Psy/460 - The Effects of Population Density and Noise on Individuals

The Effects of Population Density and Noise on Individuals

Population density is a concept that is strongly connected to stress, anxiety, and various heart diseases – primarily because of its association with excessive noise and its negative consequences on human beings. With an increase in the population numbers of cities around the world come unwanted factors like lack of personal space, privacy, and territory; all of these factors have been scientifically proven to be associated with the deterioration of human health. Because population density is correlated to noise, and consequently health problems, it is important for the population to be aware and knowledgeable about ways to protect itself from the dangers related to these issues.

Explaining Privacy, Territoriality, and Personal Space

Privacy can be defined as a “selective control of access to the self or to one’s group” (Altman, 1977, p. 67). In other words, the concept of privacy revolves around an individual’s ability to control what personal information is shared with the world and what personal information he or she decides to keep to him or herself. With the advances of technology and social media in the current modern society, a battle between what is public information and what is private information has arisen. The internet has made it so the private lives of individuals (famous or not) are displayed on a screen for anyone to see.

Territory can be defined as a specific area or space that, in some way, belongs to a group, or an individual. According to Altman (1977), there are three types of territory: primary, which is an area used exclusively by a group or person (like an individual’s home); Secondary, which is an area regularly used by a group of person, but shared with others (like someone’s favorite bench on a park); Tertiary, which is a shared space accessible to anyone (like the park itself). Human territoriality can be explained as the need human beings have to defend and mark their territory – just like animals do. Having one’s territory invaded is a source of anxiety and stress.

Personal space is a physical distance that individuals choose to keep within one another. “Personal space is an area with invisible boundaries surrounding a person’s body into which intruders may not come” (Sommer, 1969, p. 26). These invisible boundaries that surround an individual’s body can difference amongst cultures, as some cultures are more open to human contact while others avoid it. Also, personal space is a changeable and evolving concept, and individuals will more likely change their perception about this factor throughout their lives. Both personal space and territoriality are ways for human beings to maintain their privacy.

Privacy, Territoriality, and Personal Space with Population Density Increase

            It is safe to say that when the population density of a specific location increases, the people of that area will suffer the consequences. A large population density stimulates the feeling of being crowded, which leads to individuals becoming more violent than they would normally be in a less populated area. With that, individuals will suffer not only from anxiety and social withdraw, but also from the increase of criminal and violent acts – as a result of people feeling more aggressive (Stokols, 1995). To avoid these negative symptoms, it is important for individuals who live in an overpopulated area to try and preserve their privacy and their personal space. Respecting the territoriality of those around may be a challenge, but it is crucial to maintain a balanced and stabilized society.

            A study performed by John Calhoun compared the lives of individuals living in a high density population area to the life of rats. He learned from his experiment that when the rats had plenty of space to move around, the rats behaved normally. When the rats’ population increased, they became violent, more territorial, fought more, and some even became cannibalistic (Straub, 2007). Although the concepts are not absolutely transferrable, the study is valid to show that population density certainly affect all beings.

How Nature Affects individuals in Urban Environments

            With the fast-moving life in urban cities, it is often for the population to suffer from stress, anxiety, and even heart problems, as results of the high population density and the issues that accompany the situation. The presence of controlled natural environments within big cities, such as zoos, parks, and any other green areas has been proven to help individuals relief stress and consequently avoid more serious health issues. The stressful lifestyle of big urban cities involves juggling busy schedules, family, friends, while trying to avoid violent acts and traffic. Nature allows individuals to recharge their abilities, while feeling restored and rejuvenated. Urban natural environments allow individuals to have access to the restorative powers of nature without having to travel to distant mountains or beaches. “Natural settings are often proclaimed for their capacity to instill a sense of peace and serenity. They are not usually described as hectic or rushed. Somehow, tranquility is more readily achieved in the natural context. But such settings need not lack in excitement, vibrancy, awesome- ness, or sensory richness. In the presence of nature it seems possible to combine the exciting and the serene” (Kaplan, 1984, p.190).

How Noise Affects Individuals

Excessively noise environments have been proven to cause negative impacts on human health. Consequences to an over-exposure to noise can lead to stress, anxiety, high blood pressure and other heart-related diseases (Straub, 2007). The most common health related effect to excessive noise is Noise Inducing Hearing Loss (NIHL). Although adults certainly suffer from the effects of noise, children are even more vulnerable to its impact, as noise can decrease learning ability, short-term memory, and the overall ability to hear, since excessive noise can also lead to hearing loss (Straub, 2007). Chronic noise exposure will hurt children when they learn to block out all types of noise, including the sounds they actually need in order to learn. Noise has also been proven to decrease individuals’ (children or adults) ability to perform simple tasks.

Strategies to Reduce Noise

Life in urban environments is guaranteed to have noise as one of its permanent elements. Although there is not a lot individuals can do to completely block excessive urban sounds (such as ambulances, loud music, fights, traffic sounds, etc.), there are ways to reduce the excessive noise and allow individuals to live a healthy lifestyle, no matter where they live. One easy strategy to reduce excessive noise is the installation of extra fabric over the windows. The extra layer of curtains will provide not only additional insulation – making the cooling and heating bills lower – but it will also block some of the noise coming from the street. Choosing carpet instead of hard wood floors will also muffle and absorb some of the noise coming from outside.

            Another alternative to reduce noise, and consequently stress and anxiety, is playing some kind of white noise constantly. This technique, known as auditory masking, doesn’t necessarily eliminate the noise coming from outside, but instead allows individuals to focus on a soothing and calming sound, instead of the aggressive noise from the streets. White noise is commonly used to sooth babies, but adults can benefit from it as well. White noise can come from an inexpensive machine or from something simple that most homeowners already have, like a fan or any other type of consistent background sound.

Conclusion

            Although the modern world, especially in big urban cities, presents individuals with many things to make their lives easier, it also brings negative elements that can cause psychological distress on many people. Human beings need their personal space, as well as their privacy and their sense of territoriality in order to function properly and normally. Although most individuals’ perceptions regarding these factors are different, the mutual agreement is that all human beings suffer and are impacted by limited space. Inn large and overpopulated cities, where each individual’s personal space is limited, the levels of aggression and crimes are higher than in areas where people have more room. Although this correlation does not necessarily imply causation, it cannot be ignored. Another factor that causes aggression, stress, and anxiety in individuals living in urban environments is the constant presence of noise. This disturbance can create excessive annoyance, leading to diseases, insomnia, and poor social interaction. There are many alternatives to reduce the influence of noise on individual’s daily routine, allowing them to enjoy the benefits and commodities of living in a big urban area, without having to sacrifice their health and well-being.

References

Altman, I. (1977). Privacy regulation: culturally universal or culturally specific? Journal of Social Issues, 33(3), 66-84.

Kaplan, R. (1984). Impact of urban nature: a theoretical analysis. Urban Ecology, 8(3), 189-197.

Sommer, R. (1969). Personal space; the behavioral basis of design. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.

Stokols, D. (1995, October). The paradox of environmental psychology. American Psychologist, 50(10), 821-837.

Straub, R. O. (2007). Health psychology (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Wor