According to the Chapter 1 text book, Environmental Psychology examines the influence of the environment on human experiences, behaviors, and the well-being of the individual. An important milestone in the development of environmental psychology was during the early 20th century when scholar Hellpach introduced the term environmental psychology and began to study the different environmental stimuli and its effect on human activities. The topics presented by Hellpach are considerable, yet too early to speak of environmental psychology as an independent field.
An important milestone in the development of environmental psychology occurred in 1902 with the analysis of culture and the nervous system, presented by Wundt’s student, Willy Hellpach. In 1911, Hellpach continues his studies with the publication of Geopsyche in which he analyzes the effects of climatic and geographical differences at the macro, mezzo, and micro levels. Furthermore, Hellpach’s writings within Geopsyche, explain the effect of the sun and the moon and its relationships towards people’s activities; the effect of color and form; the effect of extreme environments; the effect of urban microclimates, etc. Hellpach believes the goal of studies in environmental psychology should not be “artificially individualized psychic life” but rather “the psyche in as far as it depends on its factual environment” (Hellpach, 1924: 110).
Brunswik and Lewin are known to be the ‘founding fathers’ of environmental psychology. Their ideas consist of the interactions between the physical environment and psychological processes while studying human behaviors in a real-life setting. This is important when studying any discipline. Although settings can be re-enacted, they do not always capture the true behaviors needed to prove theories. Environmental changes like climate and pollution impact human behaviors