Journal Of Environmental Psychology Research Articles

Behavioral science can aid household participation in gas savings

Sebastian Berger is assistant professor of sustainable development at the University of Bern, Switzerland. His research focuses on behavioral scientific support of climate policies as well as environmental psychology. He received his PhD in economic and social psychology from the University of Cologne. He is associate editor at the Journal of Environmental Psychology. Axel Ockenfels is professor of economics at the University of Cologne, director of the Cologne Laboratory for Economic Research, and speaker of the Excellence Center for Social and Economic Behavior. He combines tools from market design and behavioral sciences to provide solutions in electricity, climate, finance, transport, telecommunication, internet, and other sectors. Ockenfels serves on the advisory board at the -Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; is an editor of Management Science; and is a member of the Leopoldina, the Berlin-Brandenburgische Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and several other academies of science. His research was awarded with the highest German and European research distinctions. Georg Zachmann is a senior fellow at Bruegel—an independent economics think tank in Brussels—where he has worked since 2009 on energy and climate policy. His work focuses on regional and distributional impacts of decarbonization; the analysis and design of carbon, gas, and electricity markets; and EU energy and climate policies. Previously, he worked at the German Ministry of Finance, the German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin, the energy think tank LARSEN in Paris, and the policy consultancy Berlin Economics. Sebastian Berger is assistant professor of sustainable development at the University of Bern, Switzerland. His research focuses on behavioral scientific support of climate policies as well as environmental psychology. He received his PhD in economic and social psychology from the University of Cologne. He is associate editor at the Journal of Environmental Psychology. Axel Ockenfels is professor of economics at the University of Cologne, director of the Cologne Laboratory for Economic Research, and speaker of the Excellence Center for Social and Economic Behavior. He combines tools from market design and behavioral sciences to provide solutions in electricity, climate, finance, transport, telecommunication, internet, and other sectors. Ockenfels serves on the advisory board at the -Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; is an editor of Management Science; and is a member of the Leopoldina, the Berlin-Brandenburgische Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and several other academies of science. His research was awarded with the highest German and European research distinctions. Georg Zachmann is a senior fellow at Bruegel—an independent economics think tank in Brussels—where he has worked since 2009 on energy and climate policy. His work focuses on regional and distributional impacts of decarbonization; the analysis and design of carbon, gas, and electricity markets; and EU energy and climate policies. Previously, he worked at the German Ministry of Finance, the German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin, the energy think tank LARSEN in Paris, and the policy consultancy Berlin Economics. Germany, for example, has almost 800 gas distribution system operators. The EU has almost 2,500, which are sufficiently heterogeneous in terms of consumer structure (rural/urban, rich/poor, etc.) and for which regulators already possess relatively detailed and consistent data from incentive-regulation exercises.

Choreographed Fan Displays: The Case of Israeli Sports

Choreographed Fan Displays: The Case of Israeli Sports

Children's Outdoor Activities and Parenting Style in Children's Social Skill

Physical activity is very important for early childhood, especially outdoor activities that add a lot of new experiences. This study aims to check the relationship of children's outdoor activities and parenting styles and children's social skills. The participants are 125 parents of early childhood who attend kindergarten. The research method is a descriptive study using the relational screening model. The results showed that there was a relationship between outside play and parenting style on the social skills of children in their childhood. Democratic parenting styles are found to promote children's social skills, while authoritative parenting styles have a negative correlation with interpersonal skills, the ability to express verbally, self-control, listening skills, emotional management and adaptation to change. In the sub-dimensions of anger management and adaptation to changing skills is a significant difference between authoritative parenting styles and not permissive parenting with children's social skills.

