Environmental psychology

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The environmental psychology (also: environmental psychology ) is a relatively new discipline of psychology with strong interdisciplinary and research and application characteristics. It deals with human-environment interactions, the influences of the environment on humans and the behavior and actions of humans towards the environment. The environment affects people's experience and behavior, and people shape and influence the environment depending on their experience and behavior.

The concept of the environment is broadly defined from the natural environment to socio-cultural environments such as settlements , learning environments and information worlds . New areas of work in this area are issues relating to globalization and sustainable development .

Definition

Synonyms

During the investigation of the human-environment relationship is the essential subject of environmental psychology, the concerned environmental psychology specifically with psychological aspects of environmental protection .

In addition to the term environmental psychology, ecological psychology and eco- psychology are also used in the same context.

Consequently, the scientific investigation of connections (causal and correlative kind) between variables of the environment and the experience and behavior of the people living in it forms the focus of environmental psychological research interest. Topics such as "environmental pollution" or "environmental awareness" represent application-related sub-areas, but not the exclusive or primary area of ​​environmental psychological research. A scientifically operated environmental psychology is therefore responsible for the further development of theoretical models of the interdependencies of human-environment relationships, but also has To cope with a number of practical problems - here there are plenty of opportunities for qualified environmental psychologists.

environment

Environmental concept

The concept of the environment was introduced into science by Jakob Johann von Uexküll . Environment includes both the “inner world” and the “outer world” and their mutual, planned adaptation to one another . For Uexküll, the environment is a system that is formed from the relationships between subject and environment.

This narrow term contrasts with the currently more common, broader definition of the environment:

Environment is the totality of all processes and spaces in which the interaction between nature and civilization takes place .

Environmental science also emerged on this basis .

Three environments after Hellpach

Social, cultural and natural environment

"All influences that people experience from their peers are summarized as co-soul and form the content of social psychology ... From this community in constant interaction with the individual unfolds an abundance of enduring creations, which we in the narrower sense as civilization another term as culture ... we understand civilization essentially as the rule over natural resources and natural forces, their systematic exploitation and utilization, while culture, on the other hand, refers to the intellectual value systems (and their external deposits, such as buildings, laws and printed matter) ... both, Civilization and culture presuppose a far-reaching and ever more extensive subjugation and transformation of primeval nature, of those around us as well as those in us. In spite of this, nature is immeasurably invulnerable, in and around us. It demands, from within or from outside, its right again and again ... The nature around us thus forms the third environment in which we remain enclosed and which, especially on nature within us, asserts its effects. Body and soul in their natural condition, as hereditary material, as in their community, civilization and sophistication, are at every moment under such natural influences, consciously and (much more) unconsciously. "

The focus of environmental psychology is on the interactions between people and the physical environment surrounding them. These are shown in the fact that people are strongly influenced in their actions by their environment, but also have an effect on it by adapting the environment to their needs. In addition, from the point of view of environmental psychology, the environment must always be seen in relation to people, so that the two aspects cannot be viewed separately from one another.

human and environment

The interactions between humans and the environment represent a complex system. In order to gain an understanding of environmental psychology, the following terms are also important:

nature

Nature is understood to mean all inorganic and organic phenomena that exist or develop without human intervention.

Culture

Through his mental abilities, man has great opportunities to intervene in nature and to change it. With his skills (technical & intellectual) and achievements (artistic & technical) he creates his natural conditions and creates "culture".

civilization

is the totality and strength of the changes and improvements in social and material living conditions that are achieved through scientific and technical progress.

So man is not only a creature of nature, but also a product of his self-generated culture and civilization. In this focus, the physician and psychologist Willy Hellpach spoke of the THREE ENVIRONMENTS of humans as early as the beginning of the 20th century and shaped the formulation of the psychology of the environment .

Questions

In order to clarify the area of ​​responsibility of environmental psychology, a few examples of questions such as those found in environmental psychological research are listed:

  • Is physical information sufficient to describe the effects of sound on people? What is the relationship between stimulus variables and the psychological reaction (sensation, assessment ...)?
  • Is it possible that the built environment in its type and design z. B. Can promote crime? Does the architectural design of clinics affect the communicative behavior of patients?

Questions that are dealt with in particular in the field of American "environmental psychology":

  • What does ecologically conscious action mean in a reality that is becoming more and more complex in view of limited experience, assessability, manageability and ability to act? Which human relationship to nature can be derived from this and which environmental psychological support strategies can be found as a constructive answer to this?
  • How did it come about that the relationship between humans and the preservation of our nature (the ecosystem) was so impaired that more and more ecological crises threaten the earth and thus humans? How can ecopsychology promote awareness of the preservation of our natural foundations of life?

