Multiple Scientific Paradigms in Environmental Psychology

Abstract

The developmental‐historical pattern of environmental psychology is analyzed. It is seen to reflect primarily the discovery of engaging puzzles within the man‐environment context by several mature research paradigms currently viable within scientific psychology. This invasion of the paradigms is illustrated by brief accounts of: 1) ecological psychology; 2) environmental perception; 3) environmental assessment; 4) personality and the environment; 5) environmental cognition, and 6) analysis of functional adaptations. The implications of this perspective are noted for the new field's pure and applied research potential; for communication between researchers and environmental decisionmakers; for the prospects of a common conceptual framework, and for advanced research training in the field.