Hi everybody, and welcome to the start of my blog!
Let me start by introducing myself. I am Jia Wei, a first-year undergrad in the Bachelor of Environmental Studies (BES) course. My hobbies include art, gaming and sports in general.
Yes, the title of the blog site may raise a few eyebrows. To be frank, I have not always felt strongly about the environment, but I now wish to take the chance in BES to learn more about the environment, grow a deeper passion for it and see what I can do to help it.
This is me, feeling very pleased with myself after hiking to the top of a waterfall (took 4hrs!) in Da Nang, Vietnam.
I am not somebody who experienced one of those life-changing events that ignited a fire in my heart to protect our earth. Why does that matter? Because this means that just about anyone can be convinced to have a stake in our environmental concerns!
In fact, from a brief survey I conducted with my peers in BES, not many actually had a significant event that made them decide to be nature’s champion (only 18.8%). Rather, the primary reason was an interest in nature, nurtured over time that eventually led them to their current path of studying in an Environmental-related course.
Did you notice an alliteration earlier?
If you guessed “Nature” and “Nurture”, you are right and this is actually something that I find interestingly complex. How does this concept related to the environment? Well, I would like you to consider whether being interested in nature is an innate trait or something that can be groomed.
What were your initial reactions when you saw this image?
Different people will react differently: some may be very vocally disagreeable to cow farms while others however may treat it as an interesting site to visit. Why do we have such varied reactions?
But that is not where the distinctions stop. What is keeping some who are aware or upset from actively trying to change the situation?
Alas, all these made me think of the psychology behind our actions regarding the environment. Our daily choices and lifestyles are determined by so many various factors: some we can control, others externally forced upon us and many actually unbeknownst to us.
Personally, I believe our perception and stance towards the environment is “nurtured” rather than ingrained in our “nature”. Through this blog, I hope to investigate what shapes our conscience about our actions on the environment, how my actions can influence others, and eventually I hope to convince others to take a more active role in protecting our precious earth.
If I have managed to pique your interest, I wholeheartedly invite you to join me as I attempt to unravel some of the mysteries behind environmental psychology.
Hi Jia Wei, psychology and the environment is such an interesting topic! I look forward to reading more of what you will write!
Thanks Jian Xi, I hope the following blog posts will be interesting for you!
Hi Jia Wei, I’m really interested in psychology, I think it is very useful in helping us understand the reasons behind our attitudes and behavior towards the environment. However, I haven’t seen much coverage on psychology and environmentalism so I will be looking forward to your posts!
Hi Si Ying! Glad you feel the same about Psychology! Yes, there isn’t much coverage on psychology and environmentalism so I’m hoping to dig up the scarce research and find some new applications for current Psychology studies.
Wow Jia Wei, your voice and personality really shines through in your writing. I’m excited for what you have in store for us.
Thanks Li Zhe! As I research more into the topic, the more I realise there is much more behind psychology and our environment and I’m excited to shall with you all! Please stay tuned!
Hi Jia Wei,
Thanks for sharing this topic. I’m was quite intrigued when I read your blog title. As I read through, it gets more interesting with your writing!
And actually, we almost have the same theme together, since mine will be about ecopsychology. Hopefully, we can catch up to discuss some of the pressing issues that our psychology could become the deterrence to contributing more towards our environment!
Cheers
Wee Meng
Hi Wee Meng,
I saw your blog too, and although it sounded like the same concept, you went with a very interesting approach. Psychology and our environment is actually such a broad topic and I’m glad that you are covering aspects that I have not previously considered.
Looking forward to learning from your blog and we should definitely come together to learn more about this topic together!
Hi Jia Wei,
Well, I guess your peers see what I see, at least in terms of the engaging nature of your writing. Great job getting ppl interested !
jc
Thank you Dr. Coleman! I am glad to hear that I managed keep the post engaging. I will strive to maintain the enthusiasm for the subsequent posts!