Children’s social play and affordance availability in preschool outdoor environments

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study was to examine whether the availability of affordances in preschool outdoor environments influences children’s social play. Participants were 173 children aged between 3 and 6 years (M = 3.95, SD = 0.82) who were attending a total of 18 early childhood education centers in the Basque Country (Spain). The results indicate that low availability of affordances in the preschool outdoor environment has a negative impact on children’s group social play. Based on application of the Affordance Scale [Kyttä, Marketta. 2002. “Affordances of Children's Environments in the Context of Cities, Small Towns, Suburbs and Rural Villages in Finland and Belarus.” Journal of Environmental Psychology 22 (1–2): 109–123. doi:10.1006/jevp.2001.0249] we propose a cut-off score for identifying environments that are likely to discourage social play. In light of the results obtained we believe that the educational community should consider the concept of affordances in order to ensure that the features of preschool outdoor environments promote a variety of social play activities.

Assessing environmental attitudes in Portugal using a new short version of the Environmental Attitudes Inventory

Most environmental problems are caused and/or enhanced by human behaviour; thus, it is crucial to understand environmental attitudes that underlie individual’s behaviour towards the environment. In Portugal, a highly vulnerable region to environmental change and serious local-scale natural hazards, environmental attitudes have never been systematically addressed. Therefore, the main goal of this study is to evaluate environmental attitudes in a Portuguese sample using the most appropriate short version of Milfont & Duckitt’s Environmental Attitudes Inventory (Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30(1) 80–94, 2010). Reliability and validity analyses showed that the 36-item version of the Environmental Attitudes Inventory (EAI-36) was more adequate than the 24-item version. Using EAI-36, preservation and utilisation emerged as orthogonal dimensions, forming the vertical structure of environmental attitudes, and were negatively and moderately correlated in the Portuguese sample, expressing an ecocentric viewpoint. Mean scores for the first- and second-order factors were similar to values from other developed countries. Differences in age, gender and study area were found, with older participants, women and individuals from the natural sciences showing higher levels on preservation and lower on utilisation.

Children’s use of public spaces and the role of the adult – a comparison of play ranging in the UK, and the leikkipuisto (Play Parks) in Finland

ABSTRACTGlobally, public spaces are designated for children and young people to use within their communities. In the UK, these spaces have historically been playing-fields and parks with fenced playgrounds. The adult presence within these public spaces has evolved; from the supervisory role of the ‘park keeper’ to the active engagement of Playworker and more recently Play Rangers. For over 100 years in Finland, leikkipuisto have provided extensive, child-focused play parks; balancing man-made and natural resources, to provide a vast range of affordances. Furthermore, the adult – the Ohjaaja – is integral to the provision. This paper draws on the experiences of the authors, and considers how the Play Ranger and the Ohjaaja have similar roles in supporting children and young people to play. This is discussed in relation to Kyttä’s four hypothetical environments: Bullerby, Glasshouse, Wasteland and Cell [2004]. The extent of children’s independent mobility and the number of actualized affordances as criteria for child-friendly environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24, 179–198. and historical and funding differences between the UK and Finland.

Re-Imagine

Re-Imagine

Психология предметно-пространственной среды: направления теоретических и экспериментальных зарубежных исследований

The subject matter of this article is the analysis of the psychological studies presented in the Journal of Environmental Psychology. The purpose of the article is to define the main areas of theoretical and experimental research in contemporary foreign psychology related to subject-spatial environment.

Not Just Scenery: Viewing Nature Pictures Improves Executive Attention in Older Adults

Background/Study Context: Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan, 1995, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15, 169–182) suggests that exposure to nature improves attention. Berman, Jonides, and Kaplan (2008, Psychological Science, 19, 1207–1212) showed that simply viewing nature pictures improves executive attention in young adults. The present study is the first to investigate this Nature Effect in older adults. The authors investigated whether executive attention could be improved in healthy older adults following brief exposure to nature pictures.Methods: Thirty healthy older adults (64–79 years old) and 26 young university students (18–25 years old) participated. They completed the Attention Network Test before and after 6 min of viewing either nature or urban pictures, with random assignment into a picture type. Attention immediately before (most fatigued) and after (most restored) picture viewing was measured, and change in attention was compared between age groups and picture types.Results: Results showed that viewing nature, but not urban, pictures significantly improved executive attention in both older and young adults as measured by the Attention Network Test, with similar effects seen in the two age groups. Alerting and orienting attention scores were not affected by picture viewing.Conclusion: This was the first study to show that viewing nature pictures improves attention in older adults, and to show that it is executive attention, specifically, that is improved. Among a growing number of interventions, nature exposure offers a quick, inexpensive, and enjoyable means to provide a temporary boost in executive attention.

