What Is Environmental Psychology

Introduction: The increasing concern of mental well-being as well as growing environmental awareness brought a new idea of environmental psychology in the public domain. Although the topic seems new, it is historically deeply rooted.

From ancient civilization to modern society, the physical and social environment plays a vital role in the psychological well being of the people. The environmental psychological approach is being used in a workplace setting to effectively match the organization goals, cultural aspiration as well as job performances. Various therapies based on environmental psychology are found very effective in the psychological treatment of mentally ill patients.

The Journal of Environmental Psychology defines environmental psychology as “The scientific study of the transactions and interrelationships between people and their physical surroundings”. The physical surrounding may be natural, human-made or sustainable development of natural resources.

Environmental psychology deals with the impact of the environment on human behaviour and cognition. It also seeks to rejuvenate a healthy relationship with the surrounding world. It deals with “how”/”why” the role of the environment on our behaviour and the way we perceive it and act accordingly.

 

Concept and theories of environmental psychology

There are four main perspectives: Geographical determinism, Ecological Biology, behaviourism, Gestalt psychology. Geographical determinism covers the foundation and sustenance of our civilization on environmental factors like topography, climate and water, and challenges or threat, lifestyle evolution and even destruction. Ecological biology deals with socio-biological perspectives and the interdependent of organisms and environments.

Behaviourism emphasizes on personal and environmental context and their interdependent to each other. This perspective focuses on the person ‘experience, personality and attitudes related to the environment are some of the critical determinants of behaviour. Gestalt psychological of environment emphasis more on cognition and perception, and It focuses on how a person perceives a stimulus as a whole.

Similar way theory of planned behaviour focuses on intentions, and the controlling factors, Norms activation model on altruistic and environmentally friendly behaviours, and Value belief theory assumes that people act in the pro-environmental way when they feel a moral obligation. Moral obligation can be internal or external driven.

Therefore a significant concept of an ideal environment is developed. Ideal environments: the places where a person “feel self-assured and competent, while being engaged with it”. The four factors:” Unity, Legibility, Complexity, Mystery” determines where an environment is ideal or not.

 

Nature and scope of environmental psychology

Environmental psychology studies the individual’s environment relations in real-world situations. Although environmental psychology is a sub-discipline of psychology, it has a strong affinity to other fields too.

The environmental psychologist works with a cognitive, behavioural, social and occupational psychologist as well as other professionals of other fields such as architects, environmental scientist, engineers and educationalist.

Environmental psychology is broadly classified under the following domains: environmental perceptions and cognitions, environmental values, attitudes and assessment, and behavioural issues.

Spatial dimensions of environmental psychology: the spatial environment is classified based on levels of individual environmental interactions. Private spaces include a person’s private space, including housing, office and workplace, Private/public environments, Public environments, Global environments.

The negative effect of cities: the condition of cities is highly stressful, air and noise pollution, high density and a very high delinquency rate. In metropolitan cities, environmental weight, environmental stress and environmental pollution are posing a great challenge to the physical and psychological well-being of living people.

The visual impact of buildings where most of the people lives is environmentally incompatible. The colour, texture, brightness and shape of feature draw a signification impact on the individual.

The restoration of nature, the green spaces, parks not only aesthetically pleasing but also bring a positive impact on livelihood. Research also supports the following benefits of nature: cognitive freedom, the experience of nature, growth, ecosystem connectedness, health, guidance, sociability, and self-control (Gifford (1987)).

 

Theoretical perspectives on key questions in environmental psychology:

There are several perspectives collectively provides a more holistic and elaborative view of environmental psychology such as person-in-environment approach explained the behavioural questions of architects, planning, design and management of the environment.

Various theories under behaviourist and deterministic approaches such as arousal theory, environmental load and adaptation theory draw attention towards environmental simulation and interpretation by an individual. Interactionist approach covers theories stress and control, stress adaptation model and behaviourist adaptation.

Cognitive mapping explains the mental representation of a person about the surrounding environment. Environmental evaluations, also known as a place-centred method, deals with objective physical properties of the environment, such as urban planning, environmental pollution. Barker’s behaviour setting approach, affordances, place theory, identity, and attachment are explained under the transactional approach.

 

Conclusion:

Environmental psychology has repeatedly pointed to the negative consequences of living conditions in large urban centres: insecurity, indifference to others, anonymity, and exposure to different types of stress. It is suggested that the shortcomings of environmental psychology are that environmental psychologists have only provided general principles in response to the specific needs and caused a huge applications gap.

Quality of life standards are culturally determined; therefore upholding a cultural identity in personal and social life in urban experience needs sustainable ways based on cultural and environmental concern.

An approach focuses on environmental rights in which those without power define their needs themselves and try to secure the rightful access to resources to satisfy those needs. The emphasis of much environmental psychology should be given in the process of satisfying people’s needs.

There should be a integrate a bottom-up ‘rights’ and a top-down ‘needs-driven’ approach focus on the preservation of environmental rights. Again, there is a need to conserve the environmental ecosystem, wildlife, clean energy, sustainable water usage and the prevention of environmental pollution.

 

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