Concepts in Environmental Psychology PDF Unit II

Concepts in Environmental Psychology Unit II ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 Activity 2.1 ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Draw an environment that promotes peak well-being for you Indicate the features Form/Shap...

Concepts in Environmental Psychology Unit II ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 Activity 2.1 ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Draw an environment that promotes peak well-being for you Indicate the features Form/Shape Colour Pattern Movement Identity/Style What each represents psychologically & socially ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Definition of Environmental Perception S En Processing… ‘Process of apprehending & processing the features like identity, pattern, form, colour and movement of the environment’ ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Characteristics of Environmental Perception ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Characteristics of Environmental Perception Survival and social life of humans There have been two main traditions of research: The Psychology of Perception The Social Psychological Tradition Tradition Brunswick Lewin Gibson Baker Neisser Bronfenbrenner ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  The Physical-perceptual View A.K.A. ‘the Inside-Outside Problem’ Correspondence between psychological characteristics and physical properties of the environment Egon Brunswik (1947,1957) emphasized on the need to consider ______________________? Ecology of a individual Active role of humans Making sense of cues from En → Environmental perception Not all cues have equal ‘ecological validity’, (may vary with respect to degree of correspondence), Thus, cognitive (perceptual) processes are always probabilistic The observer is thus continuously involved in hypothesis-testing about equivocal correspondences. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  The Physical-perceptual View Technically, Magenta is a pigment of your imagination! ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 The Physical-perceptual View ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 The Physical-perceptual View ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  The Physical-perceptual View According to Gibson’s (1950) theory of direct perception, Sufficient contextual information exists in the environment which may be used directly. Biological adaptation processes prepare humans for picking depth and distance cues sent which further help directly in perceiving distance & navigation. Perception happens on the basis of our analysis of the stable relationships among features of objects and settings in the real world ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 The Physical-perceptual View ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 The Physical-perceptual View ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  The Physical-perceptual View Constructivist approach Ulric Neisser (1987, 1990) distinguishes between perception which is based upon information from the environment and categorization which is based on top-down cognitive process. Cognitive inferential processes are anchored to socio-cultural-historical characteristics of the context ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  The Physical-perceptual View Kitchen Party Lab ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Characteristics of Environmental Perception Survival and social life of humans There have been two main traditions of research: The Psychology of Perception The Social Psychological Tradition Tradition Brunswick Lewin Gibson Baker Neisser Bronfenbrenner ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  The Social-psychological View Kurt Lewin’s (1951) Field Theory Insisted that all behaviour is a function of person as well as the environment. Perceived reality → ‘psychological ecology’ Physical & social characteristics of environment have explanatory role in psychological ecology Treats properties of the environment as psychological data not as physical-objective data ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 The Social-psychological View ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  The Social-psychological View Roger Barker (1951) He was opposed to the use of the experimental method and the use of individual level explanatory variables to explain human behaviour the ‘behaviour setting’ which was his unit of study Naturalistic observation → ‘specimen record’ (very detailed, minute observational record of behaviour) Through his studies he established that the place or setting was the strongest influence on behaviour. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 The Social-psychological View ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  The Social-psychological View Urie Bronfrenbenner (1979) Conceptualized the relationship between person and environment in terms of systems and subsystems Systems and subsystems are interdependent and therefore have reciprocal influence It also points out how the spatio-physical features of the environment organized in a molar sense constitute both second-order and first-order effects on individual behavior ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 The Social-psychological View ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Perspectives of Environmental Perception Ontogenic Perspective Nativist Perspective Learning Perspective Interactionist Perspective ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 Ontogenic Perspective Piaget & Indler (1947) ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Nativist Perspective Landau, Gleitman, &Spelke (1981) ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 Learning Perspective Gauvain (1993) ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Interactionist Perspective Newcombe, 1998 A middle ground between the nativist and learning perspectives Ontogeny Neural maturation Environmental facilitation Cultural guidance all combine to contribute to spatial development none of these can be privileged more than the other ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 Environmental Cognition ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Environmental Cognition Environmental cognition refers to various interpretative, decision making and goal-oriented behaviour humans engage in while navigating the physical environment. It is beyond the perceptual factors and involves processes such as cognitive mapping environmental evaluation environmental risk perception perception of air/water (environment) quality, temporal pessimism & spatial optimism etc ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Environmental Cognition A cognitive map is a mental representation of the spatial environment which help any individual navigate the space. According to the APA, Cognitive maps are a mental understanding of an environment, formed through trial & error as well as observation. Squirrels > Dolphins > Elephants > Dogs ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  History of Cognitive Mapping* Donald Appleyard (1969) Cognitive Mapping explained that and Spatial the imageability Behaviour (1973) of a city is a Edward Tolman by Downs and product of two (1948) Stea different group Kevin Lynch Kaplan and Kaplan Modern day (1981) sketch map (1978) developed technology and method; structural a model of understanding of elements like environmental cognitive ‘legibility’ and’ preference; 4 mapping imageability’ aspects related to emotions ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Methods of Studying Cognitive Mapping Lynch’s Sketch Pad Method Neural correlates of cognitive mapping Brain Imaging Techniques (EEG, MRI, fMRI, PET) scans are used to In research using MRI scans, Head & Isom (2010), and Etchamendy & Bohbot (2007) hippocampus is implicated in wayfinding and the caudate nucleus is associated with route learning Morris & Parslow (2004) demonstrated the role of extra-hippocampus structures such as the parahippocampus in Wayfinding. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Environmental Cognition In an interesting study design employing PET scans Maguire et al., (1997) asked experienced taxi drivers in London to describe the shortest route from a given point A to point B. The results of the study showed that the hippocampus is involved in the processing of spatial layouts established over long time courses Janzen and Jansen (2010) studied the brain’s ability to differentiate useful from redundant or ambiguous wayfinding information in a virtual maze using fMRI readings. This study showed that the parahippocampal gyrus has an important role in responding to navigationally relevant objects even if briefly viewed. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Environmental Cognition In a recent study Sharma et al., (2017) used EEG techniques to study brain regions found that the left- hemispheric region, especially the parietal cortex, is involved in the integration of sensory cues and memory to encode contextual information of landmarks. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Wayfinding Wayfinding is an application of spatial cognition and cognitive mapping According to Passini (1996) wayfinding “includes all the mental processes which are involved in purposeful mobility”. It involves moving intentionally from point A to point B, knowing when one has reached one’s destination, and also being able to retrace one’s way back to point A. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Wayfinding Weisman (1982) has suggested four wayfinding strategies or styles that are based on behavioural perceptual-cognitive elements: Visually locate one’s destination and trace one’s way towards it steadily. This is especially useful for outside, medium to large spaces. Follow a “cue” towards a destination which may or may not be in one’s visual field. This strategy is useful for medium to large complex spaces having too many cues may lead to sensory overload. Consult signages, landmarks along the way which provide direction and help decide which path may lead to the desired destination, and which path may better be foregone. Mental representation or cognitive map of the environment may be used. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 Virtual Reality ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Virtual Reality Immersive virtual reality (VR) is often considered as virtual representative of actual environments and used to study wayfinding behaviour in simulated environments (to reduce design errors) Ewart and Johnson (2021) Wayfinding task – improved route & reduced time taken Irshad, Perkis & Azam (2021) With & without wayfinding cues – reduced heart rate & tension, improved positive affect ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Space Syntax This method was developed in the University College London in the 1980s by Bill Hillier et al. It links geometric attributes, with human behaviour to generate a graphical representation of space ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Space Syntax These graphical representations can then be quantitatively analysed to determine the role of each spatial element in the configuration of the system as a whole or in its parts as well as social antecedents and consequences of physical space ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Space Syntax Haq (2003) carried