‘I feel like this is a good place to be’: children's experiences at a community recreation centre for children living with low socioeconomic status

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the experiences of children living with low socioeconomic status (SES) at a community recreation centre using the framework of place attachment [Scannell, L., and R. Gifford. 2010. “Defining Place Attachment: A Tripartite Organizing Framework.” Journal of Environmental Psychology 30 (1): 1–10. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2009.09.006]. Seven children took part in semi-structured interviews and drawing activities. Additional data were collected through observations, field and reflective notes, documents and a staff focus group interview. The overarching theme of having opportunities emerged from a thematic analysis of the data. The children, as they shared about their experiences at the centre, talked about having opportunities in three main ways: opportunities to do, opportunities to connect and opportunities to be. The findings are discussed broadly within the framework of place attachment and through the literature on after-school programming, children's geographies, place and SES.

The assessment of the relationship between various waterscapes and outdoor activities: Edirne, Turkey

The environment is very important in terms of the behaviours and actions of human beings, and activity-environment correlation is used frequently in outdoor arrangements. The environment must meet the requirements and expectations of society. Outdoor activities are the activities that contribute to the well-being of human beings in physical (heartbeat, respiration, blood pressure, etc.) (Ulrich, Journal of Environmental Psychology 11:210-230, 1991), psychological (fear, anxiety, depression, loneliness, stress, etc.) (Marcus and Barnes 1999) and behavioural (insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, passivity, etc.) (Ulrich 1999) terms. It is known that human beings are affected significantly by the environments they are in, and more importantly, it is known that the environment they are in affects their happiness status. The causes of this effect are the features and appearances of the spatial elements and components that mainly make up such environments. One of the elements that is used frequently in landscape is water. If one examines designed or natural open spaces, it may be observed that water has very distinctive features. Dynamic (in the form of a leak, with intense flow rate, cascade, foamy, squirting, jet, graded, etc.) and still water elements may be used with sculptures, plants, rocks and elevations (on land). This study aims to reveal which age groups of students enjoy the different types of activities with regards to water features and emotional associations that motion and characteristics of water bring out in human beings and also to reveal the water preferences of human beings, including their reasons for such preference. Thus, 20 different water compositions located in Edirne Province were selected, and in 2-min camera reels, the students of various age groups assessed water with various characteristic features via a survey. As a result, it was revealed that human beings from various age groups wish to perform different activities with water elements having distinctive characteristic features, and the types of water elements that are subject to various age groups' like and dislike were determined. Kruskal-Wallis test was used during testing the effect of age differences. Chi-square analysis was used in order to examine the effect of age differences on preferences with regards to the activities that shall be performed at locations that include utilization of various water elements. The results reveal that while the use of water should be allowed in landscaping, selections regarding the elements of these water features should be made based on the type of activity and the age group of users in relation to the location.

Can Monetary Compensation Ease the Siting of CCS Projects?

Abstract In a recent article in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, Zaal et al. [1] presented the results of three experimental studies conducted to systematically examine the effectiveness of the offering of monetary compensation (i.e., the offering of cash to a local community) in the context of the siting of hazardous facilities. The current conference paper highlights the main results of this research and discusses the relevance of these findings for the specific context of CCS.

A bibliometric review of the first thirty years of the Journal of Environmental Psychology

The Journal of Environmental Psychology (JEP) celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2011, and since its foundation the journal has given voice to a growing international and interdisplinary community of researchers interested in person-environment interactions. To celebrate, this paper provides a bibliometric review of full-length articles published since its foundation, presenting “Top 10 Lists” including the most prolific authors, countries and universities. To obtain citation records and bibliometric indices, the ScienceDirect page of the Journal, Web of Science and the Publish or Perish software were used. A total of 858 articles published during 1981–2011 were included in the final analysis. Highlights from the review include: the United States of America is the country with the most publications in JEP, but international submission is large with submissions from 42 different countries in 2011; the three most prevalent themes for articles are Pro-environmental Attitudes and Behavior, Spatial Cognition, and Place Attachment or Identity; and the impact factor of the Journal has increased steadily. Although bibliometric indices do no fully capture the multidimensional complexities of scientific impact of a journal, this review provides strong evidence that JEP has been a story of success. The wider environmental psychology community should be proud of the Journal's accomplishments.

