Psychology and Life
This domain tests how physical and social environments shape behaviour: environmental stressors, personal space, disasters, media effects, and how psychology contributes to health and sustainable living.
Human-environment relationship
Behaviour is a function of the person and the environment. Environmental psychology studies how settings - crowding, noise, architecture - affect mood, attention and performance.
Environmental stressors
Noise harms performance most when it is unpredictable and uncontrollable. Density is a physical measure (people per unit area); crowding is the subjective feeling of being too close, so high density need not produce crowding. Pollution and extreme temperature raise irritability and reduce helping. Personal space follows Hall's zones: intimate, personal, social and public.
Disasters and health
Natural and human-made disasters pass through impact, recoil, post-traumatic and reorganisation phases. Effects include acute stress reactions and post-traumatic stress, moderated by social support. Lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, sleep and coping with stress shape health.
Environment and behaviour change
Pro-environmental behaviour is encouraged through prompts, feedback, incentives and clearer norms. Media influence attitudes and behaviour - television violence correlates with aggression, but correlation is not causation.
Worked example
Two hostels have the same number of students per room, yet students in one report far more irritation. Reasoning: density is identical, so the difference must lie in crowding - a subjective appraisal produced by factors such as perceived control, noise or layout.
Traps
Density and crowding are not synonyms. The TV-violence link is correlational. Personal-space zones must be described in the correct order. Disaster stress reactions are normal responses for most people rather than disorders.