1. Handbook
  2. Subjects
  3. Human Behaviour and Environment

Human Behaviour and Environment (ENST20001)

Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

You’re viewing the 2025 Handbook:
Or view archived Handbooks

Overview

Availability
Semester 1
FeesLook up fees

This subject explores psychological and social dimensions of environmental sustainability and landscape and ecosystem management. The subject examines the ways humans experience, interact and behave in the physical environment. This is done by exploring psycho-social dimensions of human-environment interactions examining frameworks for understanding environmental concern and environmentally significant behaviour. Topics include: psychological bases for human-environment relationships (considering biological and cognitive needs, social identity and other forms of motivation); frameworks for understanding attitudes to environmental issues and for understanding environmentally significant behaviour; strategies for enhancing, awareness, concern and action for sustainability.

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of this subject, students should be able to:

  • Describe factors that influence the ways people value and interact with environments.
  • Analyse factors that contribute to public support and opposition to environmental practice and policy.
  • Analyse factors that encourage or discourage environmentally sustainable behaviour.
  • Discuss and suggest strategies for encouraging environmental awareness, concern and behaviour.

Generic skills

In addition to learning specific skills that will assist students in their future careers in science, they will have the opportunity to develop generic skills that will assist them in any future career path. These include;

  • Moderate capacity to interpret and apply information from a range of sources to better understand human behaviour.
  • High level written communication.
  • Moderate level ability to synthesise data with other information.
  • Basic skills in social research, and particularly qualitative data collection and analysis.
  • Moderate level ability to apply theory to practice

Last updated: 5 December 2024