Conservation Psychology
Encyclopedia
Conservation psychology is the scientific study of the mutual relationships, and the connections between human
s and the rest of nature
, with a particular focus on how to encourage conservation
of the natural world
. This field is less of a specialty area within psychology
itself but a growing way to help scientists of all fields come together and help each other and the community better understand the earth and what can be done to preserve it. It is a field to help understand why people hurt or help the environment and what can be done to change that. Using the term "conservation psychology" only refers to scientists in any fields of psychology that have understandable knowledge of environment and the effects humans have on it to use their abilities in "greening" psychology, and by making society ecologically sustainable (Myers 2002). The science of conservation psychology is oriented toward environmental sustainability, which includes concerns like conservation of resources, conservation of ecosystem
s, and quality of life issues for humans and other species
(Saunders 2003).
come together to put their knowledge to practice in educating others to work together and encourage a congruous relationship between humans and the environment around them. These psychologists work together with places such as zoos and aquariums. Zoos and aquariums may seem to only be places of recreation and fun but are actually trying hard to put positive messages out and to educate the public on the homes and needs of the animals that live there. They are trying to find ways to interact and teach the public the consequences of their day to day actions to the animals and the environment rather than simply viewing the animals. Psychologists and sociologists have been visiting workshops and think tanks at the zoos to evaluate if the animals are being viewed and shown to the best of their ability while still giving informative knowledge to the public.
The first topic being discussed is the connection of humans and animals. The Multi-Institutional Research Project (MIRP) works diligently on finding ways to develop a compassionate stance towards animals in the public eye. Many different questions were assessed to find answers to questions concerning ways to help develop loving attitudes for animals and the earth. With these questions and answers, effective educational and interpretive programs were made that would help review the progress.
The second concept that was discussed at the conference concerned connections of humans and places. A new language of conservation will be supported if there are abundant opportunities for meaningful interactions with the natural world in both urban and rural settings. Unfortunately, as biodiversity is lost, every generation has fewer chances to experience nature (Kahn 1999; Miller 2006). There were many questions asked concerning how humans in their everyday lives could be persuaded or educated well enough to make them want to join in programs or activities that help maintain biodiversity in their proximity. Local public and private organizations were asked to come together to help find ways to protect and manage local land, plants, and animals. Other discussions came to whether people on an individual or community level would voluntarily choose to become involved in maintaining and protecting their local biodiversity. These plus many other important questions were contemplated. Techniques in marketing are a key tool in helping people connect to their environment. If an identity could be connected from the environment to towns becoming more urbanized, maybe those living there would be more prone to keep it intact.
The third discussion covered the aspects of producing people who act environmentally friendly
. Collectively, any activities that support sustainability, either by reducing harmful behaviors or by adopting helpful ones, can be called conservation behaviors. Achieving more sustainable relationships with nature will basically require that large numbers of people change their reproductive and consumptive behaviors (Saunders 2003). Any action, small or large, that helps the environment in any way is a good beginning to a future of generations who only practice environmentally-friendly behavior. This may seem to be a far-fetched idea but with any help at all in educating those who do not know the repercussions of their actions could help achieve this. Approaches to encouraging a change in behavior were thought about carefully. Many do not want to change their way of life. A more simplistic lifestyle rather than their materialistic, current lives hurt their environment around them rather than help, but could people willingly change? To take public transportation rather than drive a car, recycling, turning off lights when they are not needed, all these things are very simple yet a nuisance to actually follow through with. Would restructuring tax-code help people to want to change their attitudes? Any concept to reach the goal of helping people act ecologically aware was discussed and approached.
The fourth and final point at the first Conservation Psychology convention was the discussion of the values people have to their environment. Understanding our relationship to the natural world well enough so that we have a language to celebrate and defend that relationship is another research area for conservation psychology. According to the biophilia hypothesis
, the human
species evolved in the company of other life forms, and we continue to rely physically, emotionally, and intellectually on the quality and richness of our affiliations with natural diversity (Saunders 2003). A healthy and diverse natural environment is considered an essential condition for human lives of satisfaction and fulfillment (Kellert and Wilson 1993). Where did they get these values and are they ingrained to the point they cannot be changed? How can environmentally educated people convey value-based communication to a community, a nation, or even on a global level? National policy for this model is something that is desired but under such a strong political scrutiny this could be very challenging. Advocates for biodiversity and different programs came together to try and find methods of changing Americans' values concerning their environment and different methods to express and measure them.
