Environmental Psychology
Environmental Psychology is the study of the relationship between humans and their physical environment. The environment-behavior studies explore our interaction with the environment, both natural and built (the later being where human beings pass most of their lives). The research within the field called “Environmental Psychology” aims at understanding the interactions between the experiences and actions of individuals, on the one hand, and different aspects of the socio-physical environment, on the other. Some of the areas of interest in Environmental Psychology are: environmental attitudes, environmental behavior, perception of space etc. It is worth mentioning though that the interest in exploiting the environment and human behavior does not belong exclusively to the discipline of psychology. There are other disciplines that have looked at this relationship, particularly architecture, urban studies or sociology, to cite only a few. All of them try to work in collaboration from inter- and trans- disciplinarily points of view.
Although "environmental psychology" is arguably the best-known and more comprehensive description of the field, it is also known as environmental social sciences, architectural psychology, socio-architecture, ecological psychology , ecopsychology, behavioral geography, environment-behavior studies, person-environment studies, environmental sociology ,social ecology , and environmental design research. Environmental psychology research draws on work in a number of disciplines including anthropology, architecture, city planning, geography, history, political science, psychology, sociology, and urban design. The formal descriptions below, for serious students, give you the academic description.
The field has seen significant research findings and a fair surge of interest in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but has seen challenges of nomenclature, obtaining objective and repeatable results, scope, and the fact that some research rests on underlying assumptions about human perception, which is not fully understood.
The first significant findings in environmental psychology can be traced back to researcher Roger Barker, who founded his research station in the tiny Kansas town of Oskaloosa (renamed "Midwest" for publication) in 1947, and ran it for several decades.
Environmental psychology as a specialized discipline within psychology has lost much of its visibility as a unique area within psychology over the past decade. Some of this loss is bad; whereas much of it is surprisingly good
Environmental psychologists have theorized that density and crowding can have an adverse effect on mood and may cause stress-related illness. Accordingly, environmental and architectural designs could be adapted to minimize the effects of crowding in situations when crowding cannot be avoided. Factors that reduce feelings of crowding within buildings include:
• Windows, particularly ones that can be opened and ones that provide a view as well as light
• High ceilings
• Doors to divide spaces (Baum and Davies) and provide access control
• Room shape: square rooms feel less crowded than rectangular ones (Dresor)
• Using partitions to create smaller, personalized spaces within an open plan office or larger work space.
• Providing increases in cognitive control over aspects of the internal environment, such as ventilation, light, privacy, etc.
• Conducting a cognitive appraisal of an environment and feelings of crowding in different settings. For example, one might be comfortable with crowding at a concert but not in school corridors.
Noise increases environmental stress. Although it has been found that control and predictability are the greatest factors in stressful effects of noise; context, pitch, source and habituation are also important variables
Personal space and territory
Having an area of personal territory in a public space e.g. at the office is a key feature of many architectural designs. Having such a 'defensible space' (term coined by Calhoun during his experiment on rats) can reduce the negative effects of crowding in urban environments. Creation of personal space is achieved by placing barriers and personalizing the space, for example using pictures of one's family. This increases cognitive control as one sees oneself as having control over the entrants to the personal space and therefore able to control the level of density and crowding in the space.
Influence of Environment on Behavior
It has been hypothesized that environment influences behavior at several levels. Immediate behavior is a function of the settings in which it occurs. For example, the arrangement of furniture in a room influences the way in which people in the room interact. The characteristic personality make-up of persons in a country is shaped by the nature and type of environment to which they are subjected for long periods of time. Racial differences in personality can to a large extent be traced to the influence of different environments to which people of different races have been subjected for generations (Moos 1976).
For example, it is supposed that climate influences temperament. The cold climate presumably makes people `Rajasik'. The possibility of freezing induces insecurity and in a cold place one has to keep working to warm up the body. People in a cold region have to plan ahead. hoard food and firewood and make warm clothes and footwear for winter. The hostile and scarce environment makes people aggressive and aggressiveness necessitates artificial moral control. People in such environments develop linear intelligence and they become practical, their approach to the environment being characterized by one of aggression, competition, exploitation and manipulation. It is said that science and technology are the result of this kind of approach to the environment.
