environmental psychology

a multidisciplinary field that investigates the effects of the physical environment on human behavior and welfare. Influences studied may include environmental stressors (e.g., noise, crowding, air pollution, temperature); design variables (e.g., lighting); the design of technology (see ergonomics); and larger, more ambient qualities of the physical environment, such as floorplan layouts, the size and location of buildings, and proximity to nature.

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

December 21st 2024

neurosis

n. any one of a variety of mental disorders characterized by significant anxiety or other distressing emotional symptoms, such as persistent and irrational fears, obsessive thoughts, compulsive acts, dissociative states, and somatic and depressive reactions. The symptoms do not involve gross personality disorganization, total lack of insight, or loss of contact with reality (compare psychosis). In psychoanalysis, neuroses are generally viewed as exaggerated, unconscious methods of coping with internal conflicts and the anxiety they produce. Most of the disorders that used to be called neuroses are now classified as anxiety disorders. Also called psychoneurosis. —neurotic adj., n.