Ecological psychology
Encyclopedia
Ecological psychology is a term claimed by a number of schools of psychology. However, the two main ones are one on the writings of James J. Gibson, and another on the work of Roger G. Barker
, Herb Wright and associates at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Whereas Gibsonian psychology is always termed Ecological Psychology, the work of Barker (and his followers) is also sometimes referred to as Environmental Psychology
. There is a considerable amount of overlap between the two schools, although the Gibsonian approach tends to be more philosophical.
Both schools emphasise 'real world' studies of behaviour as opposed to the artificial environment of the laboratory
.
by bringing to psychological science the kind of opportunity long available to biologists: easy access to phenomena of the science unaltered by the selection and preparation that occur in laboratories." (Barker, 1968). The study of environmental units (behavior settings
) grew out of this research. In his classic work "Ecological Psychology" (1968) he argued that human behaviour was radically situated
: in other words, you couldn't make predictions about human behaviour unless you know what situation or context or environment the human in question was in. For example, there are certain behaviours appropriate to being in church, attending a lecture, working in a factory etc, and the behaviour of people in these environments is more similar than the behaviour of an individual person in different environments. He has since developed these theories in a number of books and articles.
s' or 'ecological' relation to the environment
, such that to adequately explain some behaviour it was necessary to study the environment or niche in which the behaviour took place and, especially, the information that 'epistemically connects' the organism to the environment. It is his emphasis that the foundation for perception is ambient, ecologically available information - as opposed to peripheral or internal sensations - that makes Gibson's perspective unique in perceptual science in particular and cognitive science in general. The aphorism: "Ask not what's inside your head, but what your head's inside of" succinctly captures that point. Gibson's theory of perception is information-based rather than sensation-based and to that extent, an analysis of the environment (in terms of affordances), and the concomitant specificational information that the organism detects about such affordances, is central to the ecological approach to perception.
Throughout the 1970s and up until his death in 1979, Gibson increased his focus on the environment through development of the theory of affordances
- the real, perceivable opportunities for action in the environment, that are specified by ecological information. He rejected outright indirect perception, in favour of ecological realism, his new form of direct perception that involves the new concept of ecological affordances. He also rejected the emerging constructivist, information processing
and cognitivist
views that assume and emphasize internal representation and the processing of meaningless, physical sensations ('inputs') in order to create meaningful, mental perceptions ('output'), all supported and implemented by a neurological basis (inside the head).
Roger Barker
Roger Garlock Barker was a social scientist, a founder of environmental psychology and a leading figure in the field for decades, perhaps best known for his development of the concept of behavior settings....
, Herb Wright and associates at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Whereas Gibsonian psychology is always termed Ecological Psychology, the work of Barker (and his followers) is also sometimes referred to as Environmental Psychology
Environmental psychology
Environmental 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...
. There is a considerable amount of overlap between the two schools, although the Gibsonian approach tends to be more philosophical.
Both schools emphasise 'real world' studies of behaviour as opposed to the artificial environment of the laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
.
Barker
Barker's work was based on his empirical work at this Midwest Field Station. He wrote later: "The Midwest Psychological Field Station was established to facilitate the study of human behavior and its environment in situIn situ
In situ is a Latin phrase which translated literally as 'In position'. It is used in many different contexts.-Aerospace:In the aerospace industry, equipment on board aircraft must be tested in situ, or in place, to confirm everything functions properly as a system. Individually, each piece may...
by bringing to psychological science the kind of opportunity long available to biologists: easy access to phenomena of the science unaltered by the selection and preparation that occur in laboratories." (Barker, 1968). The study of environmental units (behavior settings
Behavior settings
Behavior settings are theorized entities that help explain the relationship between individuals and the environment - particularly the social environment. This topic is typically indexed under the larger rubric of 'Ecological Psychology'...
) grew out of this research. In his classic work "Ecological Psychology" (1968) he argued that human behaviour was radically situated
Situated cognition
Situated cognition poses that knowing is inseparable from doing by arguing that all knowledge is situated in activity bound to social, cultural and physical contexts....
: in other words, you couldn't make predictions about human behaviour unless you know what situation or context or environment the human in question was in. For example, there are certain behaviours appropriate to being in church, attending a lecture, working in a factory etc, and the behaviour of people in these environments is more similar than the behaviour of an individual person in different environments. He has since developed these theories in a number of books and articles.
Gibson
Gibson also stressed the importance of the environment, in particular, the (direct) perception of how the environment of an organism affords various actions to the organism. Thus, an appropriate analysis of the environment was crucial for an explanation of perceptually-guided behaviour. He argued that animals and humans stand in a 'systemSystem
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
s' or 'ecological' relation to the environment
Environment (biophysical)
The biophysical environment is the combined modeling of the physical environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and includes all variables, parameters as well as conditions and modes inside the Earth's biosphere. The biophysical environment can be divided into two categories:...
, such that to adequately explain some behaviour it was necessary to study the environment or niche in which the behaviour took place and, especially, the information that 'epistemically connects' the organism to the environment. It is his emphasis that the foundation for perception is ambient, ecologically available information - as opposed to peripheral or internal sensations - that makes Gibson's perspective unique in perceptual science in particular and cognitive science in general. The aphorism: "Ask not what's inside your head, but what your head's inside of" succinctly captures that point. Gibson's theory of perception is information-based rather than sensation-based and to that extent, an analysis of the environment (in terms of affordances), and the concomitant specificational information that the organism detects about such affordances, is central to the ecological approach to perception.
