Tyler Parker's Research Paper on Environmental Psychologists, Mr. Pitts, Honors Biology 3rd period, Santiago Highschool Submitted on 11/23

Introduction:

Imagine if you knew how someone would act in different environments. Environmental psychologists can do just that plus earn plenty of money to make a living. The increase in environmental awareness is also increasing the growth rate of this brilliant occupation. The highest quality schools offer excellent courses for every aspect of psychology. The future is amazingly bright for this particular occupation. Anyone is this field will enjoy plenty of job opportunities.
    
Findings:

Environmental Psychologists help the world understand "the relationship between people and their physical environment" (Agnew 2009, 1). They use the word environment to describe "social settings, built environments, learning environments and informational environments". The psychologist will have to know how humans interact with certain variants in an environment and how to provide an environment more suitable for that which the person is trying to accomplish. "One can design, manage, protect and/or restore environments that enhance reasonable behavior" if they have studied what humans do under specific conditions (De Young 1999, 1). Through these studies they can apply their knowledge to create behavioral maps (Mathew 2010, 2). Behavioral maps are recordings of what people's activities are within the locations they are in, including the way they act or behave (Nickerson 1993, 1). Surveys, laboratory experiments, and tests are some more of the ways they can learn about the relations between humans and their environment. Environmental Psychologists can use all this information to benefit everyone plus help "emotionally or mentally disturbed people adjust to life" (Anonymous 2010a, 4). "Traditionally-designed mental hospitals" would actually cause patients to struggle more increasingly with issues until psychologists created a more suitable design (Anonymous 2010d, 2). Since they understand the way people feel in certain environmental conditions, they often work with architects, urban planners, and designers. All of these occupations use the psychologist's input to accommodate the human mind and unlock the full potential of the people using the facility (Agnew 2010, 2). Architects actually built structures to look or feel the way they preferred before Environmental Psychology started up in the 1950's (Anonymous 2010d, 2). Robert Barker was one of the first to categorize surroundings with behavior. He came up with the idea that everyone acted a certain way in an environment. People, for example, use "church behavior" at church and "school behavior" at school (Anonymous 2010d, 3). 

Environmental Psychology is not just for anyone out on the streets. Anyone looking into this area of expertise has to find a love of environment within themselves, have the ability to solve problems, and enjoy being with people. Courses that a student should take to become an environmental psychologist are environmental science, cultural geography, psychology, ecology, and human-environment relationships. A person will need to either accomplish a masters or doctorate level degree to be a success in this industry (Anonymous 2010e, 2). To own a private business in this field you will need a license which can be obtained by earning a doctorate and having 2 years of experience. To get certification by The American Board of Professional Psychology you will also need a doctorate plus 5 years of experience and professional endorsements (Anonymous 2010a, 13).
    
There are many different "concentrations" in psychology so choosing the right college really has to do with finding out what the person wants to specifically learn in psychology. Some schools are more focused on other aspects then another school (Anonymous 2010c, 1). The most popular and the best colleges to look into are The University of California in Berkeley or The Stanford University in California. "In 2010, U.S. News and World Report ranked Stanford in a tie for fourth among the best national universities". Stanford was also put as number 1 in psychology graduate programs. Berkeley is tied with Stanford in the top graduate programs and is 21st of national universities (Anonymous 2010b, 2). Stanford University on-campus costs $87,406 for tuition, living allowance, week zero expense, books, supplies, instructional materials, transportation, medical insurance, and health fee (Anonymous 2010h, 1). The University of California in Berkeley will cost you in-state $62,092 for attendance, tuition, fees, room, boarding, books, supplies, and other expenses. Out of state will cost you $107,850 for all of the necessities stated previously (Anonymous 2010g, 1).
    