景観選好に関する評価因子の統合性

In last few decades, one of the most widely studied theories in predicting landscape preference is the framework of coherence/complexity/legibility/mystery described by Kaplan and Kaplan. The aim of this study was to present a conceptual integration of these four factors and to investigate the efficiency of these four factors by literature survey. 44 experimental articles were collected from Journal of Environmental Psychology and Environment and Behavior in this study. Besides, 14 Japanese articles were collected from Journal of The Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture. The results show the framework’s integration in theory and application. In addition, coherence/complexity/mystery shows the efficiency in different settings but legibility remains uncertain. Moreover, the results of Japan literature show a connection between preference and natural setting, but evaluation factors have little systematic attention in the present study. Some suggestions for future studies were also discussed in this article.

Ethical Leadership

Ethical Leadership

Methane Found in Well Water Near Fracking Sites

In a study of 68 private drinking water wells in northeastern Pennsylvania and New York, methane contamination rose sharply with proximity to natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) sites.1 The average methane concentration in shallow groundwater in active drilling areas fell within the defined action level (> 10 mg/L but < 28 mg/L) for hazard mitigation recommended by the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the maximum (64 mg/L) was well beyond that threshold, according to the report. However, the researchers found no evidence of fracturing fluids. Principal investigator Robert B. Jackson of Duke University says fracking has been conducted in the sampled region since about 2008. The team sampled the water supplies in 2010. The researchers measured concentrations of gases and certain isotopes of carbon in methane and other hydrocarbons to distinguish the ancient thermogenic gas stores sought in drilling operations from methane generated by microbial degradation of organic matter. The closer the well was to an active drilling site, the more likely it was the methane detected was thermogenic. Flammable levels of natural gas are common in water supplies, and explosions—even reports of flammable drinking water—have occurred near fracking sites, says Abrahm Lustgarten, a reporter for Propublica who has investigated gas drilling across the United States. But no peer-reviewed studies have investigated health effects of chronic ingestion of small amounts of methane, Jackson says.2 John Hanger, a former head of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), blames poor gas well construction or design, not fracking, for methane contamination noted to date. He says repairs or plugging of gas wells eliminated contamination in 14 of 19 previously contaminated water wells tested in 2010 by the DEP. But Jackson maintains fracking cannot be ruled out as a cause, given the high pressures used in the practice. Just how likely are leaks? Based on a non-peer-reviewed survey of the five states that systematically report incidents at wells where fracking occurs and where complaints have spurred inspections, Ronald E. Bishop, a lecturer in chemistry and biochemistry at the State University of New York, Oneonta, estimates nearly 2% of such gas wells may end up contaminating groundwater with fracking fluids.3 Bishop says 50% of new natural gas wells recently inspected in Quebec leaked methane.4 Hanger says Pennsylvania has enacted strict standards for design, construction, and materials used in gas wells, which became effective in February 2011.5 The state also requires testing, monitoring, and disclosure of chemicals used in fracking. But Amy Mall, a senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council, says state fracking regulations vary widely, and a federal law passed in 2005 exempts fracking from the Safe Drinking Water Act and companies from disclosing chemicals used during the process.

