WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY? TEXTS, CONTENT AND CONTEXT

Journal of Environmental Psychology (1999) 19, 191^206 # 1999 Academic Press Article No. jevp.1999.0137, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on

0272 - 4944/99/020191+16 $30.00/0

REVIEW ESSAY

WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY? TEXTS, CONTENT AND CONTEXT

Environmental Psychology: A Psycho-social Introduction. By Mirilia Bonnes and Gianfranco Secchiaroli. London: Sage Publications, 1995 (230 pp+viii). »42
50 (h/b), »15
99 (p/b). ISBN 0 8039 7905 3 (h/b). ISBN 0 8039 7906 1 (p/b). (Translated from Italian, Psicologia Ambientale, 1992, by Claire Montagna). Environmental Psychology: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. By Russell Veitch and Daniel Arkkelin, 1995. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc. (461 pp+xiii). »28
95 (p/b). ISBN 0 13 739954 5. Environmental Psychology (4th edn). By Paul A. Bell, Thomas C. Greene, Je¡rey D. Fisher and Andrew Baum. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace, 1996 (645 pp+xvii). »21
95 (h/b). ISBN 0 15 501496 -X. Environmental Psychology: Behaviour and Experience in Context. By Tony Cassidy. Hove, East Sussex, U.K.: Psychology Press (Taylor & Francis), 1997 (282 pp+vi). »34
95 (h/b), »13
99 (p/b). ISBN 0 86377 480 6 (h/b). ISBN 0 86377 481 4 (p/b). Environmental Psychology: Principles and Practice (2nd edn). By Robert Gi¡ord. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1997 (506 pp+vi). »25
95 (h/b). ISBN 0 205 18941 5.

Environment & Behavior: An Introduction. By Robert Bechtel. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1997 (679 pp+xxix). »40
00 (h/b). ISBN 0 8039 5795 5. Reviewed by Jonathan D. Sime Mirilia Bonnes is a Professor of Environmental Psychology at the University of Rome `La Sapienza', Italy. She has been working in environmental psychology for more than 20 years, collaborating during this period with the multidisciplinary UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme. She is now President of the Italian MAB Committee. Gianfranco Secchiaroli is an Associate Professor of Social Psychology in the University of Bologna, Italy, where he also teaches environmental psychology in the Post-Graduate School of Bioarchitecture. He is mainly interested in theoretical foundations of EP in the implementation of a psycho-social approach to people±environment relationships. Russell Veitch is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Psychology at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, U.S.A. His primary research interests include space perception and utilization, and the psycho-social e¡ects of real or impending technological failures. Daniel Arkkelin is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Valparaiso University, Indiana, U.S.A. His research interests include environmental perception/evaluation and recycling behaviour. He is also coauthor of Computer-Based Data Analysis: Using SPSS in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (1991). Paul Bell is a Professor of Psychology at Colorado State University, U.S.A. He is Past-President of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association. His

192

J. D. Sime

research includes environmental stress, valuation of public goods, and Alzheimer's disease. Thomas Greene is an Associate Professor and Gains Chair in Psychology at St Lawrence University, Canton, New York, U.S.A. His research interests include landscape aesthetics, environmental cognition, behaviour in natural environments, and campus planning. Je¡rey Fisher is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Connecticut, U.S.A., and Director of their Centre for HIV Intervention and Prevention (CHIP). His interests include environmental psychology, health behaviour change, and helping behaviour. Andrew Baum is a Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, U.S.A. He serves as a Director of the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. He is also editor of the Journal of Applied Social Psychology. His research centres on stress related to toxic exposure. Tony Cassidy is a Senior Lecturer in the Psychology Department, Coventry University, U.K. He has been involved in teaching and research in a range of areas of psychology, including environmental and community psychology, organizational psychology and stress, coping and health. Robert Gi¡ord is a Professor of Psychology in the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He is the North American co-editor of the Journal of Environmental Psychology and President of Division 34 (Population and Environment) of the American Psychological Association. Robert Bechtel is a Professor of Psychology in the University of Arizona and editor of Environment and Behavior. His previous publications include Enclosing Behavior (1977) and Methods in Environmental and Behavioral Research (1989) (edited with Bill Michelson and Robert Marans). Jonathan Sime is an environmental psychologist, based previously in Departments or Schools of Psychology, Architecture and Engineering, latterly in the multidisciplinary Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey. He is the book review editor of the Journal of Risk Research. Environmental psychology (EP) is many things. It is something which is seen and felt. It is an area of academic knowledge. It is something which is taught. It is an area of application. Some consider it to be a subdiscipline of psychology. Others regard EP more as an area of overlap between psychology and a number of disciplines or domains. EP is considered by some to be a subdiscipline of environment and behaviour (EB). EP has its own culture and subcultures, with conceptual and metaphoric

boundary lines drawn in the sand and periodically washed away, in the ebb and £ow of subject colonization. Just like any other evolving species, tribe or subculture promoting its survival, EP seeks a core, cultivates a ¢eld, covets and appropriates neighbouring land, strikes up and abandons di¡erent allegiances, maps out boundaries and defends hard won territory as its own. There are those who might say that EP is what EP measures, rather like the maxim that `intelligence is what an intelligence test measures'. If EP is where, when and what it is to exist, this question (even if not resolved) is of fundamental importance. Some would advocate a qualitative or interpretative approach to EP, a sense of being-inthe-world revealed through phenomenology, or an eco-psychology of life on or of the Earth. Others look to cause±e¡ect measures of independent, dependant and interacting EP variables for questions, issues and answers, and/or consider EP to be predominantly psychological, social or physical. This review essay is concerned with what EP is, as de¢ned by current textbooks on the subject. The essay reviews six texts published between 1995 and 1997, ¢ve of which use Environmental Psychology as their main title and one called Environment and Behavior, which advertizes itself (on the back cover) as an environmental psychology text from `a cross-disciplinary point of view'. The six texts comprise almost 3000 pages in total. There are eleven authors, each book having one, two or four authors. In reviewing EP as the generic title or theme of this review essay, it is considered that EP is not only `what . . . environmental psychologists do', an early de¢nition of EP by Proshansky et al. (1970, p. 5), but what environmental psychologists write (i.e. portray EP to be). EP takes on a more tangible existence by being represented on the cover of books and requires particular attention in a journal with the same name. Canter and Craik (1981), in the ¢rst issue of the Journal of Environmental Psychology, suggest that EP is not only an area within psychology, but interdisciplinary. They suggest the need to develop a coherent core for EP and recognize its applied context. The subtitle of this essay might have been `In Search of a Theory' or a de¢ning paradigm, since the texts under consideration and this review are concerned with recording, nurturing, shaping and framing EP as an identi¢able domain of theory, research and application. It has been suggested from its inception that EP has multiple scienti¢c paradigms (Craik, 1977) and all of these text books (and this essay) are challenged by this. As each of the

What is Environmental Psychology?

texts is a review of EP, this essay is a review of their reviews. Each book is considered in relation to the ¢ve other books in the pack, the broader EP and related research literature, domains of knowledge and application.1 A key question to consider is where the boundaries of EP's content and context lie. Should EP's core necessarily be psychology or other interdisciplinary domains in the context of EP theory development, research and `real world' applications (Proshansky, 1976)? Should EP, where appropriate, reverse the question of what content and context is? There is an increasing suggestion that once one moves from the domain of the laboratory to the local and global `real world' in which people live that EP and other areas of psychology should extend their focus of attention from individual psychological processes to their social, physical and temporal context. Depending on the focus and scope of a research study and/or environmental simulation, it may sometimes be important to adopt a broad framework of intra- and inter-disciplinary oriented EP theory, research and application (Proshansky, 1987; Stokols, 1987, 1995). Table 1 compares the books under review in terms of a number of criteria which vary considerably. The books are listed and reviewed in order of year of publication and size. This review essay is concerned more with content than quantity. In terms of the number of pages, references and print size, the books by Bell et al. (1996) and Gi¡ord (1997) are the most substantive texts. The content of each text is now brie£y reviewed in turn. The aim is to give the reader some idea of what the books cover, and how they compare in terms of what EP is deemed to be. Each of the following six sections is given the subtitle of the book where possible or appropriate. A psycho-social introduction Environmental Psychology: A Psycho-social Introduction by Mirilia Bonnes and Gianfranco Secchiaroli (1995) is primarily a book about theory and the search for a psycho-social paradigm for EP. Implicit is the relationship between social psychology and EP and the current status of this relationship. This was heralded in the early 1970s by the disa¡ection of some social psychologists with laboratory experiments on psychology students as the modus operandi of the subject. It is not altogether clear whether or in what way the book is a bid for a hybrid social or environmental psychology. One senses the real focus

