Is human distance increasing with the environment?

Hasibul

Aug 12, 2020

Human distance increasing with the environment-min

Have you ever wondered why most people prefer to rent a hotel room with a view from the balcony or the balcony? Why do patients who see a natural view from their hospital bed recover faster than others? Or why is it that when depression brings anxiety to our minds, we seek time to get things out of nature?

Our friendship with nature dates back to the creation of the world. The various elements in the natural environment affect our thinking and consciousness. Walking in the green forest or walking along the beach on a sunny morning to awaken the underlying feeling of happiness and peace is not a mere spiritual thing. The pure air of nature or its Bhubanmohini beauty opens the way for our thoughts, calms the restless mind. A special branch of psychology called 'environmental psychology' has come a long way in proving these things.

Author Richard Love, in his famous book 'Last Child in the Woods,' gives an idea about 'Nature-Deficiency Disorder.' According to Louvre, the presence of a nature-deficiency disorder in the brain is no exception; It reduces human connection to the natural environment. Being close to nature improves physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. It feels alive inside of us, and we should not compromise with it for recent developments through urbanization, technology, or social media.

In 1953, the American Psychiatric Association established an architectural study project in collaboration with the American Institute of Architects. The project brings together multiple experts in the professions related to psychiatry, behavioral science, planning, and design to address the mental hospital system in North America. They began to focus on creating different aspects of the hospital environment, such as lighting, color, privacy, and space for social communication in a way that could influence theories, methods, and designs beyond the walls of the organization. It contributes to the thinking and development of new fields of environmental psychology, which have participated in the design and construction of various locations in the city to prevent mental illness and promote mental health during times of urban crisis.

Is human distance increasing with the environment-min

Environmental psychology

This specialized branch of psychology is defined as an attempt to establish experience and theoretical relationships between individual behavior and acquired knowledge. Over time, interest in this subject has been growing around the world.

The history of the concept of environmental psychology is, of course, not too long ago. In 1911, Willie Halpek, a Polish psychologist, first came up with the idea of environmental psychology. He came up with the idea of human interaction with two or more elements or phenomena of the environment, which, although work began later in the sixties, still failed to distinguish this branch of environmental science from its independent and systematic complexity.

Egon Brunswik and Kurt Lewin are said to be the fathers of environmental psychology. Although these two have not made significant contributions to the field of environmental psychology, their ideas about the relationship between psychology and human characteristics to the physical environment have contributed to the subsequent expansion of environmental psychology.

Brunswick believed that the physical environment affected psychological processes outside of human consciousness. He strongly advocated research that would try to understand the individual by including all aspects of the environment. Lewin focused on social or international influences rather than the physical environment. He encouraged the students to expand their ideas. His two students Roger Barker and Urie Bronfenbrenner, later contributed as pioneers of environmental psychology.

At that time, the subject was practiced very slowly. Most of the research was on how different types of environments affect people's perceptions and behaviors. So at that time, the branch was discussed as 'Architectural Psychology.'

The rapid development of environmental psychology began in the late 1960s when people began to become increasingly aware of environmental issues. This led to the study of sustainable environments related to the interpretation and change of healthy and environmental behavior.

There has been a lot of research on this topic in recent times. Indian psychiatrist Madhulina Roy Chowdhury mentions some of these studies in a blog post on a Dutch-based psychiatric website.

Human distance with environment-min

1. A team of psychologists from the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and Australia has studied how climate change affects people's personalities. The results indicate that those who live in a moderate climate with temperatures ranging from 22-24 degrees have shown good results in personality traits such as mixing, openness, extroverted transformation, and consent.

2. Scientists Ryan Lamber, Miles Richardson, and David Sheffield, in a 2017 research paper, say that being close to nature stimulates positive emotions. External activities, such as climbing mountains, gardening, or bird watching, strengthen the mind's relationship with nature and act as a catalyst for happiness.

3. Professor Helen Lockhart pointed out in one of her studies that there is a spiritual connection between man and nature, which is threatened today by the socio-environmental crisis.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, it has become clear that events such as climate change, pollution, and deforestation are becoming increasingly threatening global problems such as health, economic potential, food, and clean water supplies. According to experts, human behavior is at the root of all these problems.

Environmental psychology can play a major role in changing people's well-being and quality of life by finding ways to change human behavior in the face of so many environmental problems. Psychologists are working towards that goal, there is a lot of research, the potential in this field is increasing. In the days to come, we may enrich the way of understanding the environment through environmental psychology, dreaming of a habitable world for the next generation by bridging the gap between environmental complexity and human selfishness.