Research in Environmental Psychology
Research
The teaching and research activities at the chair cover the entire field of environmental psychology.
Environmental psychology is the scientific study of human experience and behaviour with special consideration of the environment surrounding the individual. By environment we mean the immediate spatial, physical and social environment, but also the environment in a more general and comprehensive sense, such as the global environment or the cultural context.
In recent years - in connection with the increasingly intense social debate on how to deal with environmental problems - research topics in environmental psychology that deal with the experience of crisis-related environmental changes and the related human behaviour (e.g. choice of transport) have become increasingly important. Environmental psychology is playing an increasingly important role in recent programmes of national and international environmental research (e.g. in socio-ecological research http://www.sozial-oekologische-forschung.org/de/947.php).
The debate about how to tackle environmental problems is not always consensual, and conflicts often arise due to different interests and values. Environmental psychology is therefore concerned with various forms of participation - including mediation - in order to achieve jointly supported solutions through the voluntary participation of as many of those affected as possible.
Further information on environmental psychology: http://www.dgps.de/fachgruppen/umwelt/