A response to: Möser, G., & Bamberg, S. (2008). The effectiveness of soft transport policy measures: A critical assessment and meta-analysis of empirical evidence. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 28, 10–26

Refers to: Guido Moser, Sebastian Bamberg. effectiveness of soft transport policy measures: A critical assessment and meta-analysis of empirical evidence. Journal of Environmental Psychology, Volume 28, Issue 1, March 2008, Pages 10-26 Referred to by: Sebastian Bamberg, Guido Moser. Please Mr. Brog, give us your data! Reply to the comment of Wall, Brog, Erl, Ryle, & Barta on our paper The effectiveness of soft transport policy measures: A critical assessment and meta-analysis of empirical evidence Journal of Environmental Psychology, Volume 31, Issue 3, September 2011, Pages 270-271

Empirical research in environmental psychology: Past, present, and future

Have research interests in environmental psychology changed over the years? If so, in which direction? What can we learn from the past to direct future research? To answer these questions, empirical studies published in Environment & Behavior (E&B) and in Journal of Environmental Psychology (JEP), from their foundation to 2005, were reviewed. The articles were classified in relation to the following criteria: mode of human–environment transaction, research topic, type of setting and function of places, socio-demographic characteristics and environmental role of people, mode of presentation of the setting, sampling procedure, and source of data. Results showed both variations through the years and differences between the journals. The main research topics can be identified as the study of the residential environment, environmental cognition, observation of actual behaviour in the environment, and concern for the ecological value of the global environment. Trends in research interests showed a stable interest in the analysis of the built environment, a more place-specific approach in the beginning, strongly anchored in observational studies, and a central concern for sustainability and conservation of the environment in recent years. With respect to journals, the central role attributed to psychology by JEP, and the stronger participation by designers and planners in E&B, are reflected in the emphases given to the different modes of human–environment transaction. Trends in research interests help address the strengths and weaknesses of the discipline, thus suggesting future directions of inquiry.

Relationships Between Population Density and the Perceived Quality of Neighbourhood

Two overseas survey-based scales measuring perceived quality of neighbourhood were adapted and replicated in a New Zealand context. An Italian study (Bonaiuto, Fornara, and Bonnes. (2003). Landscape and Urban Planning, 65, 41–52) measuring Perceived Residential Environmental Quality (PREQ) and an American study (Carp and Carp. (1982). Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2, 295–312) using the Perceived Environmental Quality Indices (PEQI) were applied to a sample of Auckland residents, separated into low, medium, and high population density areas. The surveys measured attitudes towards subjects such as noise, neighbours, accessibility, green areas, welfare services, recreational services, safety, maintenance, environmental health, transport services, and characteristics of an ideal neighbourhood, and were completed by 369 respondents. Primary analyses examined differences in perception across the three density groups. The factor structures of both scales were replicated with the Auckland sample, and differences across densities were found for subscales of the PREQ. The results are discussed in relation to the cross-cultural similarities of perceived environmental quality, and the concept that environmental satisfaction is based on balancing aspects of the residential environment is proposed.

Time perspective and values: An exploratory study of their relations to environmental attitudes

This paper examines the relationship between time perspective (TP), values and environmental attitudes in a sample of 247 undergraduate students based on an expanded social dilemma framework. Zimbardo and Boyd's [(1999). Putting time in perspective: A valid, reliable individual-differences metric. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 1271–1288] five TP dimensions (i.e., past-negative, present-hedonistic, future, past-positive, and present-fatalistic), the extended Schwartz's [(1994). Are there universal aspects in the structure and contents of human values? Journal of Social Issues, 50, 19–45] value clusters (i.e., self-enhancement, openness to change, conservation-traditional, biospheric, and altruistic), and both environmental preservation and environmental utilization attitudes [Milfont & Duckitt, (2004). The structure of environmental attitudes: A first- and second-order confirmatory factor analysis. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24, 289–303] were considered. In line with predictions, environmental preservation and environmental utilization were weakly negatively correlated. Furthermore, environmental preservation was positively correlated with future, biospheric, and altruistic. Environmental utilization, on the other hand, was positively correlated with self-enhancement, and negatively correlated with future and biospheric. More notably, both TP and values accounted for significant nonoverlapping variance in environmental attitudes. The findings support the expanded social dilemma framework in which environmental issues represent a social conflict (individual vs. collective interests) as well as a temporal conflict (short- vs. long-term interests).