193

in the last four words of the book to be `an environmental social psychology' (which might have been an alternative title for the book). It is worth noting that since the publication of the book in English in 1995, the ¢rst of the two Italian authors (who at the time of publication had a chair in Advanced Social Psychology) became the ¢rst Professor of Environmental Psychology in Italy. The book has a handful of tables and ¢gures and an index (of authors/topics) at the end of the book. The book has two parts: The Origin and Theoretical Roots, and Directions of Present-Day Environmental Psychology. Part I begins by suggesting that the origin and development of EP has been in£uenced by an overlap with architecture, geography and ecological±naturalistic (environmental problem oriented) ¢elds (the multidisciplinary orientation of the latter is reviewed further in Bonnes, 1998). The book identi¢es two main theoretical traditions within psychology of relevance to EP: the psychology of perception (the work of Brunswick and Gibson is discussed), and social psychology (Lewin, Barker and Bronfenbrener are discussed under this heading). The perception tradition is characterized as having an emphasis on `the physicalist±molecular and individualistic paradigm'. It is argued that the second tradition o¡ers a `molar' and `social paradigm' which `seems to provide the most appropriate conceptual and methodological tools for the development of environmental psychology and for bringing psychology into the real world' (preface). Not everyone would agree with this (e.g. Proshansky, 1976, 1987). Craik (1970) is cited in relation to his concern that EP should address `molar' geographic and design units of the physical environment and behaviour, rather than the more detailed `molecular' variables or measures used by physicists and physiologists, or stimuli in the stimulus response (S±R) behavioural psychology tradition. The book provides an excellent review of some of the main theoretical papers in the evolution of EP, which either de¢ne EP as the study of people in relation to the physical environment (characterized as the domain of EP in the early 1970s), or in relation to the `socio-physical environment' (Stokols, 1978) in keeping with a `transactional±contextual perspective', advocated in the introductory chapters of the Handbook of Environmental Psychology (Stokols & Altman, 1987). EP is de¢ned (p. 68) as `the area of psychology which is concerned with the relationships between psychological processes and processes of the socio-physical environment'. Part II includes a broad overview of a range of EP research topic areas. Topics such as spatial

194

J. D. Sime

behaviour (personal space, territoriality, privacy), light, noise, temperature, environmental stress, environmental attitudes and perception (cognitive maps) are touched on in a readable and economic fashion. This is the shortest of the six books in terms of number of pages and has the least number of references (Table 1). Despite the inclusion of the term `spatio-physical environment' in a number of the headings in the book, there is very limited reference to EP research on the molar geographic and architectural (physical) environment. Perhaps even more surprising, in view of the argument presented that EP is or should be psycho-social, there is no reference to research on the way patterns of behaviour and role relationships in buildings are socially, organizationally and spatially con¢gured, nor of EP oriented spatial analysis theory and studies of buildings as social objects and socio-spatial structures. Somehow the physical environment has dematerialized. Areas of EP requiring attention to the physical environment such as way¢nding are not addressed and architectural meanings are hardly considered (except perhaps tangentially when summarizing architectural psychology in the early 1970s). The physical world does not seem to be represented in or beyond the psycho-social paradigm advocated. Despite the reference on the cover of the book to it being an introduction to an important area of applied psychology and essential reading for students in applied psychology, ergonomics and environmental studies, the links to these subjects are not articulated. The book includes a section on phenomenology in the context of advocating the social representation of `place' as a candidate for a unifying paradigm for EP to replace behaviour settings. Except for brief reference to Norberg-Schulz in this context, there is no discussion of architectural theory and its focus on the physical environment as a primary referent for place (Sime, 1986). Socalled `physicalism' is critiqued as a reductive, molecular environmental deterministic concept in

various places in the book (e.g. p. 81, 109, 152). In moving to a molar dimension the physical environment is not represented in the model. The book draws on recent European Social Psychology in the realm of social representations and social identity and appears to treat place as a social and experiential construct, rather than something which needs physical de¢nition and study as well. The fact that the physical world is part of a psycho-social domain is acknowledged, but there is no indication whether or how the physical is incorporated into the study of place. It is suggested at one point (p. 94), with reference to privacy, that `the spatial dimension does not seem to be included in any of the theoretical guidelines o¡ered in the literature on this topic' (Archea, 1977 being an exception). This conclusion might be extended to other areas of EP and the place paradigm as presented. There is very little discussion of methodology in the book. The concluding part of the book details a study by Bonnes et al. of Rome and Lecce which adopts a `place paradigm'. Each city is considered as a `multi-place system' for its inhabitants. As the methods used in the study are not explained, it is di¤cult to assess the ¢ndings in relation to the theory and discern what the applications might be. The relationship to socio-physical design and planning processes is not discussed. In conclusion, the molar physical environment receives limited attention in the book, in terms of research studies and related theory. The book nevertheless provides an interesting, well-written and informative review of other aspects of EP theory from a psycho-social perspective and in this respect is very much recommended. Although the book is called `An Introduction', I am not sure whether (or not) undergraduate students without a prior grounding in psychology would necessarily be able to readily understand it without some greater exposure to and grounding in the research areas which informed the theory. This is the only book in the pack which I read twice (at the start and end of

TABLE 1 Comparison of environmental psychology texts Authors Cassidy (1997) Bonnes and Secchiaroli (1995) Bell, Greene, Fisher and Baum (1996) Gi¡ord (1997) Veitch and Arkkelin (1995) Bechtel (1997)

Paper/ hard-back

Price

Number of pages

Number of references

p/b p/b h/b h/b p/b h/b

»13
99 »15
99 »21
95 »25
95 »28
95 »40
00

288pp 238pp 662pp 512pp 474pp 708pp

668 587 2231 2533 1132 1323

What is Environmental Psychology?

the review process). The book inspired me to read a number of the theory papers cited (a goal perhaps of a book with the sub-title `A Psycho-social Introduction'). The book is relatively short and might most pro¢tably be read in conjunction with at least one of the other more substantive EP books. An interdisciplinary perspective Environmental Psychology: An Interdisciplinary Perspective by Russell Veitch and Daniel Arkkelin (1995) is twice the length in pages and has about twice the number of references as the Bonnes and Secchiaroli book (as indicated by Table 1). The Veitch and Arkkelin book is in the format of a user friendly North American textbook tailored to students. Each of the 15 chapters starts with an illustrative cartoon. `Time-Out' exercises in box inserts are interspersed throughout each chapter. These usefully encourage students to think about how to devise research studies and to re£ect on the material presented in terms of their experiences. A list of important concepts is presented at the end of each chapter. References cited are placed at the end of each chapter. This makes it easy to look them up when reading the chapter, but less straightforward to locate later as a body of EP references for the whole book. There are name and subject indexes with page numbers at the end of the book. The book is designed for use `as a primary text in both undergraduate and graduate environmental psychology courses as well as a supplementary text in courses in related disciplines'. The book is divided into three parts: Basic Issues in Person±Environment Relationships, Environmental Stressors, and Applications of Environmental Psychology. The book begins by arguing that EP is important to a particular imperative, the Earth's and people's survival. It is suggested that factors such as technological advances, population growth and depletion of nonrenewable resources do not necessarily bring with them improvements in the quality of the environment and hence of life. The opening paragraphs of the book are replete with terms such as decay, abuse, depletion, ugly, harmful, deadly, destructive, degradation. EP is de¢ned (p. 5) as `a multidisciplinary behavioral science, both basic and applied in orientation, whose foci are the systematic interrelationships between the physical and social environments and individual human behavior and experience'. The second chapter of the book on `Theories' summarizes arousal, stimulus load, behaviour

