ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the implications of the development of an environmental stress perspective and discusses in detail some of the major methodological options presented. One development in the growth of environmental psychology has been the linking of environmental stress to the study of stress and medical outcomes. Stress is a process by which environmental events threaten, harm, or challenge an organism’s existence or well-being, and by which the organism responds to this threat. Subjects may be observed in the stressful environment and their behavioral responses recorded and interpreted, or performance measures can be used to assess the effects of stress on motivation or on some ability or skill during or after exposure to a stressor. Research on life change is concerned with measuring the frequency of experience with various stressors or events that require adjustment or involve disruption of everyday life. Observational measures of behavior under stressful conditions can also provide useful information.
