In recent decades, environmental psychology, which analyzes the relationship between people and the environment, whether natural or man-made, has become increasingly popular. In this article we will define environmental psychology and describe its main theoretical and practical applications and approaches .

Environmental psychology: definition and object of study

Environmental psychology is a theoretical and applied field of an interdisciplinary nature that is concerned with studying the interaction between human beings and the environment in which they find themselves . The main focus is on the psychological and behavioural variables associated with this relationship.

The object of interest of environmental psychology is broad, as can be deduced from its definition. Any context can be analysed from the perspective of the relationship between people and the environment, such as the effects of the design of a school classroom on academic performance or the creation of programmes to promote sustainable consumption.

Environmental psychology tries to find ways to predict how certain variables of people and the physical environment will influence the interaction between them with the aim of optimizing it. Although in many cases this discipline has an ethical and global problem-solving component , it has many possible uses, such as in the business environment.

The fact that this field of study includes many different (and often opposing) sciences and interests has made it difficult to unify them. Although different ideologies and views on what the shared goals should be coexist in any discipline, conflicts of this kind are especially notable in environmental psychology.

Applications of this discipline

The relevance of environmental psychology has been increasing due to the growing need to raise awareness and collective and institutional action against the deterioration of the planet. This is why in the last 50 years there has been an intense relationship between environmental psychology and environmental movements .

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Another application of environmental psychology is the design of architectural environments that enhance the psychological well-being of people in them or that promote certain behaviors. For example, there are both urban designs focused on stress reduction and shopping centres that favour consumption.

From the point of view of improving people’s well-being, environmental psychology can be useful to the population, especially from the public sector , in which planning and investment in social projects is more possible. In this sense, both urban planning and other environmental aspects, such as transport or educational centres, are relevant.

In the field of organizations, the knowledge obtained by environmental psychology can be used to maximize the productivity or well-being of workers . The modification of work environments is one of the most common applications of environmental psychology, which is a good example of the breadth of this discipline.

Theoretical and practical approaches

Different methodological and conceptual approaches coexist in environmental psychology, although they are generally complementary. Let us see what the characteristics of these theoretical-practical orientations are.

1. Solving environmental problems

In recent decades, environmental psychology, which analyzes the relationship between people and the environment, whether natural or man-made, has become increasingly popular. In this article we will define environmental psychology and describe its main theoretical and practical applications and approaches .

Environmental psychology: definition and object of study

Environmental psychology is a theoretical and applied field of an interdisciplinary nature that is concerned with studying the interaction between human beings and the environment in which they find themselves .
The main focus is on the psychological and behavioural variables associated with this relationship.

The object of interest of environmental psychology is broad, as can be deduced from its definition.
Any context can be analysed from the perspective of the relationship between people and the environment, such as the effects of the design of a school classroom on academic performance or the creation of programmes to promote sustainable consumption.

Environmental psychology tries to find ways to predict how certain variables of people and the physical environment will influence the interaction between them with the aim of optimizing it.
Although in many cases this discipline has an ethical and global problem-solving component , it has many possible uses, such as in the business environment.

The fact that this field of study includes many different (and often opposing) sciences and interests has made it difficult to unify them. Although different ideologies and views on what the shared goals should be coexist in any discipline, conflicts of this kind are especially notable in environmental psychology.

Applications of this discipline

The relevance of environmental psychology has been increasing due to the growing need to raise awareness and collective and institutional action against the deterioration of the planet.
This is why in the last 50 years there has been an intense relationship between environmental psychology and environmental movements .

.