195

constraint, adaptation-level, environmental stress and ecological `mini-theories'. A more general model of `organism±environment relationships' is then presented which takes environmental stress as a primary superordinate frame of reference for EP, with environment-in£uenced behaviour directed towards the goal of maintaining a `steady state' relationship between inhabitants and their physical and social environment (milieu). In a chapter on Research Methods, the book includes a section on `Applied versus Basic Research' which (after a subsequent chapter on Environmental Perception, Cognition and Attitudes) serves as a precursor to Parts II and III of the book. Basic research is considered to be scienti¢c, an area concerned with the discovery of laws and articulation of theories. Applied research is considered to be concerned with solving a particular problem in everyday life, `is not likely to lead to generalizable laws' and `is not likely, in any meaningful way, to extend or to articulate theory'. An alternative argument, less consistent with a laboratory-based research tradition, is that an EP theory by de¢nition needs to be grounded in, articulated in terms of, evolve out of and prove its worth `in the real world'. Having made the point that theory lies in basic research which is then applied, this becomes a feature of the organization, content and style of writing in the rest of the book. Part II of the book by inference represents the basic research, the arena for theory development, and Part III of the book the applied research. The bulk of the research is cited in Part II (as is evident in the disproportionate number of references cited). A feature of the book is two chapters on The Atmospheric Environment (e.g. temperature and chemical pollution). There are also chapters on Noise; Population Density, Urbanization and Crowding; Territoriality, Privacy and Personal Space. There is a tenuous relationship between the research represented in Part II and the applications in Part III, characterized by an unevenness in the style of writing. Part III is characterized by lengthy descriptions or design prescriptions. In Part III there is a tendency to organize chapters around one or two main references, rather than to cover the relevant research literature in a comprehensive fashion. It is di¤cult at times to relate Part III to the overall model presented in Part I and the research concepts and ¢ndings in Part II. In these respects, the chapter on Residential Design is the weakest in the book. Despite the inclusion of a £oorplan, there is no reference to or discussion of

196

J. D. Sime

relevant research on spatial con¢gurations and its signi¢cance for or in EP. There is a long section paraphrasing a book on interior design which reminds one of a do-it-yourself household design and heating system manual. Useful advice is provided, but how is this related to relevant EP theory and research? The book returns to the theme of preservation of the environment and survival in concluding chapters on Environmental Disaster and Technological Catastrophe; People, Environment and the Future; Applying Psychology to Preserve the Environment. Themes considered include `an environmental ethic', `energy use and abuse', competition over resources (as in social psychology laboratory group behaviour experiments using `the tragedy of the commons' metaphor), environmental attitudes and `applied behavior analysis and intervention' (with reference to recycling and littering). Research approaches, topics or domains not addressed in the book include environmental simulations, activity patterns during evacuations and emergencies, way¢nding, visual access/exposure, space syntax, neighbourhood, post-occupancy evaluation, phenomenology and cultures outside of North America. The references to EP research and theory relating to architectural preferences, meanings, design and `place' are minimal. The primary theoretical referent of environmental stress is either not fully articulated in terms of these areas of EP or is less able to accommodate them. A model of the relationship between EP and other disciplines might have helped the book to articulate its ambitious subtitle. Despite these gaps, the book is written in a readable style for the bene¢t of students and does contain some strong chapters. Environmental psychology Environmental Psychology by Paul Bell, Thomas Greene, Je¡rey Fisher and Andrew Baum (1996) has clearly bene¢ted from the input of four authors and the fact that this is the fourth edition of the book, following Bell, Fisher and Loomis (1978), Fisher, Bell and Baum (1984) and Bell, Fisher, Baum and Greene (1990). Fortunately, the authors have rallied with su¤cient enthusiasm to the ongoing task over some 20 years (or with `excitement' as intimated in the preface to each book). The book has not only evolved with the ¢eld of EP, but bene¢ted from careful rewriting and editing, expanding from a text with 471 pages and 770 references in 1978, to 662 pages and 2231 references in 1996 (Table 1). The

authors state (p. vi) that `much of the original material from the ¢rst edition has changed so much it is now unrecognizable'. There are consistencies and di¡erences (including change of image on the cover) in the progression from the ¢rst to the fourth edition. The cover of the latest book (1996) has a view of the aurora borealis night sky silhouetted by trees, suggesting perhaps that EP is increasingly global and nature oriented in its focus. The 1996 book, like its predecessors, is intended to serve (p. vi) `as a primary text for environment and behavior courses (environmental psychology, social ecology, architectural psychology, ecological psychology, environmental design and the like)'. It also serves as a useful resource in terms of the documentation of EP research and the extensive list of references at the end. There is an author index and a subject index. The only drawback in including an extensive list of references is that the authors inevitably open themselves up ironically (but less obviously) to the charge that certain people or references have inevitably been left out. Areas such as architectural design, spatial analysis, phenomenology, place, cross-cultural and nonAmerican oriented EP research, receive less attention, despite the fact that there has been an obvious e¡ort to try to include some reference to these areas in the latest edition. Each of the 14 chapters of the latest edition (1996) includes key terms at the start, which appear in bold in the text and are supplemented by a helpful glossary of de¢nitions at the back of the book. Some of the de¢nitions are somewhat idiosyncratic (e.g. `placemaking'), but in general, together with wellpresented illustrations, photographs and box inserts, provide a useful format for students. Each chapter starts with a scenario intended to provoke thought as a preamble to the text that follows. These scenarios are aimed at a North American student readership. The opening chapter of the book (as in previous editions) is called The Why, What and How of Environmental Psychology. The ¢rst paragraphs of the book emphasize the relevance of environmental context to behaviour. EP is de¢ned (p. 6) as: `the study of the molar relationships between behavior and experience and the built and natural environments'. The authors assert that EP is characterized by the study of environment±behaviour (inter-) relationships as a unit, applied and theoretical research, an interdisciplinary appeal, and an eclectic methodology. The ¢rst chapter includes an outline of research methods. Interestingly, the 1996 book excludes reference to a debate, highlighted in the 1978 and 1984 editions,

What is Environmental Psychology?

which arose in 1976 between Altman and Proshansky (with inputs from Epstein and Stokols also) who di¡ered in their opinion about whether or not social psychology serves as a useful starting point and frame of reference for EP theory, research methods and applications (see Proshansky, 1987). Whilst it is claimed in the ¢rst two editions that EP had attracted to its fold a large proportion of social psychologists, this is no longer cited as a de¢ning characteristic of EP in this fourth edition (1996). The relationship between social and environmental psychology is no longer explicitly highlighted as an issue. The latest edition of the book includes a new (second) chapter on Nature and Human Nature. This is followed by a chapter on Environmental Perception and Cognition. Perception and cognition, as a consequence, receive limited attention in the next chapter on Theories of Environment±Behaviour Relationships, in which arousal, environmental load, understimulation, adaptation level theory (optimal stimulation), behaviour constraint, environmental stress, Barker's ecological psychology, approaches are outlined. Most of these approaches seem to be closely related to environmental stress. This is self-evidently the primary basis for the integrated `eclectic model' which is then presented in a £ow diagram form, and repeated as a guiding template in each subsequent chapter with slightly adjusted labels each time. Whilst this framework serves as a generic heuristic for the chapters which immediately follow, the links to the later design and environments chapters are much more tenuous. The book follows the general framework favoured in other EP books of moving from studies in keeping with a laboratory experiment paradigm to larger-scale settings in later chapters. Whilst many of the studies in the middle part of the book are laboratory based, particularly those on personal space, there are exceptions such as a personal space invasion lavatory study (on pp. 296±297), dubious in its ethics and heavily criticized as a social psychology study elsewhere (e.g. by Parker, 1989). After Chapter 4 on Theories, the remaining chapters address Noise; Weather, Climate and Weather; Disasters, Toxic Hazards and Pollution; Personal Space and Territoriality; High Density and Crowding; The City; Architecture, Design and Engineering for Human Behavior; Design in Residential, Institutional, Work, Learning and Leisure (Environments). The book concludes with a chapter called Changing Behavior to Save the Environment.

