Analysis of Behavioral Changes Observed in Users …
207
3 Environmental Psychology
The concept of environmental psychology first appeared in 1943, proposed by
Brunswik (Gifford 2007), where he approached the fact that psychologists should
increase the volume of research dedicated to the representativeness of design, emphasizing that the environmental stimuli diffused by design were more complex than
they were considered at the time (Alves and Bassani 2008). Thus, it can be said
that environmental psychology has its roots not only in traditional psychology, but
in other diverse areas, such as architecture, urbanism, landscaping, sociology, biology, geography, ergonomics, among others. It is a multidisciplinary approach in
almost all cases, since the complexity of environmental problems often requires an
approach from different points of view, lacking the collaboration of other disciplines.
A good example is the fact that one of the accepted conceptions for the term environment, from the point of view of psychology, comes from a biologist who defined
the environment being always related to an organism that perceives and acts, and this
corresponds to the structure of its “inner world,” which he named Umwelten (Kruse
2005; Uexukll 1921).
The main objective of the analyzes that use this concept is to study the individual
in its context, focusing on the study of the interrelations between people and the environment, both physical and social. It is evident that the sociocultural dimensions are
always present in the observation and definition of the environments, mediating and
measuring the perception, the evaluation and the attitudes of the people in front of
them. It is noteworthy that environments also exert intense effects on human behaviors, so it can be said that environmental psychology extends and studies precisely
this reciprocity between individual and means (Moser 1998). It is also clear that it
is the behavior of individuals that cause and aggravate environmental problems, and
that these changes will consequently modify their own qualities of life. In this way
it is emphasized that these problems are, in reality, problems of humanity (Pinheiro
1997; Rodriguez 1997).
4 Research Methodology
The present work was developed from theoretical analyzes applied in qualitative
field researches, carried out on users of products and services of two real companies,
Eletrosol and Ciclo Gestão de Resíduos, both active in relation to the theme proposed by the article, in this case in the production of solar energy and in the selective
collection of garbage, respectively. The companies are located in the State of Minas
Gerais and the surveys were carried out in November 2018.
Because it is a qualitative and non-quantitative research, there is in the process
of approach a very wide range of possibilities of choice. To define the form that
would follow the questionnaires initially was thought of a simpler process, in the
sense of how much technical the questions would be and how comfortable would be
207
3 Environmental Psychology
The concept of environmental psychology first appeared in 1943, proposed by
Brunswik (Gifford 2007), where he approached the fact that psychologists should
increase the volume of research dedicated to the representativeness of design, emphasizing that the environmental stimuli diffused by design were more complex than
they were considered at the time (Alves and Bassani 2008). Thus, it can be said
that environmental psychology has its roots not only in traditional psychology, but
in other diverse areas, such as architecture, urbanism, landscaping, sociology, biology, geography, ergonomics, among others. It is a multidisciplinary approach in
almost all cases, since the complexity of environmental problems often requires an
approach from different points of view, lacking the collaboration of other disciplines.
A good example is the fact that one of the accepted conceptions for the term environment, from the point of view of psychology, comes from a biologist who defined
the environment being always related to an organism that perceives and acts, and this
corresponds to the structure of its “inner world,” which he named Umwelten (Kruse
2005; Uexukll 1921).
The main objective of the analyzes that use this concept is to study the individual
in its context, focusing on the study of the interrelations between people and the environment, both physical and social. It is evident that the sociocultural dimensions are
always present in the observation and definition of the environments, mediating and
measuring the perception, the evaluation and the attitudes of the people in front of
them. It is noteworthy that environments also exert intense effects on human behaviors, so it can be said that environmental psychology extends and studies precisely
this reciprocity between individual and means (Moser 1998). It is also clear that it
is the behavior of individuals that cause and aggravate environmental problems, and
that these changes will consequently modify their own qualities of life. In this way
it is emphasized that these problems are, in reality, problems of humanity (Pinheiro
1997; Rodriguez 1997).
4 Research Methodology
The present work was developed from theoretical analyzes applied in qualitative
field researches, carried out on users of products and services of two real companies,
Eletrosol and Ciclo Gestão de Resíduos, both active in relation to the theme proposed by the article, in this case in the production of solar energy and in the selective
collection of garbage, respectively. The companies are located in the State of Minas
Gerais and the surveys were carried out in November 2018.
Because it is a qualitative and non-quantitative research, there is in the process
of approach a very wide range of possibilities of choice. To define the form that
would follow the questionnaires initially was thought of a simpler process, in the
sense of how much technical the questions would be and how comfortable would be