Gaining interdisciplinary perspectives on environmental psychology in Costa Rica.

Abstract

The genesis of this course originated with a 2007 visit by the first author and her family to a colleague and his family who were doing conservation research on leatherback turtles in Costa Rica. The trip was purely for pleasure; we relished a tranquil vacation on an uncrowded beach in the middle of winter and felt it would be an added bonus if we saw one of the rare leatherbacks as part of the trip. However, walks through the small village revealed a Century 21 Real Estate sign showing the proposed development of more than 200 lots in the community. This image was juxtaposed with charts showing the dramatic decline of turtles returning to nest at Playa Grande. (Marine turtles return to the beaches where they hatched to lay their eggs.) More than 600 leatherbacks nested at Playa Grande during the 1988-1989 season. By 2007, the number had dwindled to fewer than 200. Recognizing that the The authors express their gratitude to their colleague and coteacher Dr. S. Andrew McCollum, who participated in the course described here.

Short-Term Study Abroad in Psychology: Effects of a Cultural Scavenger Hunt on the Development of Intercultural Competence

“…The value of developing intercultural competencies is not limited only to those psychology students pursuing careers in the mental health field. Prior research has discussed the value of experiential learning in developing cultural competencies for students interested in environmental psychology (Ganzel & Siebert, 2016), social inequality (Shupe, 2013), human development (Gross, 2016), industrial-organizational psychology and cross-cultural psychology (Earnest et al, 2016), and human sexuality (Pedersen, 2009). Additionally, for careers in psychological research, it is vital that students are trained to understand how to respond correctly to the variations in cognition and behavior across cultural groups (Shupe, 2013).…”