Environmental psychology is the study of human well-being and behavior in relation to the sociophysical environment. It is a specialized discipline within the field of psychology that emerged during the 1960’s as a way of examining the relationships between large-scale physical environments and behavior. Environmental psychology has since evolved into a much broader area of study composed of several focused research domains. Most familiar is the field of architecture.
Through the years, there have been efforts to encourage each discipline (environmental psychology and architecture) to become more sensitive to the influences of the other. Although advancements have been made, the merging of architecture and environmental psychology has been somewhat inconsistent. The initial enthusiasm of such assimilation has also diminished. Generally speaking, psychology and the behavioral sciences still tend to treat people apart from the physical environment. Likewise, although the education of architects typically includes some exposure to human behavior, architecture is still largely concerned with form and planning.
Architectural Psychology bridges the gap between architecture and psychology. As a result, it provides a more comprehensive understanding of the ways in which the physical environment contributes (both positively and negatively) to the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of occupants.