was originally conceptualized as a crisis-oriented discipline, with the goal of providing principles and tools for preserving biodiversity (Soule, 1987). This is a branch of biology that is concerned with preserving genetic variation in plants and animals. This scientific field evolved to study the complex problems surrounding habitat destruction and species protection. The objectives of conservation biologists are to understand how humans affect biodiversity and to provide potential solutions that benefit both humans and non-human species. It is understood in this field that there are underlying fields of biology that could readily help to have a better understanding and contribute to conservation of biodiversity. Biological knowledge alone is not sufficient to solve conservation problems, and the role of the social sciences in solving these problems has become increasingly important (Mascia et al. 2003). With the knowledge of conservation biology combined with other fields, much was thought to be gained. Psychology is defined as the scientific study of human thought, feeling, and behavior (Myers 2003). Psychology was one of the fields that could take its concepts and apply them to conservation. It was also always understood that in the field of psychology there could be much aid to be given, the field only had to be developed. Psychology can help in providing insight into moral reasoning and moral functioning, which lie in the heart of human–nature relationships (Saunders 2003). Everyone that is now involved from the field of psychology had knowledge of ways to conceptualize the relationship of humans to their environment. Biology has always been involved in advances of conservation considering biodiversity, and the organisms in it are part of the main field of biology. Psychology has been absent from conservation for some time, but educators and scientists are realizing that with the help of both we can come to a better understanding of humans and their social interactions with their environment and everything in it.
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s and the rest of nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
, with a particular focus on how to encourage conservation
Conservation movement
The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....
of the natural world
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
. This field is less of a specialty area within psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
itself but a growing way to help scientists of all fields come together and help each other and the community better understand the earth and what can be done to preserve it. It is a field to help understand why people hurt or help the environment and what can be done to change that. Using the term "conservation psychology" only refers to scientists in any fields of psychology that have understandable knowledge of environment and the effects humans have on it to use their abilities in "greening" psychology, and by making society ecologically sustainable (Myers 2002). The science of conservation psychology is oriented toward environmental sustainability, which includes concerns like conservation of resources, conservation of ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
s, and quality of life issues for humans and other species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
(Saunders 2003).
Pioneers in this growing field
Psychologists from all fields including philosophy, biology, sociology, industrial and organizational, health, and consumer psychology, along with many other subfields like environmental education and conservation biologyConservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
come together to put their knowledge to practice in educating others to work together and encourage a congruous relationship between humans and the environment around them. These psychologists work together with places such as zoos and aquariums. Zoos and aquariums may seem to only be places of recreation and fun but are actually trying hard to put positive messages out and to educate the public on the homes and needs of the animals that live there. They are trying to find ways to interact and teach the public the consequences of their day to day actions to the animals and the environment rather than simply viewing the animals. Psychologists and sociologists have been visiting workshops and think tanks at the zoos to evaluate if the animals are being viewed and shown to the best of their ability while still giving informative knowledge to the public.
Research being conducted
What characterizes conservation psychology research is that in addition to descriptive and theoretical analyses, studies will explore how to cause the kinds of changes that lessen the impact of human behavior on the natural environment, and that lead to more sustainable and harmonious relationships (e.g., Zelezny and Schultz 2000; Werner 1999). Some of the research being done with respect to conservation is estimating exactly how much land and water resources are being used by each human at this point and where we will be in the next coming generations. They consider in the factors of the excess amounts of humans that are now here and how many more there are to come. Along with the percentage of humans the limited amount of land and how humans use it is considered. Not only humans and the land need to be considered but what are the positive and negative consequences for the biodiversity of plant and animal life after humans have used the land to their advantage. In addition to creating better conceptual models, more applied research is needed to: 1) identify the most promising strategies for fostering ways of caring about nature, 2) find ways to reframe debates and strategically communicate to the existing values that people have, 3) identify the most promising strategies for shifting the societal discourse about human–nature relationships, and 4) measure the success of these applications with respect to the conservation psychology mission (Saunders 2003). The ultimate success of conservation psychology will be based on whether its research resulted in programs and applications that made a difference with respect to environmental sustainability. We need to be able to measure the effectiveness of the programs in terms of their impact on behavior formation or behavior change, using tools developed by conservation psychologists (Saunders 2003).Main concepts
Conservation psychology assesses as a whole four different concepts. At the country's first Conservation Psychology conference these four things were discussed.The first topic being discussed is the connection of humans and animals. The Multi-Institutional Research Project (MIRP) works diligently on finding ways to develop a compassionate stance towards animals in the public eye. Many different questions were assessed to find answers to questions concerning ways to help develop loving attitudes for animals and the earth. With these questions and answers, effective educational and interpretive programs were made that would help review the progress.
The second concept that was discussed at the conference concerned connections of humans and places. A new language of conservation will be supported if there are abundant opportunities for meaningful interactions with the natural world in both urban and rural settings. Unfortunately, as biodiversity is lost, every generation has fewer chances to experience nature (Kahn 1999; Miller 2006). There were many questions asked concerning how humans in their everyday lives could be persuaded or educated well enough to make them want to join in programs or activities that help maintain biodiversity in their proximity. Local public and private organizations were asked to come together to help find ways to protect and manage local land, plants, and animals. Other discussions came to whether people on an individual or community level would voluntarily choose to become involved in maintaining and protecting their local biodiversity. These plus many other important questions were contemplated. Techniques in marketing are a key tool in helping people connect to their environment. If an identity could be connected from the environment to towns becoming more urbanized, maybe those living there would be more prone to keep it intact.
