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Lecture/Discussion Topics

1. WHAT IS CONSERVATION PSYCHOLOGY?

2. CAN PSYCHOLOGY HELP SAVE THE WORLD?

3. WHAT IS "SUSTAINABILITY"?

The label "Conservation Psychology" is so new that it has no definite parameters. In our opinion, all of the topics described on this site could be included in a conservation psychology class. 

Class Activities

1. REVIEWING PSYCHOLOGY LITERATURE ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

2. READING ISHMAEL AS A CONSERVATION PSYCHOLOGIST

3. REFLECTING ON MY ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

4. THINKING GLOBALLY, ACTING PERSONALLY

5. IMPROVING MY CORNER OF THE WORLD

Multimedia Resources

1. WEBSITE: CONSERVATION PSYCHOLOGY

2. WEBSITES: EDUCATING FOR SUSTAINABILITY

3. WEBSITES: RESOURCES FOR GREEN LIVING

4. FILM: THE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT: ACCOUNTING FOR A SMALL PLANET

5. FILM: BILL MOYERS REPORTS: EARTH ON EDGE

Suggested Readings for Students

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References Cited in this Section

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LECTURE/DISCUSSION TOPICS

WHAT IS CONSERVATION PSYCHOLOGY?

Within the last four years, a new label has caught on: Conservation Psychology.   It may well prove to be a useful meta-label that will encompass all of the disparate environmentally related work by psychologists.  Like the discipline of conservation biology, conservation psychology is conceived of as psychology with a conservation agenda-- that is, psychology for a sustainable future (Saunders, 2003).

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CAN PSYCHOLOGY HELP SAVE THE WORLD?

Susan Clayton and Amara Brook (2005)-- and many others of us-- think it can and it will! Top down change alone (e.g., in the form of environmental and social policy) is not going to move the world in a sustainable direction.  The transition will require a shift in individual values and behaviors at the grassroots level.  Granted, people's behavior is constrained by legal and economic structures, but even people who have the ability to make more earth-friendly choices often fail to do so.  In this way, the environmental crisis comes down to the behaviors of individuals.  As the social science most focused on individual behavior, psychology is destined to play a valuable role in our sustainable future.

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WHAT IS "SUSTAINABILITY"?

Students are bound to have heard the term "sustainability," but they may not have a solid grasp of what the concept means-- in fact, the experts don't entirely agree.  Students will have some sense that a sustainable future is one that is less consumptive than the present.  They will likely describe the importance of alternative energy sources.  Sustainability means much more than these things, however.  An accessible model consisting of four principles for sustainability can be found on the website for the Natural Step, an organization that works with businesses to promote socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable practices. 

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CLASS ACTIVITIES

REVIEWING PSYCHOLOGY LITERATURE ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

We have embedded a plethora of research citations in this manual, but our reference list is by no means exhaustive.  Have students pick an environmental issue (e.g., recycling, energy conservation, wildlife protection) or a specific journal (e.g., Environment and Behavior) and conduct a literature search to find recent publications that apply psychology to the environment.  A simple assignment is to compile citations and abstracts; a more in-depth assignment is to write a paper in the form of a literature review that summarizes and compares a limited number of the references they find.  In-class presentations are a good way for students to hear about the breadth of current environmentally related psychology research.

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READING ISHMAEL AS A CONSERVATION PSYCHOLOGIST

Daniel Quinn's 1992 novel Ishmael: An adventure of the mind and spirit was the winner (chosen from more than 2500 entries) of Ted Turner’s "Tomorrow Fellowship," awarded for a work of fiction offering positive solutions to global problems.  Ishmael is a silverback lowland gorilla who adopts a Socratic approach to teach humans about ecology, life, and freedom. Both Sue Koger and Cay Anderson-Hanley use this novel with their psychology students.  Koger suggests the following questions as the basis for a conservation psychology class discussion about the book:

• Is the book fundamentally optimistic or pessimistic?
• Why did Quinn choose a gorilla as the “teacher”?
• What is necessary for real change to occur? “Not just stopping things [e.g., behaviors]. Not just less of things. People need something positive to work for. They need a vision of something that … They need a vision of the world and of themselves that inspires them” (pp. 243-244).
• How would Ishmael respond to such contemporary issues as genetic engineering? NAFTA/CAFTA? Biomedical research?
• Do you agree that by taking “this educational journey with [Ishmael], you’re going to find yourself alienated from the people around you -- friends, family, past associates, and so on”? (p. 37). Is being environmentally/socially conscious difficult? Do you perceive it as punishing, self-sacrifice, or giving up a lifestyle to which you feel entitled?
• What do the “Takers” do that is in violation of the Law that promotes diversity?

