2. Contents
• Meaning of environmental psychology
• Components of human-environment interaction
• Physical environment v/s psychological environment
• How environment affects human behavior
• How human behavior effects on environment
3. Environment is a very broad concept. Everything that
affects us during our life time is collectively known
as environment.
Environmental psychology is the study of
transactions between individuals and their physical
settings (Gifford, 2007a).
In these transactions, individuals change their
environments, and their behaviour and experiences are
changed by their environments.
4. The human-environment interaction has five major
components. These components are briefly described
below:
Physical Environment: It includes aspect of natural
environment such as climate, terrain, temperature,
rainfall, flora, etc.
Environmental Orientations: It refers to the beliefs
that people hold about their environment. For example,
some people hold environment equivalent to God and
therefore they perceive all its aspects with respect and
reverence and try to maintain it in a perfect form and
do not degrade it.
5. Environmental Behaviour: It refers to the
use of environment by people in the course of
social interactions. For example, considering
the environment as personal space, where the
individual identifies himself with it.
Products of Behaviour: These include the
outcomes of people’s actions such as homes,
cities, dams, schools, etc. That is, these are
products or outcomes dealing with the
environment.
6. Social –Cultural Environment -: It is the
belief that social and cultural factors impact a
child's behaviour and higher order functions.
For example, If the child grows up, they will
learn family traditions and what family says is
good and bad according to their culture and
beliefs.
7. PHYSICAL VS PSYCHOLOGICAL
ENVIRONMENT
It is important to understand the difference
between physical environment and psychological
environment.
Physical environment is what is out there in
physical terms, tree, mountain etc.
On the other hand psychological environment
consists of all that exists in one’s mind
8. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ON HUMAN
BEHAVIOUR
We find many natural disasters that affect human
behaviour in many ways.
These natural disasters include earthquake, volcanic
eruptions, wind storm, tornado, cyclone, flood etc.
The earth quakes at Latoor and Bhuj (2001) and
Super cyclone in Orissa (1999) not only caused
extensive damage to property and physical
environment (uprooting of trees etc) but also had
long-term effect on the lives of the people.
9. There are various man-made disasters also.
The technological disasters such as Bhopal
Methy Iso Cynide (MIC) Disaster (1984) etc.
Research studies indicate that the survivors of
such disasters suffer from anxiety, withdrawal
symptoms, depression, stress, anger and
nightmares.
10. EFFECTS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOUR ON
ENVIRONMENT
Humans negatively impact the
environment in many ways: pollutants,
cutting down entire sections of forest, and
prolific burning of fossil fuels resulting in
global climate change.
11. • The majority of air pollution is the result of
human activities. For example, increased fossil
fuel combustion from motor vehicles,
industrial factories and power plants all pump
large quantities of air pollutants, such as
carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides, into the
atmosphere.
• According to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, human activities are largely
responsible for an increase in temperature
around the globe, primarily due to carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
12. Scope of Environmental Psychology
• Four key features of environmental psychology
that characterize the field as it stands today:
1. a focus on human–environment interactions,
2. an interdisciplinary approach,
3. an applied focus, and
4. a diversity of methods.
13. Interactive Approach
• Environmental psychology is primarily
interested in the interaction between humans
and the built and natural environment.
• It also explicitly considers how the
environment influences behaviour as well as
which factors affect behaviour that can help
improve environmental quality.
14. Interdisciplinary Collaboration
• Many environmental psychologists work in
interdisciplinary settings, and closely
collaborate with scholars from other
disciplines.
• Architecture and Geography
• Social and Cognitive psychology
• Pro‐Environmental behaviour
15. Problem‐Focused Approach
• Environmental psychologists do not conduct
studies merely out of scientific curiosity about
some phenomenon, but also to try to
contribute towards solving real‐life problems.
• Global level, problems like climate change and
solutions like the adoption of new
technologies to combat climate change are of
interest. Environmental psychology is
concerned with problems at all scales, from
local to global.
16. Diversity of Methods
• Environmental psychology largely uses the
same quantitative and qualitative methods as
other psychological disciplines.
17. Questionnaire Studies
• Questionnaire studies aim to describe
behaviours and to gather people’s perceptions,
opinions, attitudes, and beliefs about different
issues. They are also widely used to establish
relationships between two or more variables.
18. Questionnaire Studies
• Questionnaire studies are popular in
environmental psychology for several reasons-
1. Manipulation of environmental conditions (as
in experimental research), is often unethical or
impossible.
2. External validity of questionnaire studies
tends to be high.
19. Laboratory Experiments
• Laboratory experiments are conducted in a
controlled, mostly artificial, environment
created for the purpose of the research.
20. Computer Simulation Studies
• Sometimes it is impossible to conduct research
with real individuals or realistic
environmental stimuli.
21. Field Studies
• In order to achieve high external validity
without compromising too much on internal
validity, many environmental psychologists
use field studies and experiments.
22. Case Studies
• A case study is an in‐depth study of a
particular situation. It is a method used to
narrow down a very broad topic of research
into one single case, i.e. a person, setting,
situation, or event.
23. • Some others factor who influence human behaviour like-
• Temperature: Prolonged exposure to excessive heat
or cold •
• Lighting: Lighting that is too bright or too dim •
• Air Quality: In states where there are no stateside
smoking bans, indoor smoking can be a hazard for
some individuals.
• Noise: Excessively loud laughter, yelling, talking and
other sounds •
• Crowding: Large numbers of individuals in one place
at the same time.
24.
25. Environmental psychologists work at three levels of
analysis:
Fundamental psychological processes like perception of
the environment, cognition, and personality as they filter
and structure human experience and behavior,
The management of social space: personal space,
crowding, and privacy, and the physical setting aspects of
complex everyday behaviors, such as working, learning,
living in a residence and community, and
Human interactions with nature and the role of
psychology in climate change (e.g., Gifford, 2008a).