The third discussion covered the aspects of producing people who act environmentally friendly
Environmentally friendly
Environmentally friendly are terms used to refer to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies claimed to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment....
. Collectively, any activities that support sustainability, either by reducing harmful behaviors or by adopting helpful ones, can be called conservation behaviors. Achieving more sustainable relationships with nature will basically require that large numbers of people change their reproductive and consumptive behaviors (Saunders 2003). Any action, small or large, that helps the environment in any way is a good beginning to a future of generations who only practice environmentally-friendly behavior. This may seem to be a far-fetched idea but with any help at all in educating those who do not know the repercussions of their actions could help achieve this. Approaches to encouraging a change in behavior were thought about carefully. Many do not want to change their way of life. A more simplistic lifestyle rather than their materialistic, current lives hurt their environment around them rather than help, but could people willingly change? To take public transportation rather than drive a car, recycling, turning off lights when they are not needed, all these things are very simple yet a nuisance to actually follow through with. Would restructuring tax-code help people to want to change their attitudes? Any concept to reach the goal of helping people act ecologically aware was discussed and approached.
The fourth and final point at the first Conservation Psychology convention was the discussion of the values people have to their environment. Understanding our relationship to the natural world well enough so that we have a language to celebrate and defend that relationship is another research area for conservation psychology. According to the biophilia hypothesis
Biophilia Hypothesis
The biophilia hypothesis suggests that there is an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems. Edward O. Wilson introduced and popularized the hypothesis in his book entitled Biophilia.- Love of living systems :...
, the human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
species evolved in the company of other life forms, and we continue to rely physically, emotionally, and intellectually on the quality and richness of our affiliations with natural diversity (Saunders 2003). A healthy and diverse natural environment is considered an essential condition for human lives of satisfaction and fulfillment (Kellert and Wilson 1993). Where did they get these values and are they ingrained to the point they cannot be changed? How can environmentally educated people convey value-based communication to a community, a nation, or even on a global level? National policy for this model is something that is desired but under such a strong political scrutiny this could be very challenging. Advocates for biodiversity and different programs came together to try and find methods of changing Americans' values concerning their environment and different methods to express and measure them.
Connection of conservation in biology and psychology
Conservation biologyConservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
was originally conceptualized as a crisis-oriented discipline, with the goal of providing principles and tools for preserving biodiversity (Soule, 1987). This is a branch of biology that is concerned with preserving genetic variation in plants and animals. This scientific field evolved to study the complex problems surrounding habitat destruction and species protection. The objectives of conservation biologists are to understand how humans affect biodiversity and to provide potential solutions that benefit both humans and non-human species. It is understood in this field that there are underlying fields of biology that could readily help to have a better understanding and contribute to conservation of biodiversity. Biological knowledge alone is not sufficient to solve conservation problems, and the role of the social sciences in solving these problems has become increasingly important (Mascia et al. 2003). With the knowledge of conservation biology combined with other fields, much was thought to be gained. Psychology is defined as the scientific study of human thought, feeling, and behavior (Myers 2003). Psychology was one of the fields that could take its concepts and apply them to conservation. It was also always understood that in the field of psychology there could be much aid to be given, the field only had to be developed. Psychology can help in providing insight into moral reasoning and moral functioning, which lie in the heart of human–nature relationships (Saunders 2003). Everyone that is now involved from the field of psychology had knowledge of ways to conceptualize the relationship of humans to their environment. Biology has always been involved in advances of conservation considering biodiversity, and the organisms in it are part of the main field of biology. Psychology has been absent from conservation for some time, but educators and scientists are realizing that with the help of both we can come to a better understanding of humans and their social interactions with their environment and everything in it.
See also
- BiodiversityBiodiversityBiodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
- Conservation movementConservation movementThe conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....
- Conservation ethicConservation ethicConservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...
- EcopsychologyEcopsychologyEcopsychology connects psychology and ecology. Its political and practical goals are to show humans ways of healing alienation and to build a "sane" society and a sustainable culture. Theodore Roszak is credited with coining the term in his 1992 book, The Voice of the Earth...
- Environmental movementEnvironmental movementThe environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
- Environmental psychologyEnvironmental psychologyEnvironmental psychology is an interdisciplinary field focused on the interplay between humans and their surroundings. The field defines the term environment broadly, encompassing natural environments, social settings, built environments, learning environments, and informational environments...
- Natural environmentNatural environmentThe natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
- SustainabilitySustainabilitySustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...