197

The fact that perception and cognition, architectural meanings, space and place and spatially con¢gured patterns of activity are not articulated clearly in the `eclectic' model weakens it as an all encompassing EP paradigm. For example, the concept of place is brie£y introduced into several passages of the new edition of the EP book (with reference to place attachment, loss of home and place disruptions), but might advisedly have been introduced much more prominently as an explanatory and interpretative theoretical concept within Chapter 4 (Theories) and 7 (Disasters). Much of the EP research not discussed is concerned with patterns of response immediately prior to and as an event unfolds, rather than albeit important outcomes in terms of stress and trauma. Further comments could be made about the limited degree to which social psychology oriented concepts such as (inter-) personal space, density/ crowding, territory and privacy are articulated in architectural terms. The social, cultural and temporal nature of people's behaviour and experience of spaces and corresponding spatial con¢gurations and places, receive less attention than other factors in the eclectic model and studies cited. Having said this, the fourth edition of Environmental Psychology provides an excellent, well- balanced, clear and comprehensive review of the ¢eld of EP from an empirical perspective (including some of its social psychology oriented inputs). Behaviour and experience in context Environmental Psychology: Behaviour and Experience in Context by Tony Cassidy (1997) is similar in length to the ¢rst book reviewed (Bonnes & Secchiaroli, 1995) (Table 1). It is a primer on EP which might be read prior to reading more substantive texts. Indeed, it draws explicitly on several books, which include Bonnes and Secchiaroli (1995), Veitch and Arkkelin (1995) and Gi¡ord (1987). At least this is acknowledged. Most books with the title EP, unlike this one, hardly cite (advertise) other EP titles. The book is in a Contemporary Psychology Series, published in the U.K., aimed primarily at A-level students (usually aged between 16±18 years old) and people from di¡erent professions who encounter psychology in the course of their work (e.g. nurses). The editorial preface suggests that books in the series are `written in a clear and jargon-free style'. The book ful¢ls this goal. The book has ¢gures and `time out boxes to highlight interesting and unusual issues'. Whilst the text

198

J. D. Sime

and boxes are at times somewhat descriptive, this is consistent with easing people unfamiliar with EP into the subject and getting them to think about how many events taking place around them touch upon EP concerns. Whilst drawing on an `international' (primarily North American) literature, the book has a U.K. feel to it. The book has author and subject indexes. In partially covering the EP research literature much of importance is considered, but key EP topics and references are at times omitted (for example, the 12 books in the series Human Behavior and Environment: Advances in Theory and Research series, edited by Altman and others since 1976, and the four volumes of Advances in Environment, Behavior and Design, edited by Zube and Moore, since 1986). Some key EP references addressing `context' (part of the title of the book) are not cited or discussed (e.g. Stokols, 1987). The nine chapters of the book cover Environmental Psychology (`What it is and why you should know about it'), Theory and Method in EP; The Context of Behaviour and Experience; The Environment through the Senses; The Human Impact on the Environment; Urbanization, Movement, and Space; Environmental Design; Using and Abusing the Environment; Environmental Psychology Looking Forward. In essence, the book `adopts the perspective that physical and social factors are inextricably linked in their in£uence on human behaviour and experience' (back cover of book). There are some references to place and social identity, although their links to each other and physical environments are not clear. Place is referred to without discussing architectural oriented EP theory. EP is de¢ned (on p. 4) as: `the study of the transactions between individuals and their socio-physical environments'. This de¢nition is similar to Gi¡ord (1987), except that the term `socio-physical' has been substituted for `physical'. The approach taken in the book is revealed in the last but one paragraph (p. 240) in which another de¢nition of EP is o¡ered: `the application of psychological knowledge and method to understanding the process and implications of the human±environment transaction and applying the insight attained to improving the quality of the experience'. A useful list of basic EP principles is provided (in box 2) on the lines of EP adopting an interactional (person-in-context) perspective, having an applied focus (integration of theory and practice), adopting multiple levels of analysis, a research base in the ¢eld, a multimethod approach, assuming the person

to be active (rather than passive), employing interdisciplinary, holistic and systems model perspectives. The ¢rst chapter argues that EP in its early stages (e.g. of Architectural Psychology in the U.K.) placed too narrow an emphasis on the physical environment. It is asserted that `the contents page of any current text in the area reveals a much broader range of subject matter' (p. 3). The retreat of EP from consideration of the physical environment and the widening gap between EP and architecture is arguably just as indicative of a signi¢cant narrowing of the focus of EP. The reference (p. 11) to the `happy marriage between psychology and architecture', rather than the mutual retrenchment which has occurred since the 1970s, is curious (see Philip, 1996). Under the heading of `Context' it is suggested that a `behaviour setting' (as in ecological psychology) fails to capture the experiential and shared meanings or social representational aspects of `place'. Much of the third chapter, however, encourages consideration of an environmental stress model with the nature of the links to a `place' unclear. The passages referring to social identity and power and social support networks make no reference to a relevant sociological, anthropological and architecturally oriented EP research literature in which social and spatial relations are integrally related. There are some anomalies in the text in terms of headings and content: for example, one chapter includes the word `method' in its heading, but hardly mentions this; a section called `An International Perspective' does not address this. There are also some minor mistakes in referencing and spelling (e.g. Cantor, rather than Canter, throughout), suggesting editorial corrections are warranted. A chapter on The Human Impact of the Environment, whilst ostensibly about the EP of chemical pollution and disasters, primarily refers to posttraumatic stress. Whilst very important, there are far more directly relevant EP concepts and themes which are not reviewed here: links to the concept of place, research on environmental risk perception, accidents, management of and response to warning systems and patterns of behaviour during emergencies and emergency management. The book seems to jump from social psychology oriented personal space, territory, crowding and privacy theory and research (which proliferated up to some point in the 1970s), to more recent social psychology topics with an environmental connotation such as attitude±behaviour links, commons dilemmas and social identity. There is insu¤cient

What is Environmental Psychology?

discussion of other EP research. EP theory, studies and applications in the realm of architectural preferences, meanings, contextual ¢t, social space, visual access, way¢nding and post-occupancy evaluation all merit discussion, especially in an introductory EP text, but are ignored. The book is at times arguably more about `social psychology and environmental stress . . . in context', or `behaviour and experience and environmental stress in social context', than `EP in content and context'. In conclusion, the book provides a clearly written, instructive and very readable primer on a number (not all) of the main topics, themes, research and applications in EP and related areas of psychology, in a style which is in keeping with its intended audience. Principles and practice Environmental Psychology: Principles and Practice by Robert Gi¡ord (1997) is the second edition of a book previously published in 1987 (Gi¡ord, 1987). It is comparable in scale and scope to the book by Bell et al. (1996) (as suggested by Table 1). Both of these books (Bell et al., 1996 and Gi¡ord, 1997) provide a thorough, well-balanced and substantive review of the ¢eld of EP. The fact that the Gi¡ord book is by a single author makes the breadth of material, clarity and insightfulness of writing all the more impressive, as the reader is guided through the wide ranging terrain of EP. The book covers a comparable range of subject matter to the Bell et al., 1996 book, relating to psychological and social aspects of people's relationships to (or transactions with) the built and natural environment. The ¢rst edition (Gi¡ord, 1987) was reviewed previously in this journal by Donald (1989). The second edition has expanded from a text of 479 pages, with 13 chapters and 1166 references to one with 512 pages, 15 chapters and 2533 references (Table 1). More than double the number of studies is cited. The chapters are no longer subdivided into three parts (Individual Processes, Social Processes and Societal Processes) and there has been some relabelling, reorganization and updating of their content. One signi¢cant change is a threefold split of the former Chapter 9 (Thriving and Surviving at Home and in the City). There are now chapters called Residential EP and Community EP, respectively, and a section on environmental hazards is now a prominent section of a new chapter called Natural EP. The book has chapters which cover The Nature and Scope of Environmental Psychology; Environ-

