Conservation Psychology : Understanding and Promoting Human Care for Nature

by Clayton, Susan; Myers, Gene

• ISBN13: 9781405176781
• ISBN10: 1405176784
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-04-20
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

This textbook introduces the reader to the new and emerging field of Conservation Psychology, which explores connections between the study of human behavior and the achievement of conservation goals. People are often cast as villains in the story of environmental degradation, seen primarily as a threat to healthy ecosystems and an obstacle to conservation. But humans are inseparable from natural ecosystems. Understanding how people think about, experience, and interact with nature is crucial for promoting environmental sustainability as well as human well-being. The book first summarizes theory and research on human cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses to nature and goes on to review research on people's experience of nature in wild, managed, and urban settings. Finally, it examines ways to encourage conservation-oriented behavior at both individual and societal levels. Throughout, the authors integrate a wide body of published literature to demonstrate how and why psychology is relevant to promoting a more sustainable relationship between humans and nature.

Author Biography

Susan Clayton is a professor of social psychology at the College of Wooster. Her research aims to understand the ways in which people relate to nature, as well as to investigate broader issues of identity and justice. She is a past president of the Society for Population and Environmental Psychology.

Olin Eugene (Gene) Myers Jr. is Associate Professor at Huxley College of the Environment at Western Washington University, where he offers courses in conservation psychology, human ecology, environmental ethics, and is extensively involved in undergraduate and graduate programs in environmental education. His research interests are wide-ranging and include psychology and anthrozoology as applied to conservation.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. viii
Introducing the field of conservation psychology	p. 1
Conservation	p. 2
Psychology	p. 2
Human care for nature	p. 5
The roots of conservation psychology	p. 6
The potential of conservation psychology	p. 7
The organization of this book	p. 10
Conclusion	p. 11
Thinking about nature	p. 13
Attitudes, values, and perceptions	p. 15
Core understandings of nature	p. 15
Risk perception	p. 22
Biases in information processing	p. 24
Language and discourse	p. 27
Who is responsible?	p. 30
Linking perceptions to behavior	p. 31
Conclusion	p. 33
Moral psychology and the environment	p. 34
Background in ethical concepts	p. 35
A virtue ethics of the environment	p. 35
The Deontic tradition and psychological research	p. 39
Contextual differences in moral duties	p. 43
Consequentialism, emotion, and socialization	p. 45
Psychological dynamics of moral functioning	p. 48
Pragmatist ethics	p. 50
Conclusion	p. 53
Environment and identity	p. 54
The concept of identity	p. 54
Identity development	p. 55
Developing an affiliation with nature	p. 58
Environmental identity	p. 59
Measuring environmental identity	p. 61
Place identity	p. 62
Animals and identity	p. 65
Environmental social identity	p. 66
Identity and behavior	p. 68
Putting identity to work	p. 70
Conclusion	p. 72
Theoretical foundations for the human response to nature	p. 73
The heritage of environmental psychology	p. 73
Ecological perception and psychology	p. 74
Evolutionary psychology and biological thinking	p. 78
Biophilia	p. 81
Combining nature and nurture	p. 84
Experiential approaches	p. 86
Conclusion	p. 88
Interactions with nature	p. 89
Domestic nature: Cohabiting with animals and plants	p. 91
Animals in the home	p. 91
Plants in the domestic sphere	p. 100
Conclusion	p. 104
Managed nature: Zoos, aquariums, and public parks	p. 106
Zoos and aquariums	p. 107
Urban parks and green spaces	p. 116
Conclusion	p. 120
Wild nature: Encounters with wilderness	p. 121
Defining wilderness and wild nature	p. 121
Wilderness use and wilderness Values	p. 123
Wilderness solitude	p. 125
Natural forces and features	p. 127
The edge of control: Wilderness remoteness and challenge	p. 132
Activity in wild nature, connection and caring	p. 135
Wild nature and spiritual experience	p. 136
Conclusion	p. 139
Promoting conservation	p. 141
Promoting sustainable behavior	p. 143
Identifying target behaviors	p. 143
Influences on behavior	p. 145
Models for changing behavior	p. 156
Collective behavior	p. 157
Changing the ideology of consumerism	p. 159
Conclusion	p. 160
Community psychology and international biodiversity conservation	p. 162
International biodiversity conservation	p. 163
Common pool resources and models of governance	p. 164
Psychology, culture, and local knowledge	p. 170
Accounting for the costs and benefits of conservation	p. 172
Conservation and all-too-human psychology	p. 177
Conclusion	p. 178
Environmental education	p. 180
Environmental education	p. 181
Examples of contemporary environmental education	p. 185
Psychological foundations of environmental education	p. 189
Lessons for effective practice	p. 195
Conclusion	p. 197
The psychology of hope	p. 198
Human response to threatening circumstances	p. 198
Optimism and pessimism	p. 200
An alternative to a focus on outcomes: Creating meaning	p. 204
Glossary	p. 207
References	p. 213
Index	p. 246
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