Environmental Problems Behavioral Solutions

A 1984 exploration of the relation between physical environment and human behaviour.

This book examines the behavioural dimensions of global and regional environmental problems such as the greenhouse effect, ozone depletion, deforestation, air pollution, and water pollution. The book asks: What does our knowledge of human behaviour tell us about the root causes of environmental problems and about strategies for solving them? Gardner and Stern seek to answer these questions by presenting a new synthesis of relevant research findings and theories from psychology, the other behavioural and social sciences, and other disciplines.

This book is motivated by the belief that psychology has much to contribute in offering behavioral insights on recent environmental issues which are threatening the existence of the planet. Due to the limited awareness of people regarding the potential of behavioral sciences in offering solutions to environmental problems, much of the environmental issues are oscillating in the hands of technological experts, still longing for lasting solutions. This book, written from the perspective of various scholars in India - psychologists, environmental scientists, corporate managers, and natural resource conservationists - culminates into a chain of thoughts, which take an integrative approach in balancing the interrelationship between people and the environment. The contents of book are varied, ranging from hardcore theories to the consumptive behavior of people, their mind-set, corporate social responsibility, environmental leadership skills, and well-being. The book's unique approach offers behavioral solutions to recent environmental problems, such as global warming, climate change, and urban environment stress. The book will encourage researchers to universally seek desirable new behavioral insights into environmental problems.

Active researchers in the areas of geography and psychology have contributed to this book. Both fields are capable of increasing our scientific knowledge of how human behavior is interfaced with the molar physical environment. Such knowledge is essential for the solution of many of today's most urgent environmental problems. Failure to constrain use of scarce resources, pollution due to human activities, creation of technological hazards and deteriorating urban quality due to vandalism and crime are all well known examples. The influence of psychology in geographical research has long been appreciated but it is only recently that psychologists have recognized they have something to learn from geography. In identifying the importance of two-way interdisciplinary communication, a psychologist and a geographer have been invited to each write a chapter in this book on a designated topic so that close comparisons can be drawn as to how the two disciplines approach the same difficulties. Since the disciplines are to some extent complementary, it is hoped that this close collaboration will have synergistic effects on the attempts of both to find solutions to environmental problems through an increased understanding of the many behavior-environment interfaces.

This comprehensive, introductory text presents a unified view of human environment problems. Unlike most texts in the field that treat environmental psychology as a branch of psychology only, Environment and Behavior covers the topic from a cross-disciplinary nature. The book is more inclusive of all aspects of environmental studies and emphasizes the innovative thinking required to deal with environmental problems. The breadth of coverage offered by Environment and Behavior will enable the instructor to choose the focus for each particular course because it contains chapters on a variety of subject areas, including environmental engineering, biology, geography, architecture, evolutionary biology, sociology, clinical psychology, and gerontology. Environment and Behavior is a one-of-a-kind text with a unique style that will make it a must for all courses related to the environment, including urban studies and psychology.

This book examines the behavioral dimensions of global and regional environmental problems such as the greenhouse effect, ozone depletion, deforestation, air pollution, and water pollution. The book asks: What does our knowledge of human behavior tell us about the root causes of environmental problems and about strategies for solving them?