199

mental Perception and Cognition; Environmental Attitudes, Appraisals, and Assessments; Personality and Environment; Personal Space; Territoriality; Crowding; Privacy; Residential, Community, Educational, Workplace and Natural EP; Managing Limited Resources; Designing More Fitting Environments. The book ends with an epilogue, entitled `Utopia versus Entopia' (utopia being `a good place that cannot be realized' and entopia, the goal of EP, being the search for or creation of an `achievable', `better place' or world). The book includes an appendix (summarizing key journal and book series publications, North American and international graduate schools and associations), a name index and subject index. Each chapter starts with a `scenario' describing a situation on a day in the life of characters called `Tom and Jane', engaged in some activities or experiences illustrative of the chapter to follow. As in other books, anyone who is not a young North American student, may not be fully captivated by passages of this kind. Each chapter is arranged, for the most part, in the same sequence: introduction of topic, research methods, existing knowledge, theories and case studies (the latter often illustrative of principles and applications). Included in the text are very useful summaries in italics at the end of each section and chapter. Pioneers and leading contributors to di¡erent areas of EP research appear by name and in passport size photographs, thereby personalizing their contributions and signalling their entry into an EP gallery of fame. EP is de¢ned in the ¢rst sentence of the book as: `the study of transactions between individuals and their physical settings'. In terms of the subtitle of the book (Principles and Practice), a distinction is made between the academic environmental psychologist (researcher) engaged primarily in the pursuit of scienti¢c principles (discovery) and the practising environmental psychologist (consultant engaged in application). The latter (p. 4) `also makes new discoveries, but these ¢ndings are primarily intended to assist a speci¢c client in a speci¢c place and time rather than to establish a scienti¢c principle'. Personally, I do not recognize the distinction between these two realms of EP or breeds of environmental psychologists, those who (wish to) research and those who (wish to) apply and suspect that this distinction is more an aspiration for EP and the readers of the book than a reality. Perhaps a further distinction should be made between research which is applied and applied research. It is interesting that Gi¡ord, who is clearly in favour of principles

200

J. D. Sime

and applications, forecasts (Preface, p. vi) `subdisciplines of experimental environmental psychology and applied environmental psychology', suggesting a further parting of the ways. The book begins with a brief overview of the roots of EP (citing Brunswik, Lewin and Barker in particular) and of six major theoretical approaches: stimulation theories (arousal, overload, underload, stress), control, behaviour-setting, integral theories (geo-behavioural, interactionism, transactionalism, organismic), operant, and environment-centred theories. The author of the book favours a transactional perspective. Many of the EP studies cited do not conform to transactionalism in detail (e.g. as de¢ned by Altman and Rogo¡, 1987), but are accommodated within the framework of the author's transactional view of the ¢eld. Despite the fact that the book is more inclusive of EP research outside the U.S.A. than most North American EP textbooks, there is limited reference to socio-cultural research. There is brief mention of EP being `a science, an applied science and an art' (p. v) and of the meaning and `environmental phenomenology' of place (on p. 8, 21 and 28), suggesting that the author is open to this approach, but phenomenology is not in the index and receives far less attention than studies consistent with a predominantly empirical EP paradigm. The ¢rst chapter includes a section on research methods, identifying three levels of inquiry: psychological processes, the social management of space and physical setting aspects of behaviour. All human activity is said to occur in a `three-dimensional space' of `persons, processes and places'. The book includes a short, but useful section on architectural (place) meanings (pp. 64±66). The ¢nal chapter addresses `social design' (inspired by the writings of Robert Sommer), but the book does not explore other architecturally oriented EP theory, concepts and research such as contextual ¢t, space syntax, crowd behaviour, temporal and spatial sequences of actions, pedestrian movement, accidents and human factors. Consistent with the fact that this book does not adopt environmental stress as `the' paradigm for EP, less attention is directed to ambient stressors than in the Veitch and Arkkelin (1995), Bell et al. (1996) and Cassidy (1997) books. Noise, for example, is addressed primarily in the later chapters to do with settings (e.g. with reference to classrooms), rather than given the status of a separate chapter. The book covers an enormous range of social psychology oriented EP studies (e.g. interpersonal space, defensible space and residential crime, commons dilemma, littering, etc.), concepts

and domains (e.g. appraisal of natural environments, nature as restorative). In conclusion, this is an excellent text book. It provides an important and insightful contribution to the ¢eld, especially in respect of its wide-ranging review of studies. One di¤culty is the use of an author numbering system. The reader has to engage in a taxing degree of searching back and forth between the numbers in the text and references at the back to ¢nd out who did the studies (there are also some inaccuracies in the numbering). Putting names back in the text (albeit over twice as many as before) and listing them alphabetically, would make the book easier to read and use. Environment and behavior Environment and Behavior: An Introduction by Robert Bechtel (1997) presents a sideways view of EP, in comparison with the other books reviewed. It is the only one called Environment and Behavior (EB), rather than Environmental Psychology (EP). In this respect, there is a greater accommodation of other disciplines. Whilst EB and EP strongly overlap, EB also potentially overlaps with other disciplines, or subdisciplines, which do not necessarily view EP as the nexus of people±environment relations. The `behaviour' in EB, whilst it connotes action, includes research on the subjective experience of environments as well. The cover of the EB book states that it is `unlike most texts in the ¢eld that treat environmental psychology as a branch of psychology only', indicating that EP is its primary focus. The book is directed towards `all courses related to the environment, including urban studies and psychology'. The preface suggests that in comparison with other EP textbooks the author has `tried to go beyond the narrow scope the ¢eld is being given in other texts'. A £avour of the book is suggested by the following sentence in the preface (p. xviii) : `My approach was that environmental psychology is not a simple branch of psychology but a plan for survival'. This is intimated further by the title of the ¢rst chapter (The Environment Will Get You If You Don't Watch Out) and the last sentence of the ¢nal chapter (The Third Revolution in Thinking) (p. 569) and quotation which follows it: `What is at stake is nothing less than life on this planetÐYou must be the change you wish to see in the worldÐGhandi'. The book has 25 chapters which serve as thoughtful, introductory essays on di¡erent topics, rather than comprehensive in-depth reviews of related

What is Environmental Psychology?

research. The chapters vary quite a lot in length. Each chapter ends with a page headed Goals, which list Concepts and authors of `Important Studies', and then a list of instructive `Questions' related to the content of each chapter. The book includes photographs and ¢gures, an author index and a subject index at the end. The book has four parts: Beginnings, Conceptual Areas of Study, The Study of Environments, Conclusions. The book does not o¡er a speci¢c de¢nition of EP or EB. Part of the imperative of the book, however, is evidently to see beyond a social context, characterized as a `social cushion' or `protective cocoon' (pp. 57±58, 62, 553) between people or a culture and the physical `reality' of a world beyond, under threat from factors such as the `Greenhouse E¡ect', pollutants, noise, depletion of resources, overpopulation, etc. The third chapter provides an interesting potted history of EB and includes sections identifying trends: diversi¢cation of subjects and convergence of methods (though methods are hardly discussed in the book), development of independent areas, the continuing struggle to bridge the social science gap (in relation to design), the disciplinary con£ict. The book indicates EP accomplishments and relevance, whilst not shying away from its own struggles for survival. In addition to topics such as Environmental Perception and Aesthetics, Personal Space, Crowding, the eleven chapters of Part II include a chapter on Ecological Psychology and, a welcome rarity in an EP book, a chapter on Human Factors. This chapter concentrates on some examples of imaginative ways in which EP can be applied. There are many EP (and EB) studies which are not considered or cited under di¡erent chapter headings. There is a tendency in the book to introduce some topics in depth, but to skirt over what certain authors did in studies or work. It is somewhat surprising how little EB research there seems to be (as reported) on patterns of behaviour in di¡erent kinds of setting. Part III includes chapters on The City, Institutions, Changing Work, Recreational, Extreme and Children's Environments, Environments for the Elderly, The House and Housing and a short chapter on Disasters. A feature of this book is that the chapter on `Theories in EB' is put at the end, rather than beginning. The author considers this to be advisable in relation to ease of comprehension of the ¢eld by students. It is tempting to conclude that the placement of the Theories chapter as the penultimate chapter of the book is consistent with an inductive (rather

