SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND READINGS

Week 1 – Jan 5^th

 Introduction & scheduling meeting

Week 2 – Jan 12^th

What is environmental perception?

Required Readings:

Ittelson, W.H. (1973). Environment perception and contemporary perceptual theory. In W.H. Ittelson (Ed.), Environment and cognition (pp. 141-154). New York: Seminar Press.

Selections from Gibson, James J. The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc., 1987.

Optional readings:

Reed, E.S. (1988) James J. Gibson and the psychology of perception. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.

PowerPoint

Week 3 – Jan 19^th

General Perception

Required Readings:

Chapters from Coren, Ward & Enns. Sensation and perception. 5th ed. Harcourt Brace, 1998.

Chapter 10 intro, Chapter 10 & Chapter 15

Optional readings:

Chapter 11, Chapter 17 & Chapter 18

Week 4 – Jan 26^th

Theories of Scenic Beauty

Required Readings:

Daniel, T. C. (1990) Measuring the quality of the human environment: a psychophysical approach. American Psychologist, 45, 633-637.

Kaplan, S., Kaplan, R., & Wendt, J. (1973). Rated preference and complexity for natural and urban visual material. Perception and Psychophysics, 12, 350-356.

Optional readings:

Brown, T.C. & Daniel, T.C. (1987). Context effects in perceived environmental quality assessment: scene selection and landscape quality ratings. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 7, 233-250.

Daniel, T. C. & Boster, R. S. (1976). Measuring Landscape Esthetics: The Scenic Beauty Estimation Method. USDA Forest Service Research Paper RM-167. Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Exp. Stn., Fort Collins, CO. 66 p.

Kimmins, J.P. (1999) Biodiversity, beauty, and the “beast”: Are beautiful forests sustainable, are sustainable forests beautiful, and is “small” always ecologically desirable? Journal of Forestry, 75(6): 955-960.

Week 5 – Feb 2^nd

Evaluation and approaches

Required Readings:

(primary reading) Taylor, J.G., Zube, E.H., & Sell, J.L. (1987). Landscape assessment and perception research methods. In Methods in environmental and behavioral research, R. B. Bechtel, & R. W. Marans, (Eds);  Nostrand Reinhold. New York, 361-393.

(secondary reading) Boxall PC, Adamowicz WL, Swait J, Williams M and Louviere J (1996). A comparison of stated preference methods for environmental valuation. Ecol Econ 18: 243–253

PowerPoint

Week 6 – Feb 9^th

Evolutionary questions

Required Readings:

Appleton, J. 1984. Prospects and refuges revisited. Landscape J. 3:91-103.

Ulrich, R. S. (1993). Biophilia, Biophobia, and Natural Landscapes. Chapter in S. Kellert and E. O. Wilson (Eds.). The Biophilia Hypothesis, Washington, DC: Shearwater/Island Press, pp. 74-137.

Optional readings:

Appleton, J., 1975. The Experience of Landscape. Wiley, London.

Balling, J. D., & Falk, J. (1982). Development of visual preference for natural environments.  Environment and Behavior, 14(1), 5-28.

Figueredo, A.J. (1992) Preparedness and plasticity: a stochastic optimality theory. Paper presented at the 4^th annual Human Behavior and Evolution Society meeting.  Albuquerque, NM, July 23-26, 1992.

Orians, G.H. & Heerwagen, J.H. 1992. Evolved responses to landscapes. In Barkow/Cosmides/Tooby, The Adapted Mind, 555—579.

Week 7 – Feb 16^th

Emotion & Mere Exposure

Required Readings:

Zajonc, R. B. (1980). Feeling and thinking: Preferences need no inferences. American Psychologist, 35, 151-175.

Lazarus, R. S. (1984). On the primacy of cognition. American Psychologist, 39, 124-129.

Zajonc, R. B. (1984). On the primacy of affect. American Psychologist, 117-123.

Week 8 – Feb 23^rd

Reading week - No class

Week 9 – Mar 1^st

Emotion - Neurophysiology

Required Readings:

Optional Reading:

LeDoux, J. E., (2000) Emotion: Circuits in the brain. Annual Review of Psychology, 23, 155-184.

Chapter 16 from Bear, M., Connors, B., and Paradiso, M. (1996). Neuroscience: Exploring the brain. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, MD.

Week 10 – Mar 8^th

Health effects

Required Readings:

Frumkin H. (2001). Beyond toxicity: The greening of environmental health. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 20:47-53.

Parsons, R. (1991). The potential influences of environmental perception on human health.  Journal of Environmental Psychology, 11, 1-23.

Ulrich, R. S. (1984). "View Through a Window May Influence Recovery From Surgery." Science, 224: 420-421.

Optional readings:

Kaplan, S. (1995). The Restorative Benefits of Nature: Toward an Integrative Framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15, 169-182.

Ulrich, R. S., Simons, R. F., Losito, B. D., Fiorito, E., Miles, M. A., and Zelson, M. (1991). Stress Recovery During Exposure to Natural and Urban Environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 11: 201-230.

Week 11 – Mar 15^th

Environmental perception and time

Required Readings:

Ariely, D., & Carmon, Z. 2002. Summary assessment of experiences: The whole is different from the sum of its parts. In G. Loewenstein, D. Read, & R. Baumeister (Eds.), Time and decision: Economic and psychological perspectives on intertemporal choice (pp. 323–349). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Kahneman, D. 2000. Evaluation by moments: Past and future. In: D. Kahneman and A. Tversky (Eds.), Choices, Values and Frames. Cambrige University Press, New York, pp. 693-708.

Optional readings:

Ariely, D. 1998. Combining experiences over time: the effects of duration, intensity changes and on-line measurements on retrospective pain evaluations. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 11: 19-45.

Kahneman, D., Fredrickson, B., Schreiber, C., & Redelmeier, D. 1993. When more pain is preferred to less: adding a better end. Psychol. Sci., 4: 401-405.

Chapter 13,  Coren, Ward & Enns. Sensation and perception. 5th ed. Harcourt Brace, 1998.

Decision making

Required Readings:

Gregory, R., McDaniels, T. and Fields, D. (2001), Decision Aiding, Not Dispute Resolution: Creating Insights through Structured Environmental Decisions. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 20: 415–432.

Week 13 –  Mar 29^th 

Wrap up