Methods

Environmental psychology is characterized by the claim to interdisciplinarity, which results from the knowledge that the human environment in its high complexity requires a multi-layered approach. We therefore always seek cooperation with engineers, natural scientists, economists, sociologists, political scientists and other specialists.

Environmental psychology as a science is - for the most part - problem-oriented and not theory-oriented. That means: There are only a few environmental psychological theories, and environmental psychology draws on theories and findings from all psychological disciplines to solve specific problems. For example, knowledge from cognitive , social , work , organizational and advertising psychology plays a role in improving corporate environmental protection . Hellpach's approaches, for example, about the influences of weather, climate, soil and landscape have hardly been taken up so far.

The topic of " environmental protection " plays a central role in environmental psychology. The knowledge of psychologists as experts in human behavior is always in demand in relation to environmental protection when it comes to understanding why people destroy their livelihood against their better judgment, to understand the connection between environmental awareness and environmental action, to induce people to behave more environmentally friendly and improve communication between people. Since the 1970s, environmental psychology has established itself as a largely separate area, aiming to contribute to the promotion of environmentally responsible behavior.

literature

  • Manfred Fischer: Urban planning from the perspective of ecological psychology , Beltz, Weinheim 1995, ISBN 3621272526 .
  • Ulrich Gebhard: Child and Nature. The importance of nature for psychological development , Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen 1994
  • Carl-Friedrich Graumann, Ernst-Dieter Lantermann , Lenelis Kruse : Ecological psychology. 2nd edition, Beltz, Weinheim 1996, ISBN 362127328X .
  • Jürgen Hellbrück, Manfred Fischer: Environmental Psychology. A textbook. Hogrefe, Göttingen 1999, ISBN 3-8017-0621-4 .
  • Jürgen Hellbrück, Elisabeth Kals: Environmental Psychology . Textbook. Springer, Wiesbaden 2012, ISBN 978-3-531-17131-9 .
  • Willy Hellpach: Geopsychic phenomena. 1st edition Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig 1911, 2nd edition 1917, 3rd revised edition 1923, 4th completely revised edition 1935, 5th edition 1939, 6th, improved edition 1950, 7th edition 1965, 8th unchanged (and last) edition as Geopsyche. The human soul under the influence of weather and climate, soil and landscape , Ferdinand Enke Verlag Stuttgart 1977
  • Andreas Homburg, Ellen Matthies: Environmental Psychology. Environmental crisis, society and the individual. Juventa, Weinheim 1998, ISBN 3-7799-0320-2 .
  • Ernst-Dieter Lantermann, Volker Linneweber (Ed.): "Fundamentals, paradigms and methods of environmental psychology. Encyclopedia of Psychology: Subject area C, theory and research: Ser. 9, Environmental Psychology; Vol. 1." Hogrefe, Göttingen 2008, ISBN 978-3-8017-0595-4
  • Volker Linneweber, Ernst-Dieter Lantermann, Elisabeth Kals (eds.): "Specific environments and environment-related action. Encyclopedia of Psychology, Subject Area C: Theory and Research, Ser. 9, Environmental Psychology; Vol. 2." Hogrefe, Göttingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-8017-0596-1
  • Rudolf Miller: Introduction to ecological psychology , Leske, Opladen 1992, ISBN 381000569X .
  • Rudolf Miller: Environmental Psychology. An introduction. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1998
  • Hans Mogel: Ecopsychology. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-17-008409-7 .
  • Theodore Roszak : The Voice of the Earth - An Exploration of Ecopsychology. Simon & Schuster, New York 1992; German edition: Ecopsychology - The uprooted man and the call of the earth. Kreuz Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-7831-1290-7 .
  • Linda Steg , Agnes E. van den Berg, Judith IM de Groot (Eds.): Environmental Psychology: An Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell, West Sussex 2012, ISBN 978-0-470-97638-8 .
  • Gerald T. Gardner, Paul C. Stern: Environmental Problems and Human Behavior. Pearson Ptr, Boston 2002, ISBN 0-536-68633-5 .
  • Martin Stengel: Ecological Psychology , Oldenbourg, Munich 2002, ISBN 3486237470 .
  • Environmental Psychology Journal

See also

Web links

Organizations
Research and Teaching

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hellpach. 1935, 3f
  2. ↑ Hellbrück / Kals 2012, 17