ABSTRACT
Ecological psychology in the tradition of James Gibson (1966, 1979; see also Reed and Jones 1982) is a realist theory of perception. The approach is directed at understanding how animals (including humans) get around in their environments. How do creatures in different habitats, with widely varying locomotory styles (walking, swimming, flying, slithering) and differential reliance on seeing, hearing, smelling, and touching as well as thermal and electrical sensitivity, perceive essentially the same things: obstacles, openings, shelter, mates, edible things, and so on (see Figure 8.1)? This theoretical framework was developed to address everyday achievements of perceiving and acting; it has not been applied explicitly to problems that constitute the current ecological crisis. In this paper, a few core assumptions of the ecological approach will be identified. The last section of the paper will highlight those concepts that may prove useful for those who might elaborate this approach with respect to the effect of individuals and societies on the environment.