           [Exterminate competitors (kill for sake of killing); Destroy competitors’ food to make room

for own; Deny competitors access to food; pp. 126-128.] 

• How would you respond to the argument that increasing the food supply increases population? Does it follow that, in order to deal with overpopulation, that the food supply should be restricted? Who should make such decisions? (pp. 133, 137).
• Many cultures value male babies more than females. According to Ishmael, this strategy may be adaptive from an evolutionary point of view [as a form of population control]. Explain and debate this idea. (pp. 179-180)
• What were the three dirty tricks that the gods played on man?

- didn’t put earth at the center of the universe (Copernicus).

- didn’t create man separately; he evolved in the same way as other animals (Darwin)

- didn’t exempt man from the law that governs other species, promoting diversity of life. The world wasn’t made for one species. If we refuse to live under that law, we simply won't live! 

• What is the significance of Ishmael’s death? 
• How do you interpret the quote at the end of the book?

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REFLECTING ON MY ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees (1996) coined the term "ecological footprint" to

describe the impact of an individual human or group of humans on the earth based on their consumption of resources including water, energy, food, space, and various materials.  The measurement of ecological footprint is used to estimate the amount of resources and space that would be needed to sustainably support a given lifestyle on a global scale (i.e., how many planets we would need for every individual to live a lifestyle with a particular ecological footprint).  Environmental educators and advocates use the ecological footprint as a heuristic tool for raising awareness and inspiring lifestyle change among individuals.  Have students take the ecological footprint quiz online and write a reflection essay. They should include the size of their footprint and comments about the process (e.g., were some of the questions difficult to answer or not directly relevant?).

Questions for consideration in the essay or class discussion:

• How does their individual footprint compare with the average footprint of a U.S. citizen (30 acres) and with someone living in India (2 acres).
• What impacts might result if everyone in the world enjoyed the same lifestyle? How would that impact you economically, environmentally, socially, and politically? How would it affect your access to education, employment, and recreation?
• Why would stabilizing U.S. population have a major impact on trends in global resource consumption and environmental damage, despite the fact that the U.S. constitutes less than 5% of the global population?
• Does reducing the size of our footprint necessarily mean reducing our quality of life? Why or why not? Are there ways of enhancing quality of life while lowering impact? (Some examples might include driving a higher mileage car, generating less waste, saving money by using more efficient appliances.)

To solidify personal involvement in this issue, students should include a pledge form describing what they will do to personally reduce their footprints and how progress will be monitored.

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THINKING GLOBALLY, ACTING PERSONALLY

For this project, students individually examine one or more of their environmentally relevant behavior patterns and attempt to become more aware, document, and change the behavior. One could do a behavioral analysis as described in Winter and Koger (2004; see also Watson & Tharp, 2002).  Students could also do an analysis that examines the cognitive or emotional dimensions of the target behavior. It is important to provide clear guidelines for students to follow. Follow these links to access .pdfs of instructions for this kind of activity from Christie Manning, Sue Koger, and Laurie Hollis-Walker. 

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IMPROVING MY CORNER OF THE WORLD

A campus or community project examines an environmentally relevant practice of the college campus or surrounding community. It involves assessment of the situation, followed by educational and organizational efforts to work for improvement. This can be a collaborative project, conducted by a group of students from the class as well as students in other, related classes, the school’s environmental club, the community outreach office (if available), and local community groups.  Projects can involve a variety of environmental issues. 

• Click here for a PDF of guidelines for a project using psychology to improve a degraded site on the campus.  (inspired by an activity described on the website of Canadian non-profit educational organization "Learning for a Sustainable Future")
• Click here for a PDF of guidelines for a project using psychology to encourage resource conservation.

