Seasonal Psychology

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter…

Whether you embrace the fresh frost of winter, or feel the blues of gloomier skies, the changing seasons can impact our moods, psyche and general wellbeing more than we think. Researchers are finding more links between the climate and our social behaviours, illustrating how the impact on our lives of changing seasons is multifaceted. Let’s delve into some key findings.

SAD

Commonly known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), this form of depression is understood to be related to decreased exposure to sunlight that occurs with the coming of winter. According to Emma Young in The Psychologist (2023) two million people are affected by SAD in the UK alone. Studies into SAD found that people with this disorder may eat and sleep more, and feel less motivated and productive, while other studies found that people have higher levels of serotonin in the brain during summer, and lower levels during the winter. This substantiates that colder, darker weather, and all the associated environmental changes, can negatively impact people’s psyches.

Feeling The Heat

While colder weather may cause peoples’ moods to plunge, warmer weather is thought to increase irritability and the chances of violence (Young, 2023). Research into violent crime rates in Philadelphia in the US found that violence increased by 9% on hotter days, while other studies demonstrate increased rates of domestic violence and disordered prisoner behaviour during summer months. What makes this more concerning is the planet’s rise in temperatures which researchers Andreas Miles-Novelo and Craig Anderson in particular, are focused on. The rising temperature of the planet could, according to them, lead to several thousand more serious assaults in the US each year (Young, 2023).

Changing With The Wind

Similarly to animals who hibernate in the winter and store additional calories to prepare for food scarcity, it is thought that humans experience similar urges, too. During autumn and winter, people are more likely to consume more calories and gain weight, and become less physically active. While we might feel this is simply because we’re deterred by the cold and seek comforting food, researchers believe biological mechanisms may be responsible. One study even suggested that warmer weather can make us feel fuller with fewer calories, when compared to a colder day.

In Ian Hohm’s (2023) research on the topic, he found that during December, the ‘Christmas Effect’ makes people more charitable, which is also reflected across other cultures and religions when religious events take place. Conversely, Hohm also highlights that Christmas intensifies feelings of loneliness or anxiety, while managing costs during this period also increases levels of stress.

Seasonal Colours And Concentration

However, the growing gloom doesn’t always cast shade over our mood and behaviour. Hohm and his colleagues observed that greenish-yellow colours are associated with autumn leaves, and these colours are preferred during the autumn. While research in Belgium found that healthy young people’s ability to sustain attention and memory was better during winter than summer.

So, it seems that variations in the weather impact human psychology in a major way. Hohm and his fellow researchers now understand the importance of timing when data is collected and how the season may impact the results. Hohm (2023) states that ‘Rather than remaining an overlooked source of noise in the database of the psychological sciences, seasonal variation can instead be systematically documented as a key source of signal – a fundamental feature of human psychology,’.

References
Hohm, Ian. (2023) Homo temporus: Seasonal Cycles as a Fundamental Source of Variation in Human Psychology. Source: Homo temporus: Seasonal Cycles as a Fundamental Source of Variation in Human Psychology – Ian Hohm, Alexandra S. Wormley, Mark Schaller, Michael E. W. Varnum, 2024
Varnum, Michael E. W. (2023) How the Seasons Affect Our Psychology in Psychology Today. Source: How the Seasons Affect Our Psychology | Psychology Today.
Young, Emma (2023). Seasons and the psyche in The Psychologist. Source: The British Psychological Society Seasons and the psyche | BPS.

If you are interested in studying Psychology, Oxford Open Learning offer the chance to do so at the levels listed below. You can also Contact Us.

Psychology GCSE

Psychology A level