201

than deductive) approach to data collection and research methods. This is a reminder of the ecological psychology school the author originally cut his EB teeth on as a student of Barker. The chapter as a consequence ends up presenting a rather unwieldy list of 55 `theories' covered by each chapter (Table 24
1) and then subdivided under four headings: E & B, Person-in-Environment, Social±Psychological, Environment-on-Person (Table 24
2). This is perhaps closer to the way in which researchers devise their research studies, targeting a `smaller theory', rather than consciously employing a generic EB or EP school of thought. The author concludes (p. 553) that most of the EB `theories' are actually `theories of social psychology', that `there is no uni¢ed theory' and that `the way the social sciences are institutionalized in universities does not actually permit . . . more interdisciplinary programs'. The book ends with an overriding imperative, a section importunistically called `What you can do?', not in terms of the holy grail of ¢nding the all encompassing EB or EP theoretical paradigm, but in terms of survival on and of `our planet'. In conclusion, this is an unusual, eclectic and readable book in terms of a di¡erent way of looking at EP in the context of environmental and global concerns. It employs a broad brush and canvas, rather than a narrow palette. It is selective in the studies considered and cited. There are some (especially specialists in any of the chapter headings) who might at times prefer other relevant studies to have been included. The book aims to be thoughtprovoking and convey a sense of urgency. The book is unnecessarily heavy in physical size and weight. The style of writing would suit a paperback and if the book was reproduced, on less pages and at a more competitive price (Table 1), might attract a larger readership.

Content or context: where is the environment in environmental psychology? The six texts raise as many questions as answers in terms of what might be deemed to be the core content, context and boundaries of EP as characterized by theory, research methods, ¢ndings and applications. This concluding discussion is not intended to be a critique of the texts, rather an exploration of explicit and sometimes implicit themes (a sub-text).2 Some pointers to the future of EP will be considered.

202

J. D. Sime

EP has to consider its past, present and future relationship to psychology, other behavioural or social sciences, design and physical science disciplines (Proshansky, 1987). EP is treated in the books as an area of psychology and/or as multi-/inter-/cross-disciplinary. In this respect, Bechtel (1997) does not de¢ne EP or EB, but it is clear that EP is considered to be `cross-disciplinary'; Veitch and Arkkelin (1995) use the term `multidisciplinary' in a de¢nition of EP and `interdisciplinary' in the book's subtitle. These terms mean di¡erent things, but are not always differentiated in the books. It is not clear the degree to which EP is regarded as synonymous with EB in the books. Some people might be more inclined than others to curtail the boundary of EP than EB, to the extent that EP does not address the physical or social±cultural environment, or other models of people±environment relationships (e.g. in economics, architecture, planning). In general, the EP books treat psychology as the core domain and work outwards from this to a context in which EP might draw further sustenance in its theories, or be applied. Treating the people±environment as a unity suggests another possibility, EP as the core (and mainstream psychology as one of its contexts). In the realm of EB, the core might be sought outside psychology. The positions adopted vary in relation to the two sides of a people±environment conceptual, professional and educationally institutionalised divide. EP is institutionally unstable because it quite rightly crosses traditional educational boundaries between disciplines devoted primarily to people or environments. Like the subjects or objects, individuals, world views, world or worlds which EP explores, it takes its identity from when and where it stands, in relation to people and environments. The pull on EP in di¡erent directions, perhaps explains why it has been referred to as paradoxical (Stokols, 1995). The stronger EP becomes in a rather di¡used way throughout psychology, the weaker it becomes as an identi¢able domain in, or in relation to, more environmentally oriented disciplines. The de¢nitions of EP in the books vary in terms of the degree to which EP is deemed to be concerned with the socio-physical, social and/or physical environment, people±environment processes, interactions and/or transactions. The words used de¢ne variations in what is generally regarded as a people±environment unity, which it seems has to be deconstructed to be studied and then put back together. Mirrored in this regard are di¡erent degrees of emphasis on core and context, ¢gure and ground, person and environment.

This might be likened conceptually and metaphorically (rather than literally) to the reversing necker cube image to be found in introductory books on the psychology of visual perception. The cube presents itself to the perceiver one way (equivalent to the subjective world) then another (the objective environment), but the two perspectives cannot be seen simultaneously. Some might feel that an individual's social context provides the link. EP stands astride the conceptual boundary between people and environment. This essential mind± matter dualism, reciprocity, interaction, transaction or phenomenology, has exercised the minds of many of the greatest philosophers of knowledge and science, stretching back to luminaries such as Plato and Aristotle (see Lombardo, 1987). The relationship between theory, `basic' research and applications or practice is not clear or resolved in the books. Lewin's emphasis on the integral links between theory and practice are mentioned by several authors, but then apparently prized apart. EP theory needs to be de¢ned in terms of locale and cognizance of the degree to which one can extrapolate from one particular situation (e.g. a laboratory experiment) to another (an alternative space or place). Any suggestion that one can move from basic research (as the generator or testbed of theory) to applications, to my mind, is a recipe for impoverished EP theory and solutions. The degree to which research methods are considered is variable in the books. Laboratory experiments, deemed to be an analogue of real-world situations, often slip through the net cast by external validity. Environmental simulations and ¢eld experiments sometimes `capture' important aspects of the EP phenomena, especially if coupled with alternative research methods. Whichever methods are employed in a particular case, EP theory by its very nature should surely be grounded in real life, people±environment settings and situations. As Epstein (1976, p. 349) aptly puts it, `close contact with real world problems . . . will often lead to the formulation of new theoretical issues. This approach is more meaningful than attempts to generalize from basic research studies to the solution of applied problems'. A number of papers over the years (and increasingly so) have reviewed the importance of content and context as a necessary feature of EP (and social psychology), for example, in terms of the relationship between laboratory and `real world' (Proshansky, 1976), the relationship between target variables and context (Stokols, 1987), the transfer of broad theoretical psychological concepts to an interdisciplinary domain in which `variables outside

What is Environmental Psychology?

psychological theory play important roles' (Stern, 1992, p. 296). In respect of theory and applications, there is a lack of agreement in the books about a predominant paradigm to adopt, primary contenders on o¡er being environmental stress and/or place (de¢ned as a social construct or representation). There is at times a gap between theoretical frameworks as de¢ned and their delineation in practice. The most signi¢cant question implicitly raised by these books concerns the status of the environment in EP. Social processes are undoubtedly crucial in environmental change. If EP has an increasingly social agenda (perhaps quite rightly), the physical environment in environmental psychology (EP), the original raison-d'eªtre of the subject, is in danger of paling into insigni¢cance as a vague abstract backdrop. The importance of the physical environment is recognized to di¡erent degrees in these books. At the heart of EP should be the relationship between people and the physical environment, otherwise why call it environmental psychology? There is little evidence that the E in EP is being represented in theory and research, hence the title of a paper by Wohlwill (1973), the call by Franck (1984) for empirical studies and theoretical frameworks which include the physical environment as well as social factors, the title of a commentary by GÌrling (1988) and the suggestion by Margulis (1995) that the objective built physical environment is under-represented in EP. Indeed, as he observes, `removing the objective environment from environmental psychology reduces it to psychology'. These are not calls for environmental determinism, rather for EP theory and research to include the physical environment. Areas of research encompassing the neglected E in EP include `contextual ¢t' (perceived ¢t of a building on a site in relation to neighbouring buildings) and the physical signi¢ers, in addition to the signi¢ed subjective ratings of architecture. EP theory and research would bene¢t from reference to architectural theory and discourse, as Groat (1981) and Groat and Despres (1991) have argued. Theory and research on space syntax in architecture and planning (e.g. Hillier & Hanson, 1984; Hillier, 1996) and other forms of socio-spatial analysis are not discussed in the books. Similarly, the environmental sociology, social anthropology and history of objects and socio-spatial power or control relations between di¡erent parties, as con¢gured by layouts, are not considered. These areas are worthy of review, representation and integration into an EP or EB text.