Salaries differ depending on what education the person has, how long they have been apart of the occupation, and what they focus on (Anonymous 2010a, 12). The APA had a salary survey in 2007 that stated the median earnings of an environmental psychologist are in the $90,000's.  Psychologists within an administration position would annually earn $110,000's. Doctoral-level clinical psychologists with 0-30 years of experience earn $22,000's more than Doctoral-level psychologists currently working in research positions with 0-5 years of experience (Novotney 2009, 4). The psychological aspect pays increasingly more then the other sides of environmental psychology like urban planning and a designer. All psychology combined would equal a median salary of $86,000's. While an urban planner would earn approximately $59,000's a designer would only find himself earning maybe $44,000 (Anonymous 2010i, 3). 
    
Advancements in an occupation are based on many factors and what the world is mainly headed towards. There are many ways a psychologist could improve his pay and find more experience in his field. Two examples of ways a environmental psychologist could do this is by becoming a "consultant" to industries or governments and by writing about what they are currently working on for the world (Anonymous 2010a, 10). Really environmental psychologists could get a job anywhere they want because every field could use the knowledge they are able to provide. Some of these jobs include "the military, law enforcement, non-profit and educational organizations when creating their models of people interacting with places, and share their results with these organizations" of course most of these fields are in the government (Anonymous 2010i, 1). Many "ecology-oriented researchers" teach in psychology programs and "apply theories to behaviors", for example, energy conservation and recycling and material consumption. Although most of these people do not call themselves under the lines of environmental psychologist. An organization named APA is currently focusing on improving the opportunities of environmental psychologists. They have been surveying links between the ways of psychology and the environment and have found a substantial number. A psychology professor at Penn State University, Janet Swim, who is part of the task force APA chair says,"These include exploring people's attitudes toward the environment and their perception of environmental risks as well as predictors of sustainable behaviors" (Novotney 2009, 7). Employment for environmental psychologists is also supposed to increase faster than any other employment from now until 2014. People are also expecting environmental psychology to appear more in health maintenance and preferred provider organizations, in nursing homes, and in alcohol and drug abuse programs (Anonymous 2010a, 11). 
    
 Many researchers are finding new ways to relate humans to their environmental surroundings. One researcher found that the use of drugs and alcohol is influenced by what is around the person most of the time. Especially what environment their home provides (Rhee 2003, 1). Another researcher proves that genetic factors affect certain people by increasing influence of specific environmental risks (Hicks 2009, 1). Humans develop "distinct types of environmental knowledge" which are called "landmark knowledge" and "survey knowledge". Landmark knowledge is the appearance of something and survey knowledge is how big a location is (Aguirre 1997, 2). Patients that had brain damage would have problems with these parts of the human mind and would have trouble going place to place (Aguirre 1997, 3). 
    
Conclusion:

Environmental psychology has one of the most job varieties compared to any other job. You can have enough money to sustain an entire family and can constantly improve your work status. Since it is an increasing work field, most people will have careers open for them. Being an environmental psychologist really has its benefits. You are solving problems in the world, you do not have to sit in an office all day long like some jobs, and there are plenty of new aspects to explore in the field. But anyone looking into this particular job will need to be ready. They will have to motivate themselves and have skills to keep going. You will also need to be a specialist in many areas (Novotney 2009, 5). Environmental psychology might include many chances to become a successful person in this harsh world, but you have to know what your doing. You can not expect to blossom out and love your life instantly. Environmental Psychology requires much work and thought in everything you do.

I would not say that an environmental psychologist would be the job for me. But I think if I put my heart to it I could succeed in this area. I am definitely not very deep thoughted like some people, so that would be a problem. I would like having the chance to be out of the house and actually doing stuff. I would try my best to analyze human interaction but I think it would be a little boring. Most likely you would not see me in this occupation though.

1.Anonymous (2010a): Psychologists.  Definition and Nature of the Work. <a href="Psychologist'>http://careers.stateuniversity.com/pages/494/Psychologist.html">Psychologist Job Description, Career as a Psychologist, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job</a>.

2.Anonymous (2010b): Education-portal. Best Psychology Schools: How They Are Ranked. http://education-portal.com/best_psychology_schools.html.

