Environmental Issues and Psychology - Case Study Example

Environmental Issues and Psychology Environmental Issues and Psychology Introduction Environmental issues have been the impacts of various human activities in various societies. The issues have long-term and short-term repercussions on various fields in the society (Harri)s, 2012. The aspects can be linked to other social, political and psychological principles. Causes and impacts of environmental issues can be related to psychology through a field of study known as environmental psychology. It includes the study of the interrelationship between human behavior, cognition and their impacts on the society. The study also explains ways that humans affect both natural and built environments and the vice versa. The focus on environmental psychology is important since most of the environmental issues are caused by humans. Human behavior, on the other hand, directly and indirectly affects the presence of environmental issues in various habitats (Cassidy, 2013). Awareness and rational decisions have to be observed while coming up with solutions to environmental issues. For example, theories such as behavioral and cognitive explain the human behavioral concepts and their impacts on social aspects. 1. OVERPOPULATION AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE One of the major environmental problems facing the modern society is overpopulation. It includes a situation where the present number of people cannot be sustained by the available resources (Harris, 2012). Non-renewable resources and their depletion have been the cause of overpopulation in most societies. Causes of overpopulation have been under study by various social scientists since they are linked to human factors such as decisions (Harris, 2012. It can be caused by increased birthrates, increase in immigration, low mortality rates, and the unsustainable biome among others. Overpopulation and its link to psychology Controlled populations are a result of policies and awareness to the present habitats. Psychologists have come up with studies that will assist in understanding why some communities are prone to overpopulation while others observe its impacts. Psychological changes may be part of the solution to such environmental problems (Steg, 2012). Human relate with nature in different perspectives. Some relationships have positive impacts while others lead to depletion of the available resources. The presence of various mindsets is the cause of issues such as logging and overusing nonrenewable resources. Cultural factors such as beliefs may also contribute to overpopulation whereby some communities support the presence of many infants in a family. Parents that have experienced calamitous conditions may compensate by having more babies to compensate the lost ones. However, some states have policies that stipulate the number of infants that a family should have due to the present resources and infrastructure. An understanding of such human behavior may provide various ideas on ways of reducing overpopulation in the modern society. Psychologists have also comprehended the presence of behavioral aspects based on the society. For example, families in urban areas have the tendency of having fewer children due to environmental issues such as space, food, and resources. Those in rural areas will have large and extended families due to the presence of agricultural activities and lack of entertainment facilities (Steg, 2012). Impacts Learning, thinking, perception and motivation are some of the aspects of psychology. Societies with overpopulation problems are most likely to be in poor communities where there are high rates of illiteracy and poverty. For example, societies in underdeveloped nations suffer from overpopulation since individuals do not have access to education. Illiteracy also contributes to poverty and poor allocation of resources. Regions such as Africa have vast resources but still suffer from hunger and overpopulation problems. Motivation by other individuals to have large families will cause overpopulation whereby the infants cannot be supported by the present resources. Environmental psychology also explains human attitude towards various situations. For example, individuals in rural areas should invest in businesses rather than migrating to urban areas leading to overpopulation. Psychological impacts of overpopulation There will be less personal freedom due to the increased populations. Interaction rates between individuals will also increase due to the high population density. Overpopulation will also contribute to health condition such as stress and cancer due to the ways that individuals will face problems such as insufficient resource (Winter and Koger, 2005). Social ills such as theft and rape will increase due to changing behaviors in the society to overcome the environmental problems. 2. POLLUTION AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE Pollution includes the introduction of impurities into the natural environment (Harris, 2012). The contaminants can be caused by natural and artificial causes. However, most of the pollutants are manmade; hence, the introduction of psychologist in the comprehension of pollution to the environment. Pollution takes a range of forms such as water, noise, soil, visual air, light and thermal among others. Most cases of pollution have been linked to global warming that has had an adverse impact on health and the society. Pollution can be studied in various aspects. Psychologists provide awareness on reasons why individuals continue polluting the environmental despite their knowledge of the impacts. Most air pollution is caused by burning fossil fuels. Most machinery and automobile depend on fossil fuels; hence, increasing the output of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, individuals continue adopting such machinery regardless of the negative impacts. Human behaviors and perceptions of various situations explain the increased cases of pollution. For example, some cultures do not encourage the use of new machinery and technological devices. Such societies are bound by beliefs and behaviors that include the burning of coal that contributes to air pollution. Wealth, resources, and power drive most societies. Individuals in such habitats tend to embrace activities that ensure wealth build up without considering their consequences. For example, most firms will prefer profit maximization rather than environmental conservations. Such a situation will lead to the firm adopting fossil fuels rather than clean energy that will prevent pollution. Psychologists enlighten individuals that the lack of sanctions and punishments will cause individuals to embrace the cheapest approaches possible. Lack of policies to prevent pollution in various states will cause an increase in pollution levels. Developed countries have set up rules that require firms to produce not more than the stipulated amount of toxic gasses. However, due to conditions such as greed, there is existence of corruption prevents the observation of the policies. Environmental psychology also explains why individuals tend to continue with activities of pollution despite signs such as global warming. Other factors such as overpopulation also contribute to pollution due to the increased demand. The high population densities will increase the need for food, resources and infrastructure. For example, increase demographic trends show the increased need for air, sea and land transport. Automobiles and aircrafts that operate on fossil fuel will cause an increased rate of air pollution. On another perspective, increase population will lead to a high demand for resources. As a result, firms have come up with ways that manipulate human behavior and moods leading to high demand statistics on various items that contribute to pollution. For example, the green cars in the automobile industry are not as fast as those that run on fossil fuels. Firms manipulate human moods; hence, leading to the purchase of vehicles that pollute the atmosphere rather than those that run on clean energy (Whitmarsh and Oneill, 2005). Impacts Mental health and psychological conditions can be caused by pollution in different ways. Climate changes may cause health condition and calamities such as cyclones and hurricanes (Kahan, 2015). Other conditions such as stress and apathy are long-run impacts of air, visual, water and noise pollution in some countries. Humans only change their perception of environmental pollution after they become victims of its impacts. Conclusion Psychologists have come up with ways that humans are influenced by external actions to engage in environmental issues (Cassidy, 2013). Most individuals do not take part in conserving the environment unless external forces are introduced (Kahan, 2015). Punishments and reinforces can be used to change the perception of the human mind and behavior in positive and negative ways. Punishments include policies and laws against environmental degradation while reinforces presents that act as motivators. References Cassidy, T. (2013). Environmental Psychology Behaviour and Experience In Context. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. Harris, F. (2012). Global environmental issues (2nd ed.). Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. Kahan, D. (2015, February 23). You can change the minds of climate change skeptics. Here’s how. Retrieved February 24, 2015, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/02/23/you-can-change-the-minds-of-climate-change-skeptics-heres-how/ Steg, L. (2012). Environmental Psychology. Blackwell Publishing. Whitmarsh, L., & Oneill, S. (n.d.). Green identity, green living? The role of pro-environmental self-identity in determining consistency across diverse pro-environmental behaviours. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 305-314. Winter, D., & Koger, S. (2005). The psychology of environmental problems (2nd ed.). Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum. Read More