Introduction to Instructor Resources
We have organized instructor resources by traditional subdisciplines of psychology, but some topics and activities are certainly relevant to more than one subdiscipline. Each subdiscipline page includes the following components: lecture/discussion topics; class activities; multimedia resources; suggested readings for students; and references cited on the page. A comprehensive reference list for the whole site can be accessed by clicking the “References” link to the left.
We recommend that instructors not only peruse the resources listed on the subdiscipline pages, but also look at the compendium of syllabi for additional ideas (click on the “Syllabi” button to the left). Finally, please note that there are also some general Environmental/Sustainability Science Resources accessible through the left panel.
Click on a subdiscipline at the left and you will be taken to the collection of relevant resources. If you prefer, follow the links in the the lists below of all lecture/discussion topics and all class activities.
LIST OF ALL LECTURE/DISCUSSION TOPICS
Environmental Science
- Considering Bias
- The Hidden Costs of Fossil Fuels
- Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking)
- Earthquakes and Environmental Risks
- Permaculture
- Life Cycle Assessments (LCA)
- Staggering Statistics
- Meaningful Metrics
Conservation Psychology
- What is Conservation Psychology?
- There are No “Environmental” Problems
- Can Psychology Help Save the World?
- How Important is it?
- What is “Sustainability”?
- Mindfulness and Sustainability
- Towards A New Worldview: Three Dimensions of the Great Turning
- The Power of the Individual
- The Behavioral Wedge
History of Psychology
- William James on Nonhuman Nature
- B.F. Skinner on Environmental Degradation
- The Evolutionary Perspective and Environmental Problems
- The Intellectual Roots of Ecopsychology
- Historical Changes in Worldviews
- Exploring Cultural Dualisms
- Historical Attitudes Toward Animal Research
- Establishment of American Psychological Association Division 34 (Society for Environmental, Population, and Conservation Psychology)
- The APA Addresses Climate Change
- Future Directions: Conservation Psychology
Research Methods
- Operational Definitions
- Scale Construction: Examples Related to The Environment
- Find the Flaw: Does End Time Belief Cause Climate Change Apathy?
Biopsychology
- Evolutionary Psychology and Biophilia
- Appetite, Sleep, Activity, and the Resource-intensive Lifestyle
- The Impact of Environmental Stressors on Animal Behavior
- Animal Research and Animal Rights Activism
- Neurotoxicity and Behavior
Health
Development
- Children’s Relationship with Animals
- Children’s Folkbiology and Naive Biology
- Children’s Moral Reasoning about the Natural World
- Environmental Generational Amnesia
- Children’s Preference for Natural Play Settings
- Developmental Implications of Children’s Experiences in Nature: Nature Deficit Disorder
- Developmental Implications of Exposure to Environmental Toxicants
- Developing in a Material World
- Nature and the Ritual Transition through Adolescence
- Impact of Life Experiences on Environmental Action
Learning
- B. F. Skinner on Promoting Green Behaviors
- Behaviorally Based Strategies for Sustainability
- Applied Behavioral Science/Behavioral Engineering
- Are We Predisposed to Learn (Un)Sustainable Behaviors?
- Unsustainable Addictions
- Beyond Freedom and Dignity
- From Tragedy to Triumph of the Commons
Cognition
- Evolutionary Roots of Unsustainable Behavior
- Availability Heuristic and Evolutionary Mechanisms
- Cognitive Biases/Heuristics and Environmental Issues
- Risk Assessment and Environmental Hazards
- Quantitative Illiteracy
- Fear, Just Worlds, and Terror Management Theory
- Language and Framing
- If Only Climate Change was Trying to Kill Us…
- Addressing Temporal Discounting
- Cross-Cultural Conceptualizations of Nature
- Cognitive Maps of Our Environments
- Implicit Associations and Connectedness to Nature
- Cognitive Benefits of Contact with Nature
- Belief in the Animal Mind: Thinking about Animals Thinking
Motivation And Emotion
- The Role of Emotion
- On Fear and Numbing
- Learned Helplessness vs. Self Efficacy
- Go Greek…
- The Stockdale Paradox
- Will You Choose Cynicism or Hope?
- Love It and/or Hate It: Affective Evaluations of Wilderness
- Affect and Conservation: Do We Protect What We Like
- Affect Heuristic
- Relative Deprivation in The Material World
- What Motivates Voluntary Simplicity?
- What Motivates Vegetarianism?
- Emotion in Nonhuman Animals
Individual Differences
- Communicating re. Climate Change: Focus on Values
- Personal Norms
- Is Nature-Connectedness a Trait?
- Howard Gardner’s “Naturalist Intelligence”
- Gender Differences in Environmental Attitudes & Behaviors
- The ” Animal Lover” Personality?