203

There is some evidence of moves towards including design elements in paradigms such as environmental stress (e.g. Evans & McCoy, 1998), but a di¤culty in doing so without inclusion of a taxonomy of molar physical properties of an environment (as called for by Craik, 1970). Whilst aspects of the ambient environment (of noise, heating, lighting etc.) are considered (more in one or two of the books than others), there is limited reference to the role of architecture and engineering in people's lives. Whilst there is reference to crowding (as a psychological concept) and density (as a physical concept) there is minimal reference in the books to theory, research and design relating to crowd densities, pedestrian movement, crowd safety, accidents (such as stair falls), situational response to warning systems, sequences of behaviour and temporal events in time and space (such as research on behaviour in ¢res and evacuations: see Sime, 1994, for a review). EP needs to de¢ne its particular contribution to the ¢elds of risk, emergencies and disasters (e.g. applying the concept of `place' to risk denial, behaviour during and community reconstruction after a disruptive event). It is interesting how `risk' is becoming an interdisciplinary ¢eld (e.g. for engineers and social scientists) in a way which is di¤cult for EP, or other areas of psychology. The relationship between various realms of engineering, architecture and EP merit further attention in terms of theory, research methods, topics and applications. There is at present little evidence in the books of EP studies which include time, despite its expressed importance in social and physical contexts (Altman & Rogo¡, 1987; Proshansky, 1987; Werner et al., 1992). Theory and research addressing the episodic nature of social behaviour (e.g. Harre¨ & Secord, 1972) and visual access/exposure (Archea, 1977) are worthy of further consideration and are of importance to engineering, architecture, interior design, facility management and computer modelling. Gi¡ord (1997) in his ¢nal chapter on `social design' refers frequently to `occupants'. The terms occupant or occupant locations (Sime, 1998) could be used as theoretical constructs, to advance the notion that people di¡er according to where they are in time and space. In contrast to the term behaviour setting, an occupancy setting puts more emphasis on location, role, visual access/exposure, information, a¡ordance (Gibson, 1979), socio-spatial, organizational, subjective and objective con¢gurations as ¢elds of possibility. EP should develop theory, research and applications relating to the opportunity structures o¡ered by designers, architects, engineers and

204

J. D. Sime

planners. This would be in keeping with the design review and postoccupancy evaluation of environment±behaviour hypotheses, annotated on architectural plans, advocated by Zeisel (1981). There is limited reference in the books to environmental symbolism, meanings and qualitative methods, as employed in micro-sociological and anthropological, ethnographic studies and studies of environmental or social discourse (e.g. Potter, 1996). The relationship between phenomenology and empiricism in EP deserves further consideration (Seamon, 1987). In `time-out' boxes and end of chapter exercises, it might have been interesting to include the kind of exercises suggested by Seamon (1979). These sensitise students to resonant lifeworlds (e.g. experiences of home attachment, journeys). Whilst there is an understandable emphasis on encouraging students to think like scientists, it could also be worthwhile familiarising them with the growing literature on the uncertainties, strengths and limitations of science, as an arbiter of environmental disputes, environmental ethics and values (Guerrier et al., 1995). Saegert and Winkel (1990) have described three substantive paradigms of person±environment relations which both characterize EP and point to a possible future in terms of EP theory, research and applications: the adaptive paradigm, the environment as opportunity structure for goal directed action and the sociocultural paradigm. If place, rather than behaviour settings, is to be an arbiter and frame of reference in EP processes, the very di¡erent ways in which the term place is used by di¡erent parties, disciplines and professions, will need to be addressed: place as a physical entity; as a measurable, social, experiential construct; as a memory, feeling or emotion; as a qualitative idea (e.g. the distinction made by Cooper, 1992, between `an environment'= place and `the environment' in con£icts between local and global imperatives). The physical aspects of place receive variable and limited attention in EP, just as social aspects of place receive insu¤cient attention in architecture and planning. In terms of di¡erent parties and settings the pertinent question becomes not only what a place is and whose place it is, but whose place wins? (Sime, 1986) Although not addressed in the books the role of an environmental psychologist, as a mediating agent in processes of change (Saegert, 1987), will need to be considered more explicitly in future. EP texts should be concerned with the way in which people `construct' their world individually and through shared perceptions, cognitions and discourse over time. There is another argument

that attention should also be directed in EP theory and applications to the world which is physically moulded and constructed by di¡erent parties or simply `there' and `thereby' a context for subsequent experience and action. The environment is currently a backdrop of context in EP, which other disciplines in de¢ning people±environment relations see as content. As one moves from physical detail, to local molar units of analysis to global concerns, there is a tendency in EP to put increasing emphasis on the social context. This is deemed to be a social reality and/or a `social cushion' between people and their physical world. There are many areas for EP to turn its attention to in a psychology of surrounding worlds (e.g. the impact of new communication technologies, such as portable telephones, on local and transpatial relationships and the role of environmental simulations in research and design). Summary and conclusions Six current textbooks in environmental psychology (EP) have been reviewed. The texts di¡er in style, presentation, aims, scope, content, breadth and depth of coverage of EP. Whilst the books seem to agree that EP should address the people±environment as a uni¢ed concept, the methodological underpinning to theoretical constructs and processes is worthy of further attention. The books vary in the degree to which socio-physical, physical and social, or physical processes or domains, the ambient environment, behaviour settings, places, built and/ or natural environments and survival, are deemed to be characteristics of what environmental psychology is. The texts (with the possible exception of one, EB) argue primarily from a core allegiance to psychology, even when there are paradoxical references to being interdisciplinary. Basic research is assumed to proceed from principles to application in particular settings, rather than the other way round. In deriving theory, research and applications, there is a reluctance to reverse core and context. This review concludes that there is merit in doing so. Theory should be grounded in context; for this will enrich the core of EP. EP should be just as willing to consider context as core, which is after all the way other subjects treat psychology (as one of their contexts). EP is still a subject with multiple paradigms. People live in similar, but also highly di¡erentiated (temporal, symbolic, phenomenological, cultural, socially constructed and spatially

205

What is Environmental Psychology?

con¢gured) physical worlds. The preceding discussion focused more on the built than natural environment. On the cusp of the Millennium, past and future concerns about the environment, technology and natural disasters, are galvanizing interest and research funding politically in the domain of competition between local and global resources. Coupled with this is increasing interest in social and place identity. The core content and context of EP theory and research need to be de¢ned more clearly in the future. It is hoped that besides adaptive, psychological and social processes, greater attention will be directed to spatial con¢gurations, to functional opportunity structures, to designed and inhabited environments, to environmental meanings, values and discourses, to phenomenology, to socio-cultural, episodic and temporal frames of reference. The six textbooks make a valuable contribution to EP. The authors review psychological and social processes, individual experiences and behaviour in a self- referential and shared physical world. EP also needs theories, methods, concepts and research, which address the environment in environmental psychology.

Acknowledgements The author would like to thank Gerda Speller and Jeanne Moore for their helpful comments on a ¢rst draft of this review essay.

Notes Reprint requests and correspondence should be sent to Dr Jonathan Sime, Jonathan Sime Associates (JSA), 26 Croft Road, Godalming, Surrey GU7 1BY, U.K., e-mail; [email protected] (1) EP sources, not reviewed in detail here, but relevant to this review, include a handful of textbooks with EP in or as their title (and many other related texts covered to varying degrees by the six books) published in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, ranging from Ittelson et al. (1974) to McAndrew (1993). Papers with the title Environmental Psychology began to appear in about 1970, such as Craik (1970). From 1973 onwards there have been regular reviews of EP, every 4, 5 or 6 years, in the Annual Review of Psychology. The most recent reviews in this series are by Saegert and Winkel (1990) and Sundstrom et al. (1996). There is also the in£uential Handbook of Environmental Psychology (Stokols & Altman, 1987). (2) This review essay does not `deconstruct' the texts directly, in terms of their contribution to an EP discourse embedded in educational, disciplinary and professional contexts. For a pertinent example of the underlying ten-

sions in textbooks between teaching, research and applications, see Stringer (1990).

