User:MandaG/Lecture Week 13

Environmental Psychology I think environmental psychology is now becoming a big issue because of its relevence to the longevity of the survival of the human race. It looks at ecological issues such as our contribution to global warming and pollution and at density and crowding. Density is the number of people per a space and there is an alarming increase in this number as the world becomes denser and denser. This over crowding impedes on optimal human functioning as does the increasing temperature, too much noise and daily hassles and life events (although it could be argued that is essentially life). The risks that we percieve in our environment however, are largely not related to those factors. We tend to percieve our greatest risks as things that cannot be controlled (which in itself would be my guess as to why we view them as risker) such as natural disasters and disease, area's where study is going in to.
 * The study of interaction and relation between people and their environment.
 * The natural Environment: Human beings have a preference for natural over built environments and experience positive physical and psychological reactions to exposure to the natural envvironment. Real estate with a view goes for big money and art work with landscapes are often also sought after. Hiking and picnicing are highly enjoyable as is camping and getting in touch with nature (as long as there are showers). Nature-Deficit disorder argues that too much time indoors is creating problems such as ADHD which in turn creates parental fear and restricts further access to nature. I am not all that familiar with this idea but I sincerely hope that is not the case as I think it would be a great shame to deprive children of being outdoors a lot and may start a cylce.


 * Environmental Concerns: Well there are lots of these! Top of the list is the populations consumption rate. When Mars was first mentioned as an alternate to earth to live on in the future it was a strange concept, but if we keep consuming at this rate we're going to have to go somewhere as all our resources will be depleated. One of the ways we can alleviate some of the preassure is quite simple; Recycle. Its not hard and will allow for th reuse of materials and make for a more sustainable environment.