Person-Environment Interactions

Howard E. A. Tinsley

Plato proposed the earliest person-environment (P-E) interaction model in The Republic around 360 B.C. He suggested that men be assigned to jobs based on their abilities and personality because each man is ideally suited to perform the tasks necessary for success on a single job. For example, guardians of the city must have the abilities to see the enemy quickly and pursue the enemy swiftly. This seemingly simple matching model underlies modern theories in many areas of psychology and it has led to advances in research and practice. Although many variations of the P-E interaction model exist, all emphasize the relation between two parallel aspects of the person and environment. One aspect concerns the desires of the person and the ability of the environment to fulfill those desires. The person's desires are described by various P-E models as needs, goals, values, interests, and preferences. Although some theoretical differences exist among ...

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