Psychology

Course Goals: The course is designed to provide students with a multi-disciplinal approach to environmental psychology and experimental aesthetics. Emphasis will be given to the social interactions of people in humanbuilt settings and their sensory involvement with the environment.

Course Format: Lecture presentation with visual aids and brief laboratory and field research demonstrations.

1. Enrollment: 200

2. Schedule: Class meets two days/week (each session 2-hours) with a 10-minute break.

3. Exams: Midterm and final (noncumulative) with a choice of either short essay or multiple choice questions

4. Grading: Exam priorities: Midterm = 43%, Final = 57% No pluses or minuses given.

5. Midterm exam schedule: In-class review dates: Wed. Oct. 27; Midterm exam, Mon., Nov. 1.

6. Final exam schedule: In-class review date: tentatively Wed. Nov. 24.

Final exam to be announced in class.

Course Outline: The course is broken into three thematic sections.

1. Evolution and Psychobiology of Environmental Perception. Emphasis will be given to perceptual processes mediating behavior in humans and other vertebrate species, emphasizing constraints on creativity. Social system development and comparative cultural factors affecting solitary and social behavior of people in both contemporary and ancient urban and rural settings will be reviewed.

2. Theoretical Aspects of Environmental Psychology. Various experimental manipulations of the environment as related to crowding, cognitive mapping, cultural symbols, and social pathology will be discussed. Specific topics include formal behavior, stress and pathology, sensory modulation, habituation and general process learning theories.

3. Planning and Decision Making. This section will attempt to integrate experimental findings in the literature, theories of environmental psychology, and planning. Examples which will be discussed include interior design, landscape design, graphic design, and architecture. Special emphasis will be given to pattern recognition and constraints on decision making. Much of this material is relevant to conservation issues.

Textbook: Reading assignments are required. A specific reader will be available at the UCD bookstore.