Throughout the 1970s and up until his death in 1979, Gibson increased his focus on the environment through development of the theory of affordances
Affordance
An affordance is a quality of an object, or an environment, which allows an individual to perform an action. For example, a knob affords twisting, and perhaps pushing, while a cord affords pulling...
- the real, perceivable opportunities for action in the environment, that are specified by ecological information. He rejected outright indirect perception, in favour of ecological realism, his new form of direct perception that involves the new concept of ecological affordances. He also rejected the emerging constructivist, information processing
Information processing
Information processing is the change of information in any manner detectable by an observer. As such, it is a process which describes everything which happens in the universe, from the falling of a rock to the printing of a text file from a digital computer system...
and cognitivist
Cognitivism (psychology)
In psychology, cognitivism is a theoretical framework for understanding the mind that came into usage in the 1950s. The movement was a response to behaviorism, which cognitivists said neglected to explain cognition...
views that assume and emphasize internal representation and the processing of meaningless, physical sensations ('inputs') in order to create meaningful, mental perceptions ('output'), all supported and implemented by a neurological basis (inside the head).
See also
- Conservation psychologyConservation PsychologyConservation psychology is the scientific study of the mutual relationships, and the connections between humans and the rest of nature, with a particular focus on how to encourage conservation of the natural world...
- Community PsychologyCommunity psychologyCommunity psychology deals with the relationships of the individual to communities and the wider society. Community psychologists seek to understand the quality of life of individuals, communities, and society...
- Urie BronfenbrennerUrie BronfenbrennerUrie Bronfenbrenner was a Russian American psychologist, known for developing his Ecological Systems Theory, and as a co-founder of the Head Start program in the United States for disadvantaged pre-school children....
- Environmental Design Research AssociationEnvironmental Design Research AssociationThe Environmental Design Research Association is an international, interdisciplinary organization founded in 1968 by design professionals, social scientists, students, educators, and facility managers...
- Evolutionary PsychologyEvolutionary psychologyEvolutionary psychology is an approach in the social and natural sciences that examines psychological traits such as memory, perception, and language from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations, that is, the functional...
- Situated cognitionSituated cognitionSituated cognition poses that knowing is inseparable from doing by arguing that all knowledge is situated in activity bound to social, cultural and physical contexts....
- Action-Specific PerceptionAction-Specific PerceptionThe action-specific perception account proposes that people perceive the environment in terms of their ability to act in it. For example, softball players who are hitting better see the ball as bigger. Tennis players see the ball as moving slower when they successfully return the ball. ...
Encyclopedia entries
- Mace, William/Harry Heft (2010): Ecological Approach. In: E. Bruce Goldstein (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Perception, London: SAGE, pp. 375–380.
- Neisser, Ulric (1999): Ecological Psychology. In: Robert A. Wilson/Frank C. Keil (Eds.), The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, pp. 255–256.
- Shaw, R./Turvey, M. T./Mace, W. M. (1982): Ecological Psychology: The Consequence of a Commitment to Realism. In W. Weimer/D. Palermo (Eds.), Cognition and the Symbolic Processes II, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 159–226.
- Turvey, Michael T. (2003): Perception: The Ecological Approach. In: Lynn Nadel, Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science, London: Nature Publishing Group. Vol. 3, pp. 538–541.
Books
- Gibson, J.J. (1979). The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.ISBN 0898599598 (1986)
- Gibson, E. J. & Pick, A. D. (2003). An Ecological Approach to Perceptual Learning and Development. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Heft, H. (2001) Ecological Psychology in Context: James Gibson, Roger Barker, and the Legacy of William James's Radical Empiricism. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
- Reed, E.S. (1988). James J. Gibson and the psychology of perception. New Have: Yale University Press.
- Reed, E.S. (1996a). Encountering the World: Toward an Ecological Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Articles
- Reed, E.S. (1987). James Gibson's Ecological Approach to Cognition (pp. 142-173). In A. Costall & A. Still (Eds.). Cognitive Psychology in Question. Sussex: Harvester Press.
- Reed, E.S. (1996b). James J. Gibson: Pioneer and iconoclast (pp. 247-261). In G. Kimble, C. Boneau, & M. Wertheimer. (Eds.), Portraits of pioneers in psychology (Vol. 2) Hillsdale, NJ: APA & Erlbaum.
Journals
- Ecological Psychology The journal Ecological Psychology publishes experimental studies and theoretical discussion related to Gibson's style of direct perception research.
- Journal of Environmental Psychology
- Environment and Behavior
- Ecopsychology
- European Journal of Ecopsychology
- Journal of Sustainable Behavior
External links
- International Society for Ecological Psychology
- Centre for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action
- Teaching Psychology for Sustainability
- Metaffordance Affordances and technology interfaces.
- Direct Perception.; An early classic and a good introduction to the theoretical background and available research (circa 1980) on ecological psychology and direct perception; by Claire Michaels and Claudia Carello.