out research in which volunteers performed ‘open searches’, in large urban hospitals to become familiar. Depth of an entrance, lines of sight, connectivity (enhance space intelligibility) ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Geographic Information System GIS is a computer system for tagging, coding spatial information, visually representing such data and analysing them to understand patterns and their relationships Any position on the earth’s surface that has a location identifier in terms of latitude, longitude, PIN code, ZIP code or address can be fed into the GIS geographical locations and the sociodemographic characteristics of people inhabiting such locations ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Geographic Information System Borst et al. (2009) found using the GIS that elderly individuals are encouraged to walk by front gardens in streets and discouraged by litter, stairs or slopes along the way. Chen, Sato and Zheng (2021) investigated understanding of environmental information and wayfinding performance among travellers. They found that foreign travellers as compared to local travellers are more likely to use identifiable roads. Also, participants using paper maps were more likely to use obvious buildings as landmarks Famliliarity with tool → less time. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Errors in Cognitive Mapping The concept of cognitive mapping or mental representation of the external environment is flawed (Tversky, 1993) Draw upon disparate sets of information about a place or route which has been acquired over of time Actual experiences vs stories Vagaries of memory Mental shortcuts / heuristics ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Errors in Cognitive Mapping First, the cognitive representation of space in memory is hierarchical whereas the representation of the environment in maps is horizontal or two-dimensional. This introduces errors in cognitive mapping. Hirtle and Jonides (1985) ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Environmental Cognition Second, cognitive perspective or distances between nearby landmarks appear relatively larger than distances between faraway landmarks, though it is difficult to make adequate compensation for that. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Environmental Cognition Third, the cognitive reference points humans have in mind when asked for direction, address etc. is usually not an exact geographical reference point. Rather people describe spatial environments in terms of places they think the audience may know. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Environmental Cognition Fourth, when two or many locations on a map are remembered relative to one another there is a heuristic tendency to align them with one another leading to errors. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Environmental Cognition Fourth, when two or many locations on a map are remembered relative to one another there is a heuristic tendency to align them with one another leading to errors. If superordinate units on a map (example, continents) are remembered as aligned, then the relative location of subordinate units (example, cities) will also be remembered as shifted. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Environmental Cognition Fifth, cognitive mapping may suffer from rotation errors. When the orientation of a reference frame and an object are conflicted, there is a tendency to rotate the axis of the object towards the axis of the reference frame. This leads to rotation errors. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Environmental Cognition There may be mistakes in cognitive maps due to incomplete information available for coding. Idiosyncratic experiences may lead to some parts of the city to be highlighted more than others. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Environmental Cognition In cognitive mapping, all irregular geographic features may be smoothened. Turns and angles may be regularised to right angles. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Environmental Cognition Distance judgments are usually not based on actual measurements; approximations of distance lead to distortions Distance is usually judged to be longer when there are barriers, turns or nodes or clutter along the road The rule of thumb used is that routes must be longer if they have many locations along them. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Environmental Cognition Other factors such as socioeconomic status and number of years of experience living in a city, mobility etc. have implications for distortions that creep in cognitive mapping. Golledge and Spector (1978) studied cognitive maps of Columbus, Ohio using a multidimensional scaling procedure and concluded that the amount of time people had lived in the city and their familiarity with specific locations were related to distortions on their cognitive maps. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 Colour Psychology ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Colour Psychology In Physics colour is associated with a specific electromagnetic radiation of a certain range of wavelength visible to the human eye. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Colour Psychology The Hypothalamus governs: Autonomic arousal Appetite & Metabolism Emotions Body temperature Sexual and reproductive functions ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Colour Psychology Colours affect / alter the sensory experience and thereby perception, affect emotions as well as cognitive functions Three Emotional Dimensions: Arousal – Pleasure – Control ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 Colour Psychology ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 The Colour Experience Pyramid in Colour Psychology ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Colour Perception Variations in the Color characteristics can vary widely from one location to the next or in the same place over time as the lighting or seasons change. If observers are adapted to the colors they are immersed in, then we should expect variations in the properties of their color vision as we go from forest to desert or from summer to winter ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Colour Perception Variations in visual sensitivity that could arise from different levels of exposure to the phototoxic effects of sunlight. Exposure to UV accelerates normal yellowing of lens with age and thus reduces sensitivity to blue Brown and Lindsey (2002) ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 Colour Perception Neitz et al (2002) ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 Colour & Environmental Design ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Colour & Environmental Design Colour is often used in designing to alter (Satun, 2010): Harmony with environment Attraction Space modification Space separation and definition Smilarity and homogeneity of space texture Designing Spaces for Elderly Gradual yellowing of lens disrupts in identifying colors like blue, green, and purple Yellow, orange, and red can be identified by the elderly (Ghavami, 2009) Warm colours are important for arousal and appetite regulation ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 Colour & Environmental Design ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 Colour & Environmental Design Alexander Schauss; Baker & Miller ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Environmental Attitudes Fishben and Azen (1 975) define attitude as a "learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favourable or unfavourable manner with respect to a given object. Attitude is considered in terms of three components as given below: i) Attitude is learned ii) It predisposes action iii) Such action or behaviour is generally consistent. Therefore, environmental attitude can be defined as a "learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favourable or unfavourable manner with respect to the environment.” ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Multidimensionality of Environmental Attitudes Albrecht conceptualised environmental attitudes as a three dimensional concept consisting of the following: i) Environment world view ii) Environmental concerns iii) Environmental commitment Age, education, gender, occupation, place of residence and income are the most explanatory variables related to environmental attitudes The strongest and the most consistent predictor of environinental behaviour is age. As for gender it is stated that women as compared to men are more concerned with environment. Political viewpoints are also correlated Several studies suggest that knowledge plays an important role in enhancing environmental attitude. Antecedent factors such as social structural variables have been associated with value orientation, positive attituides and pro-environmental behaviours ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Types of Environmental Attitudes Tripartite Classification System Egoistic Altruistic Biospheric Egoistic concerns are Altruistic concerns focus on biospheric concerns focus focused on the individual, people other than self, on all living things, and reflect a concern about including friends, family, including plants, animals, environmental problems for community, future ecosystems, and the self (personal health, generations, or humanity. biosphere. fmancial well-being, quality of life, and availability of resources) ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Environmental Attitudes Cultural values are the ideals and goals that are viewed as guiding principles in a person's life. Individualistic Vs Collectivistic Cultures Individualistic – Focus of cognition and perception placed on an autonomous self Collectivistic – Focus is placed on relationships with others Collectivistic cultures tend to promote more of altruistic and biospheric attitudes ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Assessment of Environmental Behaviour Environmental behaviour has three determinants Environmental Perception Environmental Appreciation Environmental Personality Environmental perception This refers to the This refers to the notion refers to how individuals emotional or evaluative that there exists stable actually perceive the element in terms of which traits reflected in the context in which they live the individuals feel about differential responses of with the interplay of social the environment. the individuals to different and physical elements. environments. Any assessment of a person is incomplete without some assessment about the environment in which the person's thought and behaviour occur. The relationship between environment and behaviour is mainly based on learning and biological predisposition. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Environmental Quality Index In some instances, the goal of assessment is not to determine the presence or level of some physical constituent of environmental quality, but rather, the perceived environmental quality as estimated by a human observer. Perceived Environmental Quality Index (PEQI) is designed for assessing air pollution water pollution noise pollution residential quality landscape scenic resources outdoor recreational facilities transportation systems institutional and work environments ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Place Attachment Environmental psychologists described sense of place as "the psychological or perceived unity of the geographical environment” Place attachment refers to bonds that people develop with places. Three components of place attachment, affective, cognitive and behavaioural Long history with territoriality and social descendance Functional place attachment Vs Emotional place attachment ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Place Attachment Factors Quality of Microbial Biological Chemical Physical environment Aspects Aspects Aspects Aspects ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Place Identity Proshansky (1987) defined place identity as those dimensions of self that define the individual’s personal identity in relation to the physical environment Human Bonds with places characterized by the sameness & distinctiveness with oneself Personal Familial / community Regional National Religious Ideological Strong and positive predictor of environmentally responsible behaviour ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Place Memory Social psychologists use the term "collective memory", which means it is shared by groups or societies. This is also called as social memory. Just as in autobiographical memory, in collective or social memory too, whatever events that evoked strong emotions and that which had significance for the person, and that which required adaptation or that which happened during the period of identity formation are the most and also frequently remembered. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Place Attachment It has been hypothesized that adult neurogenesis plays an important role in memory function and neurogenesis regulation and its relationship with memory (e.g. Kemperrnann 2002) Most of the studies investigate how environmental enrichment and manipulation of mostly physical environment affect memory and the brain, Natural conditions richer physical & social experience Social isolation results in reduced neurogenesis in adult females whereas exposure to males results in elevated neurogenesis levels (e.g. Fuchs et al. 2001; Kozorovitskiy & Gould 2004). The aesthetic aspects of a place too does make a difference. ‘ The architecture, the comfort one experienced etc. do make a difference in remembering about a place. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023 Theories of Environment Behaviour Relationship ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Arousal Theories Yerkes-Dodson Law Relationship between arousal and performance Inverted-U or a curvilinear relationship Consistent with other findings that humans seek intermediate levels of stimulation (Berlyne, 1974) Supports Toynbee’s asserts that cultures only develop in environments that provide intermediate environmental challenges. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Arousal Theories Changes in heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, galvanic skin response, and adrenaline secretion, among others, have been shown to occur with changes in the environment. Increased ambient temperature leads to blood vessel dilation, perspiration, increased heart rate, and, in extreme conditions, lowered blood pressure and insufficient oxygen supply to the brain. And noise exposure alters blood pressure, heart rhythm, and the flow of gastric juices to the stomach. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Stimulation Load Theories Central notion that humans have a limited capacity to process information. When inputs exceed that capacity, people ignore some inputs and devote more attention to others (Cohen, 1978). Responses to environmental stimulation in terms of the organism’s momentary capacity to attend to and deal with salient features of its milieu. Sometimes the organism’s capacity to deal with the environment is overtaxed or even depleted. When this occurs, we attend only the most important information, with all other information filtered out. Thus, behavioural aftereffects, including errors in judgment, decreased tolerance for frustration, ignoring others in need of help, can be accounted for by these theories. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Stimulation Load Theories This approach suggests that under-stimulation can be just as aversive as overstimulation. So-called cabin fever resulting from monotonous living conditions can also be seen as the result of under-stimulation. Wohlwill (1966) has argued that environments should be depicted in terms of measurements applied to the dimensions of intensity, novelty, complexity, temporal variation, surprisingness, and incongruity, all of which contribute to stimulus load. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Adaptation Level Theories Adaptation level theories assume that each of us has a minimum threshold for a certain level of environmental stimulus. A slight rise or fall in this threshold is a focus of arousal, overload, under load or stress. Variations in behaviour will therefore occur if the stimulus load is outside our experienced adaptation levels Major proponents of this position include Helson (1964) and Wohlwill (1974). ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023  Adaptation Level Theories While all environmental psychologists emphasize the interrelationship of humans to their environment, adaptation-level theorists speak specifically of two processes that make up this relationship-the processes of adaptation and change. Adaptation to decreases in ambient temperature includes piloerection, muscle rigidity, increased motor activity, vasoconstriction; adjustments in behaviour Wohlwill(1974) distinguished three categories of stimulation: sensory, social and movement; along the three dimensions of intensity, diversity and patterning. ©Akshaya Periasamy, 2023