The following is a list of Environmental Psychology student research topics:

Chung Chang – “Evaluating Hackworth and Smith's "Third Wave Gentrification Model" by Comparing Socio-economic and Property Value Data in Three Pairs of New York City Neighborhoods Findings”: The three third wave gentrification neighborhoods did experience more socio-economic upgrading than the paired comparisons and it confirmed the Third Wave Gentrification Model's argument. Furthermore, the property value assessment, based on comparing the annual assessed value from the City's Department of Finance from 1990 to 2000, did not produce similar clear supporting findings. Although this could be due to the selected geographic scale (city blocks) is too large to capture the changes (in single tax lots.)

Jason Douglas – “It’s All Happening at the Zoo: Children’s Environmental Learning After School”: My paper examines the role of zoos in shaping young people's relationship and sense of responsibility to animals and the environment. This was investigated with a group of children in a Bronx after-school program through a series of zoo visits and complementary activities. Taking advantage of the flexibility, location, and educational playfulness of an after-school program sponsored by The Children’s Aid Society, I worked intensively with a small number of 10-12 year old children to discover how they think and feel about animals; to engage them critically in an online space for expressing their feelings and working through their emerging ideas; and to better understand the role of zoos in influencing children’s understanding of animals, extending their knowledge of conservation issues, and fostering an ethic of care.

Jen Gieseking – “Gender and Sexual Identity Development on an Elite College Campus.”:This research project explores how the physical and social campus of an elite college affects and reflects the identity development of its students and alumnae. Wanting to specifically focus on gender and sexual identity development, I magnified my interests by interviewing participants who attended or had attended an elite and highly selective women's college, Mount Holyoke College. I conducted interviews and mental mapping exercises with 32 alumnae and students who graduated between the years 1937 and 2006. I am also performing a long term feminist architectural criticism of the campus, particularly those buildings designed and built in the mid-20th century, and considering my findings in regards to the qualitative research.

Elizabeth Housely – “UnderGrounded Theory: Social and Sensory Dimensions of Cave Exploration”: In this study, a caver interviewed, observed, and interacted with 20 new and experienced cavers over a one year period in the northeastern United States concerning how they think and feel about exploring caves and the practice of caving by others. Preliminary results indicate trust, camaraderie, and shared experience among cavers as necessary elements to become part of a caving social network. These elements necessary to become embedded in a caving social network are particularly relevant to how we understand the inclusion and exclusion of individuals in general social groups and how social networks serve to accomplish group tasks and goals.

Tsai-Shiou Hsieh – "Thinking Recycling in Context: An Ecological psychological study in an Academic Building": A study based on ecological psychology theories at the Graduate Center. Using observations, surveys and interviews to talk about "recycling affordances" at the Graduate Center building.

Kimberly Libman – "The Garden is a Tool": A qualitative study conducted at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) Children’s Garden provides supporting evidence for the claim that growing vegetables can improve the nutrition behavior of young gardeners. It found that positive social interaction during gardening, harvesting, sharing, preparing, and eating produce positively influences young people’s food consciousness and eating habits.

Jung Ja (Sarah) Park – “On-Site Child Care Centers: Assessing Needs and Use among Nurses in New York City”: The study explores in what ways on-site child care meet or fail to meet nurses' special needs for child care arrangement.

Nicole J. Schaefer-McDaniel – Children’s geographic movements and social capital: Does space matter?”: I explored a conceptual framework of social capital with children in after-school programs in the Bronx. I found that social capital differed by the children's use of space in their neighborhoods so that children who were restricted in their everyday movements reported the bonding form while children who actively explored their neighborhoods reported the bridging form of social capital.

William Mangold – “The Role of the Institution in Architectural Production: A Case Study of Van Alen Institute”