Herbert W. Schroeder

Title: Research Social Scientist
Unit: People and Their Environments: Social Science Supporting Natural Resource Management and Policy
Previous Unit: Natural Environments for Urban Populations
Address: Northern Research Station
1033 University Place, Suite 360
Evanston, IL 60201-3172
Phone: 847-866-9311; ext. 15
E-mail: Contact Herbert W. Schroeder

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Education

• University of Arizona, Ph.D. Environmental Psychology, 1980
• University of Arizona, M.A. Psychology, 1977
• University of Arizona, B.S. Mathematics, 1973

Civic & Professional Affiliations

• Environmental Design Research Association
• International Association for Society and Natural Resources
• Society for Human Ecology
• The Focusing Institute
• Northwestern University (adjunct)

Current Research

Most of my research has looked in one way or another at how people experience outdoor environments, with a particular focus on the role of trees and other natural features in people's experience. Some of my research has used quantitative methods to measure people's perceptions of environments and to model the effect of specific features (e.g., numbers and sizes of trees) on environmental preferences. I have also used qualitative, open-ended surveys to identify the experiences, meanings, and values that people associate with outdoor places that are special to them. In addition, I have written summaries and syntheses of approaches for understanding the intangible, hard-to-define values and experiences that people associate with nature (e.g., spiritual values). Currently, I am synthesizing concepts and methods from phenomenological and experiential psychology into a framework for understanding and working with experiential values of natural environments.

Why is This Important

For many people, direct and indirect contact with nature is an essential aspect of their quality of life. Failure to understand how people experience and value nature can lead to misunderstanding between resource managers and members of the public. My research helps managers to understand and take into account the less tangible values that people derive from contact with nature.

Future Research

In the future I plan to continue my work on experiences and values associated with natural environments. The value of directly experiencing natural environments is very important for many people, even though it might be difficult for them to describe or explain in words. I will be using ideas and methods from experiential psychology, phenomenological psychology, and cognitive linguistics to explore questions such as:

• How do natural environments contribute to people's day-to-day experiences of beauty, value, and meaning?
• What role do psychological processes like perception, conceptual thought, feeling, and imagination play in people's enjoyment and appreciation of natural environments?
• How can experiential values of natural environments best be characterized and communicated in the context of natural resource management?

Featured Publications

Additional Online Publications