Unifying Psychology and Experiential Education: Toward an Integrated Understanding of Why It Works

This article examines the significance of psychology to experiential education (EE) and critiques EE models that have developed in isolation from larger psychological theories and developments. Following a review of literature and current issues, select areas of psychology are explored with reference to experiential learning processes. The state of knowledge and emerging paradigms in positive psychology, self-determination theory, flow theory, and neuropsychology are explored in an effort to better understand the mechanisms underpinning experiential learning and program development. Implications for practitioners and future research directions are discussed in relation to these emerging bodies of knowledge.