Allan W. Wicker (born 1941) studied with the founders of
ecological psychology,
Roger G. Barker
Roger Garlock Barker (1903 – 1990) was a social scientist, a founder of environmental psychology and a leading figure in the field for decades, perhaps best known for his development of the concept of behavior settings and staffing theory. He w ...
and
Herbert Wright, in the social psychology program at the
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...
, where he earned the Ph.D. in 1967. He taught at the
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which rou ...
and the
University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana before taking a position at Claremont Graduate School (now
Claremont Graduate University
The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges which includes five undergraduate (Pomona College, Claremont McKenna Co ...
) in 1971, where he was a professor of psychology until early retirement in 1999. He is currently an
emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
professor.
Best-known contributions
Wicker is recognized for significant contributions to
ecological psychology and for a widely cited paper on the attitude-behavior relationship.
Ecological Psychology
His ''Introduction to Ecological Psychology'' (1979) was praised by reviewers for providing a readable and personal account of the empirical and theoretical works of ecological psychologists. One reviewer noted these contributions of the text: connection of ecological psychology with other specialties in psychology and with related disciplines, revision of traditional positions that Wicker viewed as unnecessarily restrictive, and "development of original, constructive advances within the
cological psychologyframework".
In subsequent publications, Wicker sought to refine and elaborate the basic environmental unit of ecological psychology, the behavior setting. According to Scott, "Wicker emerged as the individual in this group of researchers
cological psychologists following Barkerwho has taken the theoretical conceptualizations the farthest. Wicker (1987) proposed four extensions of behavior setting theory, now adding considerations of the life cycles of behavior settings, the larger contextual environments of the molar level setting environments, the individuals within the settings (this point brought him into some disagreement with the classicists), and more practical applications of settings".
Social Psychology
In 1969, Wicker published a review paper on the relationship between verbal expressions of attitudes and overt behaviors that stimulated much debate and research in
social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the r ...
. The paper was designated a "citation classic" in 1980.
Honors and recognition
Wicker was elected a Fellow of the following divisions of the
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
:
Society for Personality and Social Psychology
The Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) is an academic society for personality and social psychologists focused on promoting scientific research that explores how people think, behave and interact. It is the largest organization o ...
,
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) is a professional organization that promotes the "science, practice, and teaching" of industrial and organizational (I/O) psychology. SIOP is also known as Division 14 of the America ...
, Society for Community Research and Action, and Division of Population and Environmental Psychology. He was president of the last-mentioned division in 1985–1986. He is a Charter Member Emeritus and Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. Wicker has held
Fulbright appointments in
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
(1989),
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
(1993),
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
(1997), and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
(2009). His ''Working in Ghana'' project, which documents the work lives of more than 50 Ghanaian and
expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
workers, grew out of the Ghana appointment (see External Links below).
Selected publications
Book
Wicker, A. W. (1984). ''An introduction to ecological psychology''. New York: Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1979)
Chapters and articles in Ecological Psychology
*Wicker, A. W. (1987). Behavior settings reconsidered: Temporal stages, resources, internal dynamics, context. In D. Stokols & I. Altman (Eds.), ''Handbook of environmental psychology'' (Vol. 1, pp. 613–654). New York: Wiley.
*Wicker, A. W. (1992). Making sense of environments. In W. B. Walsh, K. H. Craik, & R. H. Price (Eds.), ''Person-environment psychology: Models and perspectives'' (pp. 157–192). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
*Wicker, A. W. (2002). Ecological psychology: Historical contexts, current conception, prospective directions. In R. B. Bechtel & A. Churchman, ''Handbook of environmental psychology'' (pp. 114–126). New York: Wiley.
*Wicker, A. W. (2011) Toward a pragmatic ecological psychology. "MERA Journal, 14(1)," 11–17.
*Wicker, A. W. (2012). Perspectives on behavior settings: With illustrations from Allison's ethnography of a Japanese hostess club. ''Environment and Behavior, 44'', 474–492.
*Wicker, A. W., & August, R. A. (2000). Working lives in context: Engaging the views of participants and analysts. In W. B. Walsh, K. H. Craik, & R. H. Price. ''Person-environment psychology: New directions and perspectives'' (2nd ed., pp. 197–232). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
*Wicker, A. W., & King, J. C. (1988). Life cycles of behavior settings. In J. E. E.McGrath (Ed.), ''The social psychology of time''. (pp. 182–200). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Articles in Social Psychology
*Wicker, A. W. (1969). Attitudes versus actions: The relationship of verbal and overt behavioral responses to attitude objects. ''Journal of Social Issues, 25''(4), 41–78. Available online at http://www.thecre.com/tpsac/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Appendix1_AttitudevsAction_ByWicker1969.pdf
*Wicker, A. W. (1971). An examination of the "other variables" explanation of attitude behavior inconsistency. ''Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 19'', 18–30.
Other articles
*Wicker, A. W. (1989). Substantive theorizing. ''American Journal of Community Psychology, 17'', 531–547.
*Wicker, A. W. (1985). Getting out of our conceptual ruts: Strategies for expanding conceptual frameworks. ''American Psychologist, 40'', 1094–1103. Available online at http://www.internal.psychology.illinois.edu/~broberts/Wicker,%201985.pdf
See also
*
Ecological psychology
*
Environmental psychology
References
External links
*Social Psychology: http://wicker.socialpsychology.org
*''Working in Ghana'' project: http://web.cgu.edu/faculty/wickera/working.htm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wicker, Allan
American psychologists
Social psychologists
Environmental psychologists
University of Kansas alumni
1941 births
People from Montgomery County, Kansas
Living people