Applied Psychology Quiz #5

Be able to distinguish between crowding and density

• density is objective: refers to the number of people in a prescribed space

• crowding is subjective: more of a psychological concept (feeling)

Be able to recognize and/or name of three areas of research that are related to better understand the effects of population growth/population

• demography: population characteristics

• sociology: social and cultural factors that influence population growth and distribution

• environmental science: investigates the environmental consequences of population growth

Be able to distinguish between primary, secondary, and public territories

• primary: areas (such as bedroom), that one owns or is highly personalized and considered off limits to those not invited to enter

• secondary: area (such as the desk you usually sit at) that you don’t really own but nevertheless consider to be “yours”

• public: area that is open to anyone who is not specifically excluded

In terms of personal space, be able to distinguish between the different types of space (intimate, personal, social, public)

• intimate 0-1.5 ft: closer personal contacts (dancing, making love, sorts team)

• personal 1.5-4 ft: contact with close friends; conversations closer with people we know well

• social 4-12 ft: contacts with strangers; interpersonal and businesslike

• public > 12ft: formal contacts between the individual and the public (actors, political debaters)

What is the most serious health-related environmental concern?

Pollution

What are some barriers to solving environmental problems?

• global problems

• rate of environmental deterioration has increased rapidly in the past few decades

• fixing these problems can be costly, it may take years of misuse before the problem becomes apparent to everyone, there are those who think these problems are insurmountable

Generally speaking, why is territoriality (and having established territories) important for people?

• it makes life more predictable, orderly, and stable

• it provides a feeling of distinctiveness, privacy, and a sense of personal identity

Who is the group that issues the following warning to humanity in 1993, “A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be irretrievably mutilated”?

The Union of Concerned Scientists

Be able to name the three main sources of threats to ecological sustainability

• human population growth

• overconsumption of natural resources

• under conservation of natural resources

Know the factors affecting the success of environmental conservation programs

• visibility of contribution

  • environmentally protective actions (often hard to see the immediate effects of individual action)

  • consequences often ignored until emergency

• programs should utilize positive, rather than negative, consequences of actions

• changing attitudes and behavior

• effective way to change irresponsible behaviors is to provide feedback about the actions

• feedback helps people attend to their energy use

• providing feedback about others improves conservation

Research reviews indicate that, often times, effective approaches to ecological sustainability are not used enough for solving environmental problems and developing effective environmental policies, why?

• institutional norms

• the influence of powerful interests

• a lack of awareness about the value of nature-based solutions

• political risks and the perceived costs of implementing changes

What are some psychological and physical consequences associated with people becoming increasingly “indoor” people?

• insomnia and chronic fatigue

• depression

• bone disorders

• fertility problems, PMS, irregular cycles

• obesity and other food born related illnesses

• increase cancer risk

• stress

What are some proxies (dependent variables) that research has used to support the idea that people are spending decreasing amounts of time outdoors

• 80% of children under age of 2 and more than 60% of children 2-5 do not have access to daily outdoor play

• the average American child watches TV or plays computer games 6 hours per day

• state parks and the National Park Service report a 10% to 20% drop is visitation

• fishing and hunting license sales in the past 20 years have dropped dramatically

Be able to distinguish between descriptive and injunctive social norms and provide an example for each

• descriptive: beliefs about what other people do

  • littering in the park: if you observe that most people in a particular park leave their trash behind

• injunctive: beliefs about what other people think ought to be done

  • littering is wrong: most people believe that littering is not a good behavior, and they would disapprove of someone who does it

Be able to name and describe one preventable environmental disaster that has occurred in your lifetime. What impact did that disaster have on various ecosystems? Were humans impacted by the disaster? Physically? Psychologically? Assuming the disaster was preventable, how might psychology/psychological research help to lessen or prevent such disaster from occurring in the future?

• preventable environmental disaster: deepwater horizon oil spill and explosion

• it directly impacted marine mammals, sea turtles, birds, fish, and other marine life, causing death, injuries, and habitat damage

• coastal communities dependent on the natural resources of the Gulf of Mexico, such as fishing and tourism, experienced economic hardship

• psychological research could have helped potentially prevented by influencing decision-making, risk perception, and safety culture. by understanding the biases and cognitive limitations that can lead to errors in judgement, particularly under pressure, psychologists insights could have helped prevent the series of failure that culminated in the disaster

Be able to distinguish between precautionary and polluter-pays principles

• precautionary: advocated for preventative measures when there’s a threat of serious or irreversible environmental damage, even if a full scientific understanding is not yet available

• polluter-pays: dictates that those who cause pollution should bear the financial burden of its prevention control, as well as the costs of repairing the environmental damage they cause

According to the Theory of Planned Behavior, behavioral “intent” is determined by what three components?

• attitudes

• normative beliefs

• perceived behavior control

Based of the “intro to ecological sustainability video” and the PowerPoint slide, be able to name at least 4 global environmental issues

• global climate change

• deforestation

• species extinction

• depletion of energy resources

According to the video on energy consumption (home energy bills), what technique resulted in the most energy consumption?

• social pressure

  • having people compare themselves to their neighbors

  • “you are using 2x more energy than your neighbor”

According to the video on “air pollution and health” how does air pollution impact our health (physical and psychological)?

• impacting almost all of our major organs

  • lungs: breathing in air pollutants

  • brain: air pollutants enter our bloodstream and central nervous system

    • brain inflammation

    • dementia

    • slower neurological development

    • lower cognitive function and test scores