Careers in Environmental Psychology

Quick Links to Subsections on this Page
Introduction	Education
Brief History	Employment
Important Terms	Learning More
Subfields	Outlook
A Typical Day	Summary
Pros and Cons	Acknowledgments

| Main Careers Page | Psychology Home | WCU Home |

Introduction

ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY studies the relationship between environments and human behavior as well as how they affect one other. These environments include social settings, built environments, learning environments and informational environments. Why are some spaces comfortable and others threatening? How can we enhance our environments to reduce stress, create more efficiency, and minimize accidents? These are a few questions that environmental psychologists work with.

Humans react both consciously and unconsciously to the area in which they live and work. Their environment, whether it be natural or man made, has a profound effect on feelings, behaviors, general health issues, and productivity. The goal of the field is to solve problems involving human-environmental interactions and to create, manage, protect, and restore environments that promote proper behavior. Researchers diagnose problem situations and recommend solutions. A great majority of research in Environmental Psychology is done in the field rather than in the lab. Environmental psychologists assess, analyze, and advise on personal space and environments in general. They usually work in teams with other professionals such as urban and city planners, architects, economists, engineers, and designers, just to name a few.

A Brief History

Research in Environmental Psychology started in 1950 with a campaign to improve mental hospitals. Architects in charge of building these hospitals where more concerned with the structure rather than human needs. They turned to psychologists for information on cognition and social and human behavior. This collaboration between architects and psychologists created a field called Architectural Psychology. Over the years, problems expanded beyond architectural situations to parks and landscapes, thus creating Environmental Psychology. Researchers began discovering the mismatches between humans and their environment. Psychologists began trying to solve these problems through improved design. A field that had started with investigating color and chair arrangements in mental hospitals moved to tracking visitors in national parks and studying the stresses associated with urban commuting.

Today there are many environmental research programs throughout the world. The type of research and training occurring in each area reflects local, cultural, and environmental contexts (e.g., density of population and overcrowding in Japan, responses to natural environments such as forest and oceans in Scandinavia, quality of life in major cities in Brazil).

Important Terms and Definitions

There are many terms associated with Environmental Psychology. Below you will find a few of the important ones for begininng to understanding the field.

*Some Important Terms in Environmental Psychology*
	Postoccupancy Evaluation	The systematic examination of how a building or other facility works in practice from the standpoint of occupants and other users.
	Behavioral Mapping	A systematic way of recording peoples' locations, such as where they sit, stand, or where they spend their time. Two main types of mapping are place-centered mapping and individual-centered mapping.
	Cognitive Mapping	This is used in city planning to learn how the public feels about places, landmarks, and other natural features. The information is used for such things as city maps, brochures, tourist information, and other developmental projects.
	Semantic Differential Technique	This technique assesses how people feel about certain places. Is the neighborhood run down or attractive? The information guides planners with development decisions.
	Trace Measures	These measures are the by-products of interactions. Researchers assess an area by looking at the amount of graffiti, litter, and other signs of how well an area is kept.

Some Interesting Subfields

There are many different subfields or areas that make up Environmental Psychology. All of the different areas work together in some way or another. Taking part in any of these subdisciplines can result in creating a better environment for humans and nature.

*Some Interesting Subfields Within Environmental Psychology*
	Ecological Psychology	This is the observation of people in their ordinary surroundings. It involves the study of human interaction with their physical surroundings.
	Urban and City Planning	This area focuses on building sound communities and with the re-construction of run down urban areas.
	Environmental Psychology and Art	More and more businesses and other organizations are using art to create a friendly, calming atmosphere and can be found in the most unusual of places.
	Environmental Design	This subfield encompasses architectural design, engineering of individual buildings, and master planning and design of entire communities.
	Environmental Health	It is not surprising to learn that our environment has a direct impact on our health. This area of psychology deals with healing environments and healing qualities of certain environments.

