Within the Whole-Person Health Model, Environment explains how physical spaces, available resources, social context, and digital exposure shape what behaviors are easier or harder to maintain.
In plain terms, Environment answers the question: What around us influences what we do?
What Environment is
- External conditions: It includes the surroundings and circumstances that exist outside the individual.
- A source of influence: Environment affects what behaviors are visible, available, and convenient.
- A factor in ease or difficulty: It shapes how easy or difficult it is to repeat behaviors consistently.
- A constant presence: Environmental factors are always influencing behavior, whether noticed or not.
What Environment is not
- Not behavior itself: It does not describe what actions are taken.
- Not a personal decision: It exists independently of individual choice.
- Not a recommendation: It does not tell you what to change or how to act.
- Not a replacement for other dimensions: It does not define where behaviors occur, how they repeat, or how they are adjusted over time.
Scope guidelines
In scope
- Describing external conditions that influence behavior.
- Explaining how availability, visibility, and access shape behavior.
- Identifying factors that increase or decrease ease of action.
- Supporting navigation to more specific Environment pages.
Out of scope
- Providing advice, plans, or step-by-step guidance.
- Recommending changes to surroundings or routines.
- Defining where behaviors occur (covered under Lifestyle Domains).
- Describing how behaviors repeat (covered under Behavioral Patterns).
- Explaining how behaviors are adjusted over time (covered under Adaptive Process).
How Environment fits within the model
- Lifestyle Domains define where behaviors occur: Environment operates across these areas.
- Behavioral Patterns describe what repeats: Environment influences how easily patterns are maintained.
- Environment shapes conditions: It determines what is visible, available, and convenient.
- Adaptive Process explains adjustment: Individuals respond to environmental conditions over time.
Examples of environmental factors
- Food Environment
- Movement Environment
- Sleep Environment
- Digital Environment
- Social Environment
- Environmental Friction and Convenience
- Cognitive Load
- Resource Availability
Reading contract
This page defines what Environment represents within the model.
Each Environment page explains one specific external factor and how it influences behavior in daily life.
Session Expired from Inactivity
