The presentation is about environmental psychology .

1. ENVIRONMENTAL
PSYCHOLOGY
Submitted by
Soniya Antony
1st MSC Psychology
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2. DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
•Russell and Ward(1982) defined Environmental
psychology as " that branch of psychology concerned
with providing a systematic account of the
relationship between person and environment"

3. •Much attention has given to
build environment- homes,
offices, hospitals, schools,
and to the effects of
environmental stressors –
extreme temperature,
humidity, oxygen
deprivation, crowding noise,
air pollution, industrial
problems on – human
performance and well-being.
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4. So role of psychologist,
• Find out how human behavior
affects the natural
environment and what can be
done to protect the
environment against
behavioral causes of change.

5. Environments,
1. Social environment; includes the verbal stimulations
received from our parents, beliefs, and attitudes of peers,
various social challenges.
2. Cultural environment; includes all the material and the non-
material man-made environment like poetry, work of art,
important structures like Taj Mahal, etc..

6. HUMAN ENVIRONMENT RELATIONSHIP:
• When we talk about the physical world ,it includes both physical reality
and social cultural phenomena which surrounds us. The ambient noise in
our physical surroundings, the temperature , the quality of air and water,
and the nutritional value of food we eat and such other objects and
things all these constitute the physical world around us .
• Understanding of environment-behavior relationships involves 5
major components;
1. physical environment
2. social-cultural environment
3. environmental orientations
4. environmental behavior
5. products of behaviors

7. Physical environment;
• It includes aspects of natural
environment such as climate,
terrain, temperature, rainfall, flora,
and fauna.
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8. Social- cultural
environment;
•It refers to all aspects
of culture such as
norms, customs,
processes of
socialization, etc..
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9. Environmental
orientations;
It refers to the beliefs that
people hold about their
environment.

10. Environmental behavior;
•It includes the use of
environment by people in
the course of social
interactions( eg, personal
space)
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11. Products of
behaviours;
These includes the
outcomes of peoples
actions such as homes,
cities, dams, climate
change ,etc.
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12. • The environment influences our psychological processes and
behavior.
• Human beings also influence the environment through their
behavior,
• The physical environment influences our behavior in
many ways. you must have observed that people become
more irritable and aggressive when the weather is hot and
humid in comparison to cold weather.
• Environmental pollution ( air, water, noise, crowding) which is
partly an outcome of human behaviors adversely affects our
performance.
• At the same time , environmental stressors such
as natural disasters are not under human control

13. •Many damaging environmental effects can be
reduced with the help of environment- friendly
behavior and a state of preparedness.
•In addition, psychological aspects f health, and
the impact of television viewing on violence as
well as other forms of behavior are explained

14. •The relationship between human behavior and the
environment plays a special role in our lives. These days,
there is a growing awareness that environmental
problems such as noise, air, water and soil pollution, and
unsatisfactory ways of garbage disposal have
damaging effects on physical health.
•A branch of psychology called
environmental psychology deals with various
psychological issues pertaining to the human-
environment interaction in a very broad sense of the
term

15. •The word environment refers to all that is around us.
Literally everything that surrounds us, including the
physical, social, work, and cultural environment. In
general , it includes all the forces outside human beings
to which they respond in some way.
•Ecology is the study of relationships between living beings
and their environment.
•There is a distinction between the natural
environment and the built environment

16. NATURAL ENVIR
ONMENT
BUILT
ENVIRONMENT
The part of nature
which remains
untouched by human
hand is the natural
environment.
Whatever has been
created by the human
beings within the natural
environment is the built
environment.

18. • Cities, houses, offices, factories, bridges, shopping malls,
railway tracks, roads, dams and even artificially created parks
and ponds are some examples of the built environment which
shows how human beings have made changes in the
environment given by nature.
• The built environment usually involves the concept
of environmental design, such as creativity of the human mind,
as expressed in the work of architects, town planners and
civil engineers. The sense of human control over the
natural environment, as shown in the building of dams to
regulate the natural flow of rivers.

19. DIFFERENTVIEWS OF THE HUMAN
ENVIRONMENTRELATIONSHIP
• A psychologist named Stokols(1990) describes 3 approaches
that may be adopted to describe the human environment
relationship.
1. minimalist perspective
2. instrumental perspective
3. spiritual perspective

20. A. Minimalist perspective;
•Minimalist perspective assumes that the physical
environment has minimal or negligible influence on
human behavior, health and well-being. The physical
environment and human beings exist as parallel
components.

21. B. Instrumental perspective;
•Instrumental perspective suggest that the
physical environment exists mainly for use by
human beings for their comfort and well-being .
Most of the human influences on the
environment reflect the instrumental
component.