- The Materialistic Values Orientation
- Materialism and Well-Being
- Optimism for Me, Pessimism for We
- Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Green Justice
Social Psychology
- The Gap Between Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors
- Social Norms and Sustainable Behaviors
- Violating Social Norms for Sustainability: Environmental Activism
- Environmental Issues as Social Dilemmas
- Tragedy/Triumph of the Commons
- Social Construction of Environmental Perceptions
- Environmental Justice
- Social Identity and Sustainability
- Social Privilege and Sustainability
- Community Based Social Marketing
- Evolution and Status Symbols
Mental Health
- Ecopsychological Perspectives on Mental Health
- Mental Health Hazards of Modern Living
- Transformational Resilience
- Mental Health Benefits of Natural Settings
- Restorative Environments
- Forest Bathing (Shinrin-yoku)
- Ecotherapies and Wilderness Therapy
- Mental Health Benefits of Companion Animals
- Positive Psychology and Sustainability
- Gratitude
- Strength of Character
Environmental Psychology
- Environmental Psychology is Not All Green
- Landscape Preferences and Restorative Environments
- Environmental Stress and Urban Greenspace
- “Biophilic” and “Green” Architecture
- Not-So-Natural Disasters and Technological Catastrophes
- Permaculture
Ecopsychology
LIST OF ALL CLASS ACTIVITIES
Environmental Science
- Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) in Action
- Investigating Our Own “Life Cycle”
- Reporting on Ecological Innovation
- Seeing Sustainability in Your World
- Biodiversity Exercise
- Environmental Worldview Scale
- Visioning Exercise
- The Power of One: Book Report/Research Project
- PINEMAP: Project Learning Tree – Climate impacts on forest ecosystems
Conservation Psychology
- Reviewing Psychology Literature on Environmentally Relevant Behavior
- Environmental Worldview Scale
- Reflecting on My Ecological Footprint
- Voluntary Simplicity
- Thinking Globally, Acting Personally
- Improving My Corner of the World
- Living Your Strengths
- Imaging Our Power
- Should We “Forget Shorter Showers”?
- Seeing Sustainability in your World
- Privilege Walk
- The Power of One: Book Report/Research Project
- Reading Ishmael as a Conservation Psychologist
History of Psychology
Research Methods
- Introduction to Empirical Articles
- Research Questions
- Original Research Project on Humans and the Environment
- Demonstrating Correlation
- Thinking Critically (with Penn & Teller) about “Environmental Hysteria”
- Evaluating the Ecological Footprint as a Measurement Tool
Biopsychology
- Measuring Arousal in Response to Nature
- Reviewing Research on Environmental Toxicants
- Bottled Water and Endocrine Disruption
- Toxicants Scorecard
- Toxicants Assignment: The Personal
- Toxicants Assignment: The Community
Health
- Standard American Diet
- Sleep Deprivation Assessment
- Pesticides-Debate
- Superfund Sites
- Hidden Costs of Fossil Fuels (in Environmental Science Resources)
- Toxicant Exposures (in Biopsychology Resources)
Development
- Interviewing Children about the Environment
- Nature Autobiography/Significant Life Experience Essay
- Interviewing an Elder about Nature Connections
- Natural Development
- Fun With Furby
- The Lorax and The Wumps
Learning
- Learning to Recycle
- Visiting ” Walden Two” Communities
- Reflections on Learning Nature Aversion
- Think Globally, Act Locally: Self-Change Project
- Think Globally, Act Locally: Be a Behavioral Engineer
Cognition
- Illustrating Heuristics/Biases with Environmental Content
- Exploring How We Conceptualize ” Nature”
- Visual Images and Our Cognitions about Nature
- Priming Thoughts About Global Warming
- Assessing Environmental Risks
- Environmental Decisions: Making Hidden Costs Salient
- The Cookie Exercise: A Tasty Glimpse into Statistics
- Sketch Maps and Environmental Attitudes
- Making it Real – Getting Up Close & Personal with Climate Change
- Communicating About Climate Change
Motivation And Emotion
- Affect, Emotion, and Coping
- Assessing Affect toward Nonhuman Nature
- Motivational Interviewing
- Emotional Impact Statement
- Honoring our Pain for the World
- Resilience
- What’s Your Calling?
- Perceived Behavioral Control
- Outrageous Hope
Individual Differences
- Individual Differences and Environmental Attitudes & Behaviors
- Materialistic Media
- Considering Values
- Make a Commercial to Promote Sustainable Behavior (Group Assignment)
- Motive For Sensory Pleasure
- Faith-Based Responses to Climate Change
- Moral Motives
- Possibilism
Social Psychology
- Exploring the Environmental Attitude-Behavior Link
- Social Dilemma Exercises: The Tragedy of the Commons
- Content Analysis of (Anti)Environmental Messages
- Community-Based Social Marketing in Action
- Evaluating Behaivoral Engineering Campaigns
Mental Health
- Measuring the Association Between Happiness and Materialism
- Reflections on the Wilderness Effect
- Emotional Impact Statement
- Personal Tech-Check
- Be Positive
- Cultivating Hope