A Typical Day Practicing Environmental Psychology

A typical day in the life of an Environmental Psychologist is a hectic one. Since the career consists of constantly working with other people to get a project accomplished, the day to day activities are always varied. The days may be filled with meetings with many different people, ranging from politicians to architects. If the Environmental Psychologist is doing research, most of his/her day is spent out in the field interacting with people, conducting interviews, and performing other tasks to get a feel for a particular space in the environment. For example, in a neighborhood that is run down for which a city is coming up with rebuilding plans, psychologists may spend time with the people that live there to hear what they have to say about their space and what they would like to see happen with the area.

Pros and Cons of a Career in Environmental Psychology

There are many aspects of Environmental Psychology that are attractive and others that can be quite stressful. If you are interested in this field, it is important to recognize your personal strengths and weaknesses in order to be successful.

*Some Potential Attractions of Careers in Environmental Psychology*
	Part of Bigger Picture	The parts that psychologists play are important in a big overall project. It may be satisfying to know you are an important part of such a serious process of making a real difference to others..
	Very broad	There are many subfields in Environmental Psychology, allowing for many choices of of what to concentrate upon.
	Many Job Opportunities	Because the field is so broad and new, many job opportunities are available.
	Constantly Growing	Humans are becoming more environmentally conscious and therefore the trend to protect our environment is constantly growing.
	Field Work	Real life situations are best studied in field settings. To be out talking with people, interacting, and doing "hands on" research may be more appealing than being in a lab all day.

*Some Potential Drawbacks of Careers in Environmental Psychology*
	Always Changing	Peoples' environments and the state of the economy are always changing. For those who do not like change, this is not the best field to work in.
	Many People Involved	Teamwork is the key to being successful in this field. Everyone needs to get along and agree. There are many people that need to be involved, which can end up being frustrating in reaching goals.
	Unpredictable Financial Support	Financial support for projects is usually given for immediate problems or specific needs, without necessarily considering the larger picture.
	Long Term Projects	A lot of the projects that environmental psychologists assist in are ones that are very in depth and take a long time to implement. This may be challenging for someone who is looking for more immediate work results.

Education and Training for Careers in Environmental Psychology

NEEDED SKILLS, ABILITIES, and KNOWLEDGE: The number one skill in this field is teamwork. One also needs to have a passion for the environment and a sincere interest in protecting it and making life for other humans more safe, enjoyable, and healthy. A willingness to travel at times is also important. It is also helpful to be savvy with time management and computer use. It is also useful to be able to take criticism well and to deal with pressure without become overly stressed. Usually, you need to be trained in more than one related field.

OPTIONS AND PAY RANGES WITH A BACHELOR'S DEGREE: Although most entry level jobs require a master's degree, receiving a achelor's degree and doing related work experience may be sufficient. Job are limited with a B.A. degree and advancement without getting further education is unlikely. If you chose to take the environmental design route, salary for bachelors degree is $43,100 (1999 data). Another area related to the field is Environmental Architecture, for which the salary average is $36,600-65,800 with a bachelor's degree.

OPTIONS AND PAY RANGES WITH A MASTER'S DEGREE: Receiving a master's degree typically qualifies candidates for entry-level positions. With this, one is able to work for a firm, urban planning group, or do some research. Salary in this area is $35,400-$68,000 (1999 data). If you chose to take a different route such as design, the salary is around $49,900. Receiving a master's degree will allow you to teach, with the average salary ranging from $35,000-$40,000 to start. See the APA Graduate Guide and sites such as Gradschools.com for more information.

*Some Terminal Master's Degree Programs for Pursuing a Career in Environmental Psychology*
	School of Architecture and Environmental Planning at Pratt Institute	This program is for students pursuing a Master of Science in City and Regional Planning as part of a concentration in Environmental Planning.
	Applied Psychology at Fairfield University	This program includes a human services track. Students may chose areas of specific interest to them.
	Environmental Studies at Brown University	This program can be part of an integrated bachelor's -master's program taking approximately 5 years or can lead to a terminal master's degree.
	Human Ecology at College of the Atlantic	This program encourages students to seek out connections implicit in ecology and to apply them to humans.
	Human Ecology at Cornell University	The Environmental Analysis and Design program focuses upon the planning, design, and management of offices, housing, and health facilities that satisfy the needs of those who use them.

