What Is Environmental Psychology?

Hearing voices as renowned as Terri Swearingen, who says that “we live on Earth as if we had another planet to go to”, makes us reflect. Thus, we understand why the popularity of environmental psychology is only increasing every day. In this sense, Kurt Lewin was one of the first psychologists to study and teach the influence that the environment could have on our behavior.

An important definition to know what environmental psychology is is that of the environment: all contexts in which a person can develop and whose influence is remarkable on a group of people. Let’s think, for example, of the office as an environment that influences people individually, but at the same time has a pattern of influence over the group: those who go there go to work.

What is certain is that in recent years environmental psychology has grown in importance and recognition. Therefore, in this article we will talk about its objectives, approaches and practical uses.

What is environmental psychology?

Environmental psychology is responsible for analyzing the relationship between people and their surroundings. In this case, two types of surroundings are distinguished: the natural ones and the ones created by the human being. That is, its theoretical field has an interdisciplinary character and focuses on behavioral and psychological variables related to our interaction in the various environments that surround us.

It is understandable that the interest of this field of study is maximum, since the relationship between people and means is inseparable. Thus, it is possible to analyze situations such as, for example, the school performance of a child according to the school they attend, or the psychological state of a person in a polluted city.

This psychological field wants to understand how variables in the physical environment will influence people. From the interaction of both actors, an ethical component can be extrapolated, which looks for formulas to find global solutions in different areas, from the business to the personal.

How does this discipline apply?

As human beings are increasingly aware of taking care of the planet and the environment, this psychological discipline has gained more popularity. In fact, its implementation has grown a lot from an ecological point of view, but also in terms of income.

Nowadays, architectural environments are sought that promote certain behaviors, such as high productivity, increased performance, a more relaxed mood, etc.

Also in public aspects, such as urban planning, this discipline is taken into account. Greater well-being of the individual is sought in a more sociable and comfortable environment. As for the business environment, as mentioned above, the search for greater worker well-being usually leads to high productivity. Thus, its application also has interesting consequences.

Focuses of environmental psychology

Once we know what environmental psychology is and what it consists of, it is worth delving into its current working approaches.

Solution to environmental problems

In general,  the main field of action focuses on identifying and solving environmental problems. It is about the action of the human being to draw a plan that can solve the human action when correcting mistakes.

In this sense, the discipline focuses heavily on the skill of cities and the care of natural surroundings. For this, it works to reduce pollution levels globally.

Analysis of social and psychological factors

It is often used in social integration programs. It is due to their ability to analyze psychological and social factors in specific regions. It can also include other elements of a particular environment.

past influence

Another common focus of this discipline is related to the influence of past factors on current problems in a specific place. Evolution and variables are analyzed over a period of time to study the possible relationship.

interdisciplinary approaches

We also find an interdisciplinary approach, as it often integrates with other fields of study, such as cognitive, developmental or even organizational psychology. As we’ve already mentioned, it can be used for design, architecture, economics, planning, politics, etc.

There is no doubt that this is a discipline as unknown as it is passionate. Human beings are the product of a planet that sees us being born and dying. Therefore, our relationship with the environment and surroundings is basic to define us as a species.