Environmental Stressors Krista Jex PSY/460 01/31/2012 Dr. Thomas

Population density has grown throughout the years. The population rate of the world has increased. When we count the amount of people who settle in specific areas, that is how we determine population density. Having minimal privacy is something that people do not like to be a part of. Privacy is important because it allows a person to have their identity without other’s always in their business. Pollution and excess population can cause chaos and problems in the world. Everyone around is affected by their environment and noise can be a dominant factor and problem. In high density areas noise production is another problem. When certain areas grow, the people who live in the overly populated places will start to migrate somewhere else to gain some type of privacy. In my paper I will describe the territoriality, privacy, and personal space, how it becomes denser, the effect of nature has on individual’s living in urban environments, the concept of noise and examining the effect it has on individuals. Finally, I will examine at least two strategies that can be used to reduce noise in the workplace or in the living environment.
Privacy is essential because that is the foundation of behavior relations. Privacy is our right and it is essential. There are many reasons as to why privacy is important. Many times people have personal situations or information that they do not want to be let out, or to be assessed by others. Territoriality is a key function and it confirms the procreation of species and gives an outline on how things are done. To maintain life in which species are dependent it comes from the environment. Proper spacing is vital because it prevents over exploitation. Territoriality is also viewed as holding them collectively. Species with territory can develop their own responses. The concepts of territory, privacy, and personal space are cognitive processes that include ownership. With the growth of population the noise factors it is understandable as to why people would think that they are being intruded upon. With issues like this it can lead to other issues such as paranoia, distrust, and feelings of their privacy being invaded. Sanctioning personal areas is essential because it is an extension of one’s self; it is like a fiber cloth that makes up an entire identity. Once the population is denser, the noise levels tend to be on the rise, and that is when the concern comes into the effect.
The effects of nature have a lot to do with one’s living in urban environment and one’s mental health. Nature sometimes leads to increased mental health and psychological development. Research explains parks in urban areas offer recreational and green space to residents of and visitors to the urban areas. Urban parks exist today because of the bankrupt estates of early residents who acquired forest trades in settled areas. Direct contact with nature when dealing with child development has actual impact on a child and the cognitive, affective, and moral development is a source of positive significance. Parks are valuable assets to city land scape. For example, London, a city that resulted from growing together through several villages, each with their own parks as a result and the country currently has hundreds of beautiful parks and gardens. In certain areas parks can unite all cultures, ethnicities, and all racial boundaries. Another example is Harlem in New York City which has one of the most famous enclaves, and it is highly populated with blacks. In the southern part of Harlem that is what divided the white and black neighborhoods. The state park was then built, it opened and it had basketball, baseball, playgrounds and swimming pools and it attracted more white visitors and that is just an example of how urban parks can break all boundaries, whether it be color lines, or boundaries.
When defining the concept of noise it is complex and individualistic because people tend to hear different things, and what may affect one, may not affect the other. Noise can be a problem and cause confusion depending on quantity, and intensity of the situation. In crowded places there tends to be more noise, but in rural areas also seem to have a lot of noise. Noise can affect many different things such as hearing impairment; it can cause hypertension, heart disease, annoyance and a big factor, sleep deprivation. Birth defects are another example of the affect noise can have on a person. Loud noise can stimulate aggression and other anti-social behaviors, it can cause stress within the workplace, it increases accident rates and it can cause frustration. Noise can be caused by loud music, vehicles, trains, buses, social gatherings, and your living environment. There are ways to eliminate or reduce the sound of noise such as sound wave earphones, planning ahead, staying away from areas or places that are crowded, and staying within your comfort zone. Sometimes it is impossible to take noise out of the equation, but for some people noise does not bother them. It is important to have an understanding of one’s culture, background, atmosphere, and the areas in which they are raised in order to understand their tolerance. Noise constrains behaviors but it also depends on the individual because an autistic child cannot stand noise, but a person with ADHD does not like it to be in quiet environments. I have not been diagnosed, but I personally do not like when it is really quiet, because I feel as if I cannot focus. I have to hear some type of noise. I can say that I do not like loud noise either. What I like, another person may not like, and that is how the analogy becomes complicated.
In summation, we discussed environmental stressors of over population, the effects of population density on individuals, the effects of noise as an environmental pollutant, the concepts of personal space and territorialism, and the importance of nature and the relation to the urban environment. All factors are important because they reflect off of one another. Sometimes it is never thought about what causes some of our stress. We do not think about simple things like noise, crowd, our personal space and how crowding and urbanization have effect on us all. We discussed how these all have an important acclimation and why it is essential to understand stressors of our environment.

References:

Noise: Effects on health (2007). Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine
Territoriality (2004). Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology