Filenko Anastasiia
Yuriy Fedkovych
Chernivtsi National University,
The Faculty of
Pedagogy, Psychology and Social Work, student
Polishchuk Oksana,
Scientific
supervisor,
Yuriy Fedkovych
Chernivtsi National University,
The Faculty of
Pedagogy, Psychology and Social Work
(Ukraine)
Environmental
influence on human thinking
The topic of this work is environmental psychology that
is a connection between living environment and humans. Environmental
psychology is a science that is closely
linked to individual and social psychology,
and considers such topics as personal environment (place of living, working,
studying, etc.), natural environment and its influence on people, social
environment that is influence of social structures on person. In this work we
will discuss the problem of natural and technological
environment in our life.
Today, due to the global computerization and
technologization (an increasing of new technologies, advertisement,
a growing number of buildings and machinery, the constant influence of media) and also due to
global natural disasters researches, put special emphasis on the natural
environment and its effect on
humans and vice versa.
Natural environment as well as technological
environment affects us through
its stimuli. Stimuli are a kind of information
that we get from the environment
through sensory channels, and which activates our
mental processes. Our ability to analyze these stimuli is a consequence of
actions of mental maps. At the
same time, cognitive maps themselves are
the product of informational analysis
process. Thus the information
(stimuli) is the key to our
mental development [2, 4]. As studies show, these informational
stimuli can affect the parameters of our thinking through
sensory structures that is sounds,
smells, visual images that we receive
from the environment [6].
Also, environment may affect the productivity of thinking indirectly through our emotions [1].
The
construction and obtaining method of environmental stimuli affects the development of our thinking as
well. Some scholars have identified two important environmental factors:
consistency and content. Natural environment equally own consistency and
content that is nature is harmonious in its influence. In
contrast, technological environment
has rich content but often has low consistency. According to this study in
situation with lack of one of these factors the wealth of another one is being reduced.
Thus, high technological environment will not positively affect the perception
of information, and will prevent its assimilation [4].
Let us add, that this in turn leads to unnecessary waste
of human energy when he attempts
to perceive and process the information he receives.
There
are 3 theories that describe relation between environment (mainly natural) and
human.
Reasonable
person model. According to this model a big amount of urban informational stimuli leads
to stresses and mental fatigue. It happens because of a constant tension of
attention in order to perceive and structure a big amount of data. To remove
this tension is to change the environment to a natural, reduce the number of
destabilizing stimulus to a minimum [4, 7].
Attention
restoration theory of Steven Kaplan. According to this theory the nature can cause the
restoration effect on person. Thus, the stimulus of the urban environment, for
example, may cause negative emotions, resistance, which impoverishes human
energy resources, that is needed for productive thinking. Nature, with its soft
incentives has no such harmful effect on the person. Thanks to its conditions a person can save the
energy, which is needed for thinking.
Stress
reduction theory (SRT). According to this theory nature
can positively affect a person
and reduce his stress
state. This is due to the fact that people unconsciously interpret the natural environment as a safe and supportive that is subconsciously, almost at
the genetic level recalls the
experience and feelings of their ancestors in the natural environment [3].
Thus, nature,
primary human environment, which has kept unchanged a big impact on a person,
may be a factor of a positive impact on the human mind. Nature has a milder
stimuli compared to machining or computerized environment. The softness of
these stimuli helps the mind to relax.
Some studies have shown that even a small amount of trees in the city
helps a person to relax his mind and to work more efficiently. In connection
with this issue some other studies have been given. So, Frances Kuo, director
of the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory at the University of Illinois,
conducted her study with two groups of women. One group lived in homes with
views on a green grass and trees, the other group "enjoyed" the views
on concrete streets or playgrounds. After some time the women were offered
special psychological tests on attention and thinking. Also an observation
was included to investigation in order to find out features
of performing women’s daily household duties. The results showed that women, who
saw nature through the window, coped with the tests and daily work more effectively
than those who did not see nature. Thus,
we can conclude that there is a huge environmental impact on our mind and
thinking [5].
We can conclude that
the environment plays a crucial role
in the development of human thought. Modern environment, which surrounds us today, is filled
with all sorts of informational
factors that distract a person, lead to the depletion of its energy resources and thereby reduce its intellectual ability.
Now we are faced with a
growing number of cities, technologies,
and interact less with nature in its purest form. In this paper, we tried
to show that nature has not only aesthetic value for human. It noticeably affects human mind and mental processes, significantly
improving their speed and
quality.
2. Bateson, G. (1972).
Steps to an ecology of mind. New York: Balentine Books
3. Bratman, G.N.,
Hamilton, J.P., Daily, G.C. (2012). The impacts of nature experience on human cognitive
function and mental health. Annals Of The New York Academy Of Sciences, 1249, 118-36. doi:
10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06400.x.
4.
Kaplan, R., Kaplan, S. (2011). Well-being, reasonableness, and the
natural environment. Applied Psychology: Health & Well-Being, 3, 304-321.
doi: 10.1111/j.1758-0854.2011.01055.x.
5.
Lehrer, J. (2011-2012). How the city hurts your brain…And what you can do about
it. Taproot Journal, 21, 4-8.
6.
Mehta, R., Zhu, R. J., Cheema, A. (2012). Is
Noise Always Bad? Exploring the Effects of Ambient Noise on Creative Cognition. Journal of Consumer Research, 39, 784-99.
7. Ulrich, R.S. (1979).
Visual landscapes and
psychological well-being. Landscape Research, 4, 17-23. doi: 10.1080/01426397908705892