In contrast, people in a very warm climate are likely to be `Thamasik'. This kind of temperament is characterized by laziness and inertia. In a very hot place, it is unpleasant to keep working, because of perspiration and fatigue. In the tropics, the seasons do not change much and resource extraction is easy throughout the year. This kind of climate makes for an attitude of surrender and the approach to the environment is marked by fear and superstition.
The moderate climate is most conducive for the `Sathwik' temperament. This is characterized by an awareness of oneself and the relationship of the environment to one's adjustment. Consequently the Sathwik approach involves living in harmony with the environment. The insight into the role of the environment in our well being leads to a felt need to conserve the natural environment. The Sathwik temperament is holistic, intuitive and well balanced.
Every animal is at home in its natural environment and in unnatural settings, its behavior becomes deranged. It has been shown that animals have behavior needs related to their natural habitats. For example, a polar bear which catches fish has the need to perform the movements involved in catching fish. In captivity, if the bear is deprived of the opportunity to satisfy this need, it will exhibit symptoms of behavior starvation, even though it is given enough food. Many caged animals show symptoms of abnormal behavior like compulsions. Increase in population density beyond the optimum point is also part of alteration of the environment and this leads to population stress causing aggression and breakdown of behavior.
Many studies demonstrate the deleterious influence of urbanization on human behavior (Baum et al. 1978). Instinctual behavior patterns of human beings also seem to break down under artificial and overpopulated urban conditions. It has been shown that the incidence of mental illness increases with urbanization. The highest incidence of schizophrenia is at the center of cities. Only about one fifth of the population of big cities seems to be relatively free from debilitating symptoms of pathology. Crime rates in big cities are increasing at an alarmingly high rate and many of the major cities of the world have come to be known as crime cities. The increasing violence of mothers towards children reflected in high rates of baby battering and the rising rates of divorce and illegitimacy point to the breakdown of instinctive behavior patterns in human beings.
Environmental Psychologists also study effects of different types of neighborhood like housing scheme area, flats, red light area, slums, etc. on emerging behavior patterns. Effects of immediate social environment like size of group on immediate behavior (Ittelson et al. 1974) are also studied. Effects of various characteristics of institutions on the behavior of inmates is another topic of study. Research on the effects of monotonous environments and isolation also can be included in this section. Ergonomics, the study of aspects of the working environment like heating, lighting, etc., in relation to productivity also forms part of Environmental Psychology.
Let’s consider the everyday things that you can do to ensure the former alternative is what we get.
1. Always think carefully before buying.
2. Buy some strong bags made of durable material that can be used over and over again.
3. Discourage a surfeit of flyers to your home or mailbox
4. Avoid using toxic chemicals and discourage the use by others
5. Eat organically grown fruit and vegetables
6. Think carefully about the things you can recycle or you can replace with re-useable items
Look more to Nature for the prevention and cure of some of those common illness .There are lots of natural remedies on the market and your pharmacist will carry them and be happy to advise you on alternatives to medications, with bad side affects, and anti-biotics.
These are just a few ideas that, collectively, can make a big difference. There are many more I assure you. Get your children involved in thinking up ways to conserve and protect the environment. Make it into a game if necessary and reward them with some of that home grown, home made apple pie!
One major thing that needs to be done and in which everyone can play a part is to ensure that the representatives we elect do, indeed represent us. At present, their priorities are their paymasters – the corporations or labour unions – their party and, finally, if there is time you the voter. That is not the right order of priority. Lobby and harass them if necessary to ensure that your fears, views and opinions are represented fairly. If they won’t listen or won’t act then throw them out next time around. In the end, we have given them authority to act on our behalf and protect our interests. Can there be anything more important than the survival of the planet upon which we live? less
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