Psychology of Ecological Consciousness

Abstract

The authors substantiate in the article the importance of paying attention to the environmental direction in psychology. They also reveal the significance of perceiving the environment for the formation of an ecocentric position. The conclusions have been drawn that domestic science is just beginning to show interest to this area of research, which undoubtedly requires further and deeper investigation. The ecological approach to the study of the human psyche in natural, “real”, “ecological” conditions is presented, in all its diversity influencing the functioning of its variables. Theoretical approaches have been considered in the main research areas of environmental psychology - the study of spatial cognition, behavior, perception of the environment quality, human reactions to the interaction with the environment and the resulting stress. The authors also presented the study of the formation of the child’s psyche in the process of interaction with the environment as a system, the urban environment, the psychological consequences of natural disasters and man-made disasters. The article will be useful to students of environmental and psychological programs of study, as well as specialists in the field of social psychology, to teachers and parents.