3.Anonymous (2010c): College Crunch. Colleges. http://www.collegecrunch.org/best-of/top-10-psychology-colleges-in-the-usa/.

4.Anonymous (2010d): Scipeeps. Environmental Psychology. http://scipeeps.com/environmental-psychology/.

5.Anonymous (2010e): Degreedirectory. Environmental Psyenvironmental science/ http://degreedirectory.org/directory/category/Psychology/Psychological_Behavior_Studies/Environmental_Psychology_Studies.html.

6.Anonymous (2010f): Stanford University. 2010-11 Tuition Schedule. http://studentaffairs.stanford.edu/registrar/students/tuition-fees_10-11.

7.Anonymous (2010g): NACAC. University of California, Berkeley. http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=1090.

8.Anonymous (2010h): Stanford Graduate School of Business. Cost of Attendance. http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/finaid/cost/.

9.Anonymous (2010i): CV Tips. Basic Tasks.
http://www.cvtips.com/career-choice/environmental-psychology-career-information.html.

10.Agnew 2009:  Agcas. Environmental psychologist.
http://ww2.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_job/environmental_psychologist_job_description.jsp.

11.Aguirre 1997: Degree Directory. Environmental Knowledge Is Subserved. http://degreedirectory.org/directory/category/Psychology/Psychological_Behavior_Studies/Environmental_Psychology_Studies.html.

12.De Young 1999: Environmental Psychology Lab. Environmental Psychology.
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~rdeyoung/envtpsych.html.

13.Hicks 2009: Archives of General Psychiatry. Environmental Adversity and Increasing Genetic Risk for Externalizing Disorders. http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/66/6/640?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=environmental+psychology&andorexactfulltext.

14.Mathew 2010: Psychology4all. Abstract. http://www.psychology4all.com/environmentalpsychology.htm.

15.Nickerson 1993: Bnet. Understanding your consumers through behavioral mapping.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1145/is_n11_v28/ai_14517992/.

16.Novotney 2009: American Psychological Association. Postgrad growth area: Environmental psychology. http://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2009/09/postgrad.aspx.

17.Rhee 2003: Archives of General Psychiatry. Genetic and Environmental Influences.
http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/60/12/1256?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=environmental+psychology&andorexactfulltext.

Tyler, I love this report!  It's a great topic and you did a great job of covering all the bases.  It made me think I might want to switch professions because this one sounds way cool.  Mr Pitts

GRADING RUBRIC
SECTIONS	DESCRIPTION OF GRADING POINTS					% OF GRADE	INPUT  COLUMN	PTS/100
Title	0%	65	75	85	100
Title 5%	not present	There is a title but what is the occupation?	Title contains something like the occupational name	Title contains most of the occupation name	Title contains the occupation name	5	100	5
Intro 5%	not present	introduction is rushed and inadequate as if it was an after thought	The topic is introduced in a lack luster way & only some sections are previewed	Introduces the topic & previews most sections	Introduces topic in a catchy way & previews all findings sections	5	85	4.25
FINDINGS 40%						TITLE AND INTRO OUT OF 10		9.25
findings 1	not present	Content is well short of covering the topic	Content is not adequate to cover the topic	Content is almost adequate to cover the topic	Content is adequate to cover "What is Done?"	6.7	100	6.7
findings 2	not present	Content is well short of covering the topic	Content is not adequate to cover the topic	Content is almost adequate to cover the topic	Content is adequate to cover "How to prepare and/or certify?"	6.7	100	6.7
findings 3	not present	Content is well short of covering the topic	Content is not adequate to cover the topic	Content is almost adequate to cover the topic	Content is adequate to cover "Where to certify & the cost?"	6.7	100	6.7
findings 4	not present	Content is well short of covering the topic	Content is not adequate to cover the topic	Content is almost adequate to cover the topic	Content is adequate to cover "What is the salary expected to be?"	6.7	100	6.7
findings 5	not present	well short of covering	Content is not adequate to cover the topic	Content is almost adequate to cover the topic	Content is adequate to cover "What is the future outlook for this vocation?"	6.7	100	6.7
findings 6	not present	Content is well short of covering the topic	Content is not adequate to cover the topic	Content is almost adequate to cover the topic	Content is adequate to cover "What are the innovations / leading edges of research in this occupation?"	6.7	65	4.355
FINDINGS CONTENT ADUSTMENTS % OF GRADE	100% FROM FINDINGS	35% FROM FINDINGS	25% FROM FINDINGS	15% FROM FINDINGS	0% FROM FINDINGS		FINDINGS TOTAL/40	38
Findings content adustments 1	parenthetical references are not used	minimal information is tied to literature cited with parenthetical references	Some info in this section is tied to the lit cited with parenthetical references	Most info in this section is tied to the lit cited with correct references	ALL information in the findings section is tied to the lit cited		100	0
Findings content adustments 2	parenthetical references are not used	Many references do not have the requested information	Some references have requested information	Most references have requested information with few exceptions	ALL references have (Author's last name Year, & anchor #) linked to the web documents source		100	0
Findings content adustments 3	parenthetical references are not used	Very little of the paper is in your voice	Some of the paper is in your voice	Most of the paper is in your voice	ALL of the paper is in your voice. Minimal plagiarism is found. Quotations are used for statements that are not paraphrased.		100	0
CONCLUSIONS	0%	65	75	85	100
Conclusions 1	not present	Summarized a few sections	Summarized some sections	Summarized most sections	Summarized all sections to remind readers of paper's main points	6.7	100	6.7
Conclusions 2	not present	You are well short of conveying whether this job would be a good fit for you.	You do a mediocre job of analyzing how this job would fit you.	You quite lay it on the line about how this job wold fit you. You are less than personal.	You adequately analyze how this job would fit you and the +'s & -'s of you doing this job. You get personal	6.7	100	6.7
Conclusions 3	not present	Your closing statement leaves one wondering "was that a closing statement?"	Your closing statement is very blah	Your statement is somewhat less than gripping or thoughtful	You make a thoughtful statement to bring closure to your paper in the last sentence of the last paragraph	6.7	65	4.355
MECHANICS AND ORGANIZATION	0%	65	75	85	100
Mechanics Org 1	not present	GRAMMAR usage was a problem throughout	Some GRAMMAR errors	Very few GRAMMAR errors	No apparent GRAMMAR errors	7.5	85	6.375
Mechanics Org 2	not present	ORGANIZATION: Sentence structure was choppy and hard to read.	ORGANIZATION: Some sentence structure was a problem	ORGANIZATION: Very few problems with sentence structure and smotthness	ORGANIZATION: This read very smoothly because of proper sentence structure and flow of thoughts	7.5	100	7.5
Mechanics Org 3	not present	ORGANIZATION: Sources are choppily pieced together in chunks on source at a time	ORGANIZATION: Sources are not very smoothly inegrated	ORGANIZATION: Sources are somewhat integrated into a coherent flow	ORANIZATION: Sources are smoothly integrated into a coherent flow	7.5	100	7.5
Mechanics Org 4	not present	SPELLING and PUNCTUATION were a problem throughout	Some SPELLING & PUNCTUATION errors	Very few SPELLING & PUNCTUATION errors	No apparent SPELLING & PUNCTUATION errors	7.5	85	6.375
					MECHANICS & ORGANIZATION TOTAL			27.75
					PAPER SUBTOTAL			92.76
LITERATURE CITED	NUMBER OF AUTHORED SOURCES IN BIBLIOGRAPHY (6 REQUIRED)					6	6	0
	NUMBER OF PRIMARY SOURCES (2 REQUIRED)					2	2	0
							GRADE %	92.5
							GRADE OUT OF 200	185
							EXTRA CREDIT	25
							FINAL GRADE	210

105 %