What Is Environmental Psychology

What is Environmental Psychology?

What is environmental psychology? According to Raymond De Young from the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment, environmental psychology is defines as “the study of human nature, reasonable behavior, and durable living” (De Young, 2011). Environmental psychology takes a look at the relationship that exists between human behavior and the environment in which they live. This field offers a very broad definition of environment which includes all that is natural on the earth, built environments, social environment, and informational environment (De Young, 2011). Environmental psychology attempts to solve problems involving the interaction between humans and the environment by using a model of human nature. This model predicts human behavior under certain environmental conditions. The model allows one to manage, protect, restore, and design environments that promote reasonable human behavior and diagnose problems (De Young, 2011).

Major Theoretical Approaches

Environmental psychology draws on different perspectives of human psychology, behavior, and interaction with environment. These perspectives include underlying principles borrowed from such fields as sociology, anthropology, biology, and physiology. Two of the major theoretical approaches in environmental psychology include ecological perception and biophilia.

The ecological perception perspective is the basic underlying principle of the way that people respond to and perceive their environment. This theory is formatted around the fundamental principle that people understand their environment through sensation and perception. Ecological psychology is not only a theory of perception but it also encompasses a much wider implication. The work of William James and James J. Gibson and Eleanor Gibson proposes that the organism and physical environment must be analyzed not as separate entities but together (Clayton, 2009). Gibson developed the concept of direct perception which recognized the relational nature of perception (Clayton, 2009). He argued that perception encompasses not only the present but the past and future as well.

The biophilia perspective was developed by E.O. Wilson, a sociobiologist (Clayton, 2009). He proposed that “evolutionary pressures led humans to develop a genetically-based predisposition to take a strong interest in and affiliate with nature, Including plants, animals, and landscape features” (Clayton,