References Altman, I. & Rogo¡, B. (1987). World views in psychology: trait, interactional, organismic, and transactional perspectives. In D. Stokols and I. Altman (Eds) Handbook of Environmental Psychology. New York: Wiley. Vol. 1, pp. 7±40. Archea, J. (1977). The place of architectural factors in behavioral theories of privacy. Journal of Social Issues 33, 116 ±137. Bell, P. A., Fisher, J. D. & Loomis, R. J. (1978). Environmental Psychology. 1st edn. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Co. Bell, P. A., Fisher, J. D., Baum, A. & Greene, T. E. (1990). Environmental Psychology. 3rd edn. Fort Worth: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. Bonnes, M. (1998). The ecological±global shift, environmental sustainability and the `shifting balances'. In J. Teklenburg, J. van Andel, J. Smeets & A. Seidel (Eds) Shifting Balances, changing roles in policy research and design. Proceedings of IAPS 15. Eindhoven: European Institute of Retailing and Services (EIRASS), pp. 165±174. Canter, D. & Craik, K. H. (1981). Environmental psychology. Journal of Environmental Psychology 1, 1±11. Cooper, D. E. (1992). The idea of environment. In D. E. Cooper & J. A. Palmer (Eds) The Environment in Question: ethics and global issues. London: Routledge, Ch. 12, pp. 165 ±180. Craik, K. H. (1970). Environmental psychology. New Directions in Psychology 4. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., pp. 1±121. Craik, K. H. (1977). Multiple scienti¢c paradigms in environmental psychology. International Journal of Psychology 12, 147±157. Donald, I. (1989). Review essayÐan indispensable text. Environmental psychology: principles and practice. By Robert Gi¡ord. Journal of Environmental Psychology 9, 157±166. Epstein, Y. M. (1976). Comment on environmental psychology and social psychology. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 2, 346 ±349. Evans, G. W. & Mitchell McCoy, J. (1998). When buildings don't work: the role of architecture in human health. Journal of Environmental Psychology 18, 85 ±94. Fisher, J. D., Bell, P. A. & Baum, A. (1984). Environmental Psychology. 2nd edn. Holt, Rinehart and Winston: New York. Franck, K. (1984). Exorcising the ghost of physical determinism. Environment and Behavior 16, 411±435. GÌrling, T. (1988). What is environmental about environmental psychology? Journal of Environmental Psychology 8, 161±162. Gibson, J. J. (1979). The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. Boston: Houghton Mi¥in Co. Gi¡ord, R. (1987). Environmental Psychology: principles and practice. 1st Edn. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc. Groat. L. (1981). Meaning in architecture: new directions and sources. (Book review). Journal of Environmental Psychology 1, 73 ± 85.

206

J. D. Sime

Groat, L. & Despres, C. (1991). The signi¢cance of architectural theory for environmental design research. In E. Zube & G. T. Moore (Eds) Advances in Environment, Behavior, and Design. Vol. 3. New York: Plenum, pp. 3 ±52. Guerrier, Y., Alexander, N., Chase, J. & O'Brien, M. (Eds) (1995). Values and the Environment: a social science perspective. Chichester: Wiley. Harre¨, R. & Secord, P. F. (1972). The Explanation of Social Behavior. Oxford: Blackwell. Hillier, B. (1996). Space is the Machine: a con¢gurational theory of architecture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hillier, B. & Hanson, J. (1984). The Social Logic of Space. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ittelson, R., Proshansky, H., Rivlin, L. & Winkel, G. (1974). An Introduction to Environmental Psychology. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. Lombardo, T. J. (1987). The Reciprocity of Perceiver and Environment: The Evolution of James J. Gibson's Ecological Psychology. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. Margulis, S. (1995). The status of the objective built environment in environmental±psychological theory. In J. Nasar, P. Grannis and K. Hanyu (Eds) Proceedings of the 26th Annual Conference of the Environmental Design Research Association. Oklahoma City, OK: EDRA Inc., pp. 9 ±12. McAndrew, F. T. (1993). Environmental Psychology. Paci¢c Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Parker, I. (1989). The Crisis in Modern Social PsychologyÐ and how to end it. London: Routledge. Philip, D. (1996). EssayÐthe practical failure of architectural psychology. Journal of Environmental Psychology 16, 277±284. Potter, J. (1996). Representing Reality: discourse, rhetoric and social construction. London: Sage Publictions. Proshansky, H. M. (1976). Environmental psychology and the real world. American Psychologist 4, 303 ±310. Proshansky, H. M. (1987). The ¢eld of environmental psychology: securing its future. In D. Stokols and I. Altman (Eds) Handbook of Environmental Psychology. Vol. 2, New York: Wiley. pp. 1467±1488. Proshansky, H. M., Ittelson, W. H. & Rivlin, L. G. (Eds) (1970). Environmental Psychology: man and his physical setting. 1st edn. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. Saegert, S. (1987). Environmental psychology and social change. In D. Stokols and I. Altman (Eds) Handbook of Environmental Psychology. Vol. 1. New York: Wiley, pp. 99 ±128.

Saegert, S. & Winkel, G. H. (1990). Environmental psychology. Annual Review of Psychology 41, 441±477. Seamon, D. (1979). A Geography of the Lifeworld. New York: St Martin's Press. Seamon, D. (1987). Phenomenology and environment±behavior research. In E. H. Zube & G. T. Moore (Eds) Advances in Environment, Behavior, and Design. Vol. 1. New York: Plenum, pp. 3 ±27. Sime, J. D. (1986). Creating places or designing spaces? Journal of Environmental Psychology 6, 49 ± 63. Sime, J. D. (1994). Escape behaviour in ¢res and evacuations. In P. Stollard and L. Johnston (Eds) Design Against Fire: an introduction to ¢re safety engineering design. London: E & F N Spon, Ch. 5, pp. 56 ±87. Sime, J. D. (1998). Visual access con¢gurations: spatial analysis and occupant response inputs to architectural design and ¢re engineering. In J. Teklenburg, J. van Andel, J. Smeets & A. Seidel (Eds) Shifting Balances, Changing Roles in Policy Research and Design. Proceedings of IAPS 15. Eindhoven: European Institute of Retailing and Services (EIRASS), pp. 140 ±151. Stern, P. C. (1992). Psychological dimensions of global environmental change. Annual Review of Psychology 43, 269 ±302. Stokols, D. (1978). Environmental psychology. Annual Review of Psychology 29, 253 ±295. Stokols, D. (1987). Conceptual strategies of environmental psychology. In D. Stokols & I. Altman (Eds) Handbook of Environmental Psychology. Vol. 1. New York: Wiley, pp. 41±70. Stokols, D. (1995). The paradox of environmental psychology. American Psychologist 50, 821± 837. Stokols, D. & Altman, I. (Eds) (1987). Handbook of Environmental Psychology. Vols 1 and 2. New York: Wiley. Stringer, P. (1990). Prefacing social psychology: a textbook example. In I. Parker & J. Shotter (Eds) Deconstructing Social Psychology. London: Routledge, pp. 17± 32. Sundstrom, E., Bell, P. A., Busby, P. L. & Asmus, C. (1996). Environmental psychology. Annual Review of Psychology 47, 485 ± 512. Werner, C. M., Altman, I. & Brown, B. B. (1992). A transactional approach to interpersonal relations: physical environment, social context and temporal qualities. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 9, 297±323. Wohlwill, J. (1974). The environment is not in the head! In W. F. E. Preiser (Ed.) Environmental Design Research. Vol. 2. Symposia and Workshops. Proceedings of the 4th EDRA Conference. Stroudsberg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross, pp. 166 ±181. Zeisel, J. (1981). Inquiry by Design. Tools for environment± behavior research. Monterey: Brooks/Cole.