OPTIONS AND PAY RANGES WITH A DOCTORAL DEGREE: Mostly what a doctoral degree will do for you is allow you to open up your own consulting company. Average salary for this is $65,000+ (1999 data). There is always the option to teach, which comes with a salary of $45,000-$55,000 to start (1999 data). Other possible employment sources are federal agencies, policy-making organizations, urban and regional planning agencies, as well as national, community, and workplace health-promotion programs and environmental design consulting firms.

*Some Doctoral Degree Programs for Pursuing a Career in Environmental Psychology*
	Environmental Science at Drexel University	This program is dedicated to understanding the environment and implementing protection and restoration strategies.
	Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University	Teaches public policy, planning, analysis, and public health.
	Environment-Behavior Studies at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee	Conducts architectural research and builds concepts and theories underlying environment-behavior studies.
	Department of Analysis and Design at University of California, Irvine	Deals with the overwhelming concern of the effects of the natural and built environments on the health and social well-being of humans.

Employment Resources for Environmental Psychology

There are many ways to find employment in Environmental Psychology. The key is to look in the branches of this field such as Urban Planning, Architecture, Ecopsychology, etc. For more information regarding planning you can write to: The American Planning Association, 1776 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. Washington, DC 20036. Below are a list of sites that can help you get started in your search.

*Some Resources for Exploring Careers and Career Prospects in Environmental Psychology*
	International Institute for Environment and Development	This is an excellent site that presents employment links and information about other areas of environmental psychology.
	APA	The American Psychological Association. This site contains a wealth of information regarding anything you want to know about psychology, including Environmental Psychology.
	Careers in Psychology	This site tells you what psychologists do when they get to work, how they prepare, and how they find those jobs. This web site has many links to related sites.
	EDRA	The Environmental Design Research Association. This site describes employment opportunities and lists announcements of possible interest.

Learning More About Environmental Psychology

There has been a widespread incorporation of Environmental Psychology into other areas of psychology. Social and health psychology have areas devoted to environmental topics. Environmental psychologists may also testify at legislative hearings and advise planning groups and organizations on environmental issues. Many journals and books contain reports on environmental stress, residential mobility, environmental attitudes, human dimensions of global change, and environmental attitudes. One such book that may be helpful in gaining more knowledge about the field is The Handbook of Environmental Psychology from Krieger Publications. Below are a few sites that canadd to your knowledge of Environmental Psychology.

*Some General Resources for Learning More about Environmental Psychology*
	Center for Human Environments	The Center for Human Environments brings together architects, psychologists, geographers, anthropologists, political scientists, and urban planners.
	Urban Ecology	This is an organization dedicated to building ecologically and socially healthy cities.
	International Community for Ecopsychology	The goal of this program is to provide a public forum for discussing diverse experiences related to human-nature relationships.

Outlook

This field is very young. Environmental Psychology course offerings are at an all time high in North America. The field is growing rapidly and employment for urban and regional planners is expected to grow over the next decade.

There continues to be a strong commitment within Environmental Psychology to studying human-environment relationships. Studies are currently being done on stressors and on crossover effects between different settings (e.g., work and home life). In addition, we will continue to see research on family and neighborhood effects on child development as well as more research on life direction choices.

Summary

The emerging field of ecopsychology encompasses a range of elements, which makes a precise definition difficult. Ecopsychology refers to a variety of endeavors- theoretical, applied, and clinical that bring together the methods and understandings of ecology and psychology to address the psychological, social, cultural, and spiritual roots of the ecological crisis. The core of ecopsychology suggests that there is a synergistic relation between planetary and personal well being. The needs of one are relevant to the other.

Acknowledgments

This page was created by Anne Conaway as a project for a Senior Seminar in Psychology (PSY400) class taught by Dr. Arvid J. Bloom at West Chester University in Spring 2000. Anne is particularly grateful to Kristi and all the classmates who assisted her.