22. C. Spiritual perspective;
•Spiritual perspective refers to the view of the environment
as something to be respected and valued rather than
exploited. It implies that human beings recognize the
interdependent relationship between themselves and the
environment. Human beings will exist and will be happy
only as long as the environment is kept healthy and natural
•The traditional Indian view about the environment
supports the spiritual perspective

23. SALIENT FEATURES OF ENVIRONMENTAL
PSYCHOLOGY
•Focuses on
1. interactive approach
2. interdisciplinary collaboration
3. problem-focused approach
4. diversity of methods

24. Interactive
approach
• As the definition of environmental psychology
already indicates, environmental psychologists
primarily interested in the interaction between
humans and the built and natural environment;
• It also explicitly considers how the environment
influences behavior as well as which factors affect
behavior that can help improve environmental
quality.
• People's support for nature conservation measures
may influences environmental conditions such
as biodiversity
• Humans and the environment are related in
a reciprocal, dynamic way

25. Interdisciplinary collaboration
•Interdisciplinary collaboration has mostly occurred in
3 domains
1. first, environmental psychology has always
worked closely with the disciplines of architecture and
geography to ensure a correct representation of the
physical- spatial components of human- environment
relationships.
2. second, theoretical and methodological
development in environmental psychology has been
influenced strongly by social and cognitive psychology.

26. 3. Third, when studying and encouraging pro
environmental behavior

27. Problem-
focused
approach
• Environmental psychologists do not conduct
studies merely out of scientific curiosity
about some phenomenon , but also try to
contribute towards solving real-life
problems
Environmental psychology studies
human-environment interactions at different
scale levels. From domestic surroundings and
the neighborhoodto cities, nature reserves
and countries and even the planet as a whole.
The problems and associated solutions that
are studied vary across these levels

28. Diversity of
methods;
•Environmental psychology largely uses the
same quantitative and qualitative methods
as other psychological disciplines. However,
whereas other psychological disciplines
often have one dominant research paradigm,
environmental psychology is characterised
by the use of a wide diversity of methods.
•Each research method has its strengths and
weaknesses. Choosing a
method often involves a trade-off
between internal and external validity.

29. •Internal validity reflects the extent to which
cause-effect relationships can be established
•External validity reflects the extent to which
the results of a study can be generalized to
other populations or settings.

30. Recent Trends;
1. Integrative approach
2. positive interaction
between human and
environment
3. from one psychologist
to multiple psychologist
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31. 1. Integrative approach
•A trend that is reflected in every part of development
of integrative models and approaches.
•Early years of environmental psychology: the focus
was studying relationships between single
environmental conditions and single outcome
variables.
•Contemporary research : focuses on combine multiple
influences and relationships
among environmental and human conditions.

32. This trend
can be
related to;
Understanding and solving
complex societal problems
General individual problems
This research to be applicable to
" real- world problems"
Integration of social and
psychological aspects

33. 2 . positive
interaction
between
human and
environment
Traditionally, environmental psychology
has focused primarily on studying the
negative impacts of the environment on
human and negative impacts of humans
on the environment.
Applications of this research have
been aimed mostly at the development
of environmental and
behavioral strategies to reduce these
negative impacts.

34. •Studying positive transactions between humans and the
environment
•Aimed at supporting and encouraging pro-environmental
behavior
•Discouraging environmentally harmful behavioral
changes
• Early research focus on : the negative influence of
environmental conditions on wellbeing and behavior
•New research focus on: positive effects of environmental
conditions and the gratifying impact of pro-
environmental behavior

35. 3. From one psychologist to multiplepsychologist
• The development of new psychologies within
environmental psychology has many positive
consequences, such as a more in–depth analysis of
the specific phenomenon of interest, the
development and test of sound theories, a refinement
of methods and a stimulation of collaborations with
other disciplines.

36. FUTUREDIRECTIONS
• The field of environmental psychology has steadily advanced over
the past years to the stage where it has become an active
contributorto a more sustainable society, many challenges for
future research still exist.
• 3 major challenges ; need for
- further integrations
- further dvlpmnt of theories and models
- further engagement of envrnmntl psychologist with evnmntl
problem

37. 1. Further integrations:
•Need for further integration within and between the
different subdomains that study environmental influences
on behavior and human influences on the environment.
•In each domains, focusing either
on combining multiple environmental determinants of hu
man well-being or on combining multiple individual
determinants of environmental behavior
•However , integration within and between these domains
need to be taken

38. 2. future development of theories and
methods:
•New models and theories are emerging .
•Importance of emotions
•Dominated by rational- decision making models
•Biological revolution
•Neuroscience methods
•Neuroimaging techniques for mapping
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39. 3. further engagement;
• Improve and expand the academic
infrastructure for education
• Lacking in most countries of the world
• Further increase the political relevance
• Direct political engagement
• Initiatives at the interface of science,
politics, and society
• Engagement and contributions This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA.

40. ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
PERSONAL SPACE,TERRITORIALITY, CROWDING , INDIAN
RESEARCH ON CROWDING & PERSONAL SPACE
SUBMITTED BY,
FEBIYA FRANCIS
1ST YEAR PSYCHOLOGY

41. ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
•Environmental psychology is the interdisciplinary field of study that is concerned with the
interplay between individuals and their surroundings .
•Environmental psychology deals with socio – architecture,ecological psychology,eco
psychology,behavioral geography ,person environmental studies , social ecology and
environmental design research.An environmental psychologist aim to perform following
functions:They investigate how people are affected by their environment.They find how the
home,work place& school make people and how the environments prompt people to act
.They think or look in to natural settings as well as the layout of towns and cities & cultural
centers with in them .

42. PERSONAL SPACE
• Personal space is defined as the physical distance between two people in a social,family,
or work environment.In order to put others at comfort,it’s necessary to understand the
importance of personal space.Personal space largely varies from person to person,
depending on various factors which include how well one knows the person,the
relationship with that person,the level of faith one has in them and last but not the least,
one’s own principles.

43. In 1966,Anthropologist Edward Hall identified four different zones of personal space
American like to keep around them :-
• Intimate distance :This extends roughly 18 inches from the individual and is reserved for
family,pets & very close friends.Displays of affection and Comforting are commonly
conducted within this space .The only strangers an individual typically accept with in his or
her intimate space are health care professionals.
• personal distance:This extends 1.5 to 4 feet is reserved for friends and acquaintances.A
handshake will typically place strangers at least 2 to 4 feet apart,preserving the personal
distance .

44. • Social distance:This extends from about 4 to 12 feet & is used for formal , business and other
impersonal interactions such as meeting a client.
• Public space :This extends more than 12 feet & is not guarded . Secret service agents will
commonly attempt to ensure 12ft of open space around dignitaries and high ranking officials.
Determining factors for personal space :-
The space between individuals decrease when they know each other. People living in a crowded
cities have small personal space preference in compared to the people living wide open spaces .

45. CROWDING
• Crowding is a subjective experience that make one feel that there are too many people
around them . Crowding may not always lead to high density and vice versa . Crowding
may caused by social and information overload,which may make one feel that they have
no control over their surroundings.It can also create a feeling of lack of control.
Crowding is a subjective experience that is only mildly related to the objective index ,
population density,as is obvious to anyone at a good party or anyone who has felt
crowded in another contexts by one other person.

46. TERRITORIALITY
• Territoriality is a term associated with non verbal communication that refers to how
people use space to communicate ownership or areas and possessions .Territoriality in
humans is a pattern of behavior and experience related to the control,usually by non
violent means such as occupation,law,custom & personalization of physical space,objects
and ideas .Seven forms of territory are primary,secondary,public,objects,ideas ,
interactional and body.Defense strategies are prevention,reaction and social boundaries
are employed in response to infringements . Infringements are invasion,violation and
contamination.Males are often more teritorial than females.

47. According to Altman & chemers (1980) territory can be divided into three types:-
• PrimaryTerritory :This refers to space that is felt to be owned by an individual or an
interdependent group on relatively permanent basis & it is within their their daily lives .
Home is a primary territory .
• SecondaryTerritory:These are generally less important to the person and are likely to be
only owned on a temporary basis .The difference between primary and secondary
territory mainly depends on the individual’s perception of its importance to them.

48. • PublicTerritory:These are more distinct in the that they don’t belong to any person and
are generally accessible to anyone,for example a sea beach , a public park …

49. INDIAN RESEARCH ON PERSONAL SPACE &
CROWDING
• Taken to an extreme, high social or low spatial density Could give rise to perceptions of
crowding which can act as a stressor.
• At the other extreme, very low social or spatial density could lead to isolation ( real or
perceived).
• Present day office environment research provides little guidance on the effects of density on
employees, despite the importance placed on social interaction.
• Two levels of density ( high & low ) and two levels of resources ( sufficient & scare ) were
manipulated in two separate experiments concerning social and spatial density in Indian
scenario.

50. • In each experiment,young adult female completed the measures of the feeling of
crowding and personal space.
• In both conditions,the greater feeling of crowding was related to high density and
scarcity of resources.
• Resources and spatial density influenced the personal space.The results suggested on
increases in competition under high density and scare resources conditions.

51. THANKYOU