Students may want to consult the "Tools for Change" wesbite for case examples of successful community projects that have involved similar steps to those listed in the guidelines. 

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MULTIMEDIA RESOURCES

WEBSITE: CONSERVATION PSYCHOLOGY

Carol Saunders at Brookfield Zoo has created a rich online resource for conservation psychology.  According to the site,

Conservation psychology is the scientific study of the reciprocal relationships between humans and the rest of nature, with a particular focus on how to encourage conservation of the natural world. This applied field uses psychological principles, theories, or methods to understand and solve issues related to human aspects of conservation. Conservation Psychology is also the actual network of researchers and practitioners who work together to understand and promote a sustainable and harmonious relationship between people and the natural environment. 

Access the site at www.conservationpsychology.org. 

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WEBSITES: EDUCATING FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Two sites that have good materials for sustainablity educators are the following:

• Learning for a Sustainable Future-- "a Canadian nonprofit organization whose mandate is to work with educators from across Canada to integrate the concepts and principles of sustainable development into the curricula at all grade levels" (description from the website). This site includes resources for k-12 teachers, but many of the activities could be adapted for use in undergraduate level courses on conservation psychology. Access the site at http://www.lsf-lst.ca/en/home/.
• Facing the Future -- "develops young people’s capacity and commitment to create thriving, sustainable, and peaceful local and global communities. We do this by equipping teachers and schools with the tools and strategies to help students: Understand global issues and sustainability in a way that shows the connections between population, environment, consumption, poverty and conflict; Develop a global perspective; Learn critical thinking skills; Be inspired to take personal action (description from the website).

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WEBSITES: RESOURCES FOR GREEN LIVING

Once their consciouness has been raised about the importance of individual behavioral change, students are hungry for guidance on how to begin moving in a sustainable direction.  The websites listed below offer some good resources: 

• New American Dream at www.newdream.org
• The Green Guide at http://www.thegreenguide.com/
• Ecomall at http://ecomall.com/
• EarthEasy: Ideas for Environmentally Sustainable Living at http://www.eartheasy.com/
• GreenMatters: The Busy Person's Guide to Greener Living at http://www.greenmatters.com/gm/

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FILM: THE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT: ACCOUNTING FOR A SMALL PLANET (2005)

In this film, co-creator of the Ecological Footprint, Dr. Mathis Wackernagel, describes the tool and why we need to make an accounting of our individual impacts if we hope to secure a sustainable future.  See details on the Bullfrog Films website at http://bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/efoot.html.

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FILM: BILL MOYERS REPORTS: EARTH ON EDGE (2001)

This two hour film is an engaging and alarming introduction to the impact of human activities on the planet.  Moyers reports from Mongolia, British Columbia, Brazil, South Africa, and Kansas.  This film is a good one to use in class because a discussion guide, classroom materials, and other resources are available at the PBS website.  See a description and view a clip of the film at the Films for Humanities & Sciences website here. 

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SUGGESTED READINGS FOR STUDENTS

Clayton, S., & Brook, A. (2005). Can psychology help save the world? A model for

conservation psychology.  Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 5, 1-15.

Nickerson, R. S. (2003).  Psychology and environmental change.  Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

Associates.

     

Saunders, C. D. (2003).  The emerging field of conservation psychology.  Human Ecology Review,

10, 137-149.

Winter, D. D. & Koger, S. M. (2004).  The psychology of environmental problems. Mahwah, NJ:

Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

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REFERENCES CITED IN THIS SECTION

Clayton, S. & Brook, A. (2005). Can psychology help save the world? A model for conservation

psychology.  Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 5, 1-15.

Nickerson, R. S. (2003).  Psychology and environmental change.  Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

Associates.

Quinn, D. (1992).  Ishmael: An adventure of the mind and spirit. New York: Bantam-

Turner Books.

Saunders, C. D. (2003).  The emerging field of conservation psychology.  Human Ecology Review,

10, 137-149.

Wackernagel, M., & Rees, W. (1996). Our ecological footprint: Reducing human impact

on the earth. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society.

Watson, D., & Tharp, R. (2004). Self-directed behavior: Self modification for personal adjustment.

Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Winter, D. D., & Koger, S. M. (2004).  The psychology of environmental problems (2nd ed.). Mahwah,

NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

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