the level of awareness. • The “observed” environment is not necessarily the “real”environment.

36. Chartres Cathedral Are atheists turned into believers because of the power of the design?

37. Chartres Cathedral Note how the architecture conveys various religious meanings.

38. Cathedral Doors: Why are there 3 doors? Cologne Amiens Notre Dame Pisa

39. Assumptions About How the Environment Operates The environment is experienced as a unitary field. The person has environmental properties as well as individual ones. There is no physical environment that is not embedded in, and related to a social system. The degree of influence of the physical environment on behaviour varies with the behaviour in question The environment frequently operates below the level of awareness. The “observed” environment is not necessarily the “real”environment.

40. What colour is the signage on Highway 401?

41. Highway 401 Signage core & collector lanes core

42. Which is the real U.S. penny?

43. American university students found this quite challenging!

44. Assumptions About How the Environment Operates The environment is experienced as a unitary field. The person has environmental properties as well as individual ones. There is no physical environment that is not embedded in, and related to a social system. The degree of influence of the physical environment on behaviour varies with the behaviour in question The environment frequently operates below the level of awareness. The “observed” environment is not necessarily the “real”environment.

45. Main Street Disney World Main Street Disney World

47. Painted child on Vancouver roadway at the start of school in September. Will it cause drivers to drive more cautiously?

48. The Sidewalk Drawings of Julian Beever • Beever is an English artist who draws on sidewalks in Europe, Australia, England, and the U.S.A. • It is a great example of how the perceived environment is not necessarily the “real” environment.