Umwelt is Binswanger's term for the physical world, relating to the environment, the objects and living beings within it; attending to the biological and physical aspects of the world.

Umwelt includes eachperson's bilogically based needs, instincts, genetics, and neurochemistry. Each human is conceived in the physical realm through the act of sexual intercourse or in vitro fertilization followed by the complicated biology of gestation and birth. The "Umwelt" continues to be important throughout life as one comes to realize that existence in the physical world is bounded by the limits of birth and death and is limited by a variety of physical laws.

Ludwig Binswanger is an Existentialist or Existential Psychologist who have written and studied about the role of the environment on human development. Binswanger (1963) Model consists of three (3) interacting dimensions of the environment which includes the "Umwelt" described above. (See Ludwig Binswanger)

Umwelt is the German word for Environment.

Related Articles

Facticity at psychology-glossary.com■■■■■■■
Facticity is a concept in psychology that refers to the inherent characteristics or conditions of an . . . Read More
Three types of environmental limits imposed on an individual at psychology-glossary.com■■■■■■■
Three types of environmental limits imposed on an individual: May's (1981) model of the role of environment . . . Read More
Purpose at psychology-glossary.com■■■■■■
Purpose may be defined as the ability to imagine and pursue valued goals. According to Erikson, Purpose . . . Read More
Temperament Trait at psychology-glossary.com■■■■■■
Temperament Trait: Temperament trait in the psychology context refers to the basic, innate aspects of . . . Read More
Environment at psychology-glossary.com■■■■■■
Our Environment is the complex of factors (those of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere) . . . Read More
Life span at psychology-glossary.com■■■■■
Life span refers to the typical length of time that any particular organism can be expected to live. . . . Read More
Progenitor at psychology-glossary.com■■■■■
Progenitor in the context of psychology refers to an individual or entity that serves as the origin or . . . Read More
Suggestibility at psychology-glossary.com■■■■■
Suggestibility in Psychology: Suggestibility is a psychological phenomenon that refers to the tendency . . . Read More
Opposition at psychology-glossary.com■■■■■
Opposition maybe defined as the diagonal movement of the thumb across the palmar surface of the hand . . . Read More
Legal Expertise at psychology-glossary.com■■■■■
Legal Expertise: Legal expertise in the psychology context refers to the specialized knowledge and skills . . . Read More