Bonnes and Nenci’s chapter presents ecological psychology as a lineage linking naturally occurring behaviour, physical settings and the environmental psychology of sustainable development. Its iconic idea is that human action must be studied in the everyday contexts where organism, setting, social practice and spatial-physical environment are co-constituted. The theoretical contribution is genealogical: the chapter distinguishes Barker’s first ecological psychology, focused on behaviour settings and naturally occurring conduct, from later environmental psychology and its expanded concern with place, ecological awareness and sustainable development. Methodologically, it operates as conceptual synthesis, tracing the movement from field observation to environmental concern and from local settings to full ecological responsibility. Its conceptual operation is setting analysis: behaviour becomes inseparable from the structured environment that affords, constrains and organises it. The bridge to the wider field connects psychology, environmental studies, sustainability research, urban design and human ecology, grounding spatial analysis in person-environment transactions rather than abstract subjectivity.
