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Introduction To Environmental Behaviour Studies: Unit - 1
Introduction To Environmental Behaviour Studies: Unit - 1
Introduction to Environmental
Behaviour studies
The relationship between individuals and their
environment—how they perceive
space and how they react to it.
The
environment itself alsoinfluences human
behavior. Both
mental and physical stimuli affect behavioral
responses.
SYSTEMATIC EXAMINATION AND
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND THEIR
APPLICATION IN DESIGN PROCESS
HOW DO PEOPLE INTERACT WITH THE BUILT
ENVIRONMENT.
WHAT ARE THEIR NEEDS
HOW DO WE APPLY SUCH UNDERSTANDING IN
THE DESIGN PROCESS.
Gossip- talking to others
Lot of time trying to understand other
activities- pleasarable way
Furniture arrangement
Environmental stimuli- lighting level
(environmental stimuli will influence our
behaviour)
We love to observe others
We cant ignore somebody sitting in a busstop
and watching others.
Will u allow any stranger to observe you (no-
ethically inherent)
Affordance theory- gibson
Two approaches
TEA SHOP
EVERY TIME THE ARCHITECT MOVES THE
PENCIL, HE OR SHE MAKES AN ASSUMPTION
ABOUT USER NEEDS AND A DECISION ABOUT
HOW THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT CAN BEST
SERVE THESE NEEDS. IN MANY CASES THESE
ARE ASSUMPTIONS ARE UNCONSCIOUS, THE
DECISION MAKING PROCESS IS NOT Analytical
and the resulting building is not evaluated to
find out how well it actually worked.
Environmental Psychology
Environment:-
- Nature and Man-made setting
- immediate surroundings
1. Environment-Behavior phenomena
2. User Groups
3. Settings
Environment-Behavior phenomena:-
Proxemics are the different distances between people that
are considered comfortable for social interaction.
Privacy is an interpersonal control mechanism that paces
and regulates interaction with others.
Physical design factors affect the degree to which we can
control interpersonal interaction and maintain a balance btwn
privacy and community.
Environmental meaning and symbolism and the ways in
which people use the environment in the presentation of self.
Each of these phenomena is a different aspect of human behavior in
relation to everyday physical environments.
- Proxemics & Privacy, refers to individual behavior
- Community & neighborhood deal with social patterns & rules.
- Meaning & Symbolism refer to improve culturally based
determinants of design.
User Groups:-
Different user groups have different needs and use patterns and
are affected in different ways by the quality of the environment.
Settings:-
Refers to the scale of settings, from the room scale to the region,
the nation, and the world.
5. Environmental Perception
The Architect may perceive exposed concrete as structural
expression or honesty, while the user may react negatively to the dull
grey colour and the unfinished or cheap look.
Principles of visual perception – Gestalt theory have been used by
architects as a basis for building perception. But the users do not
perceive subtlety of geometric configuration, nor they prefer the
brutal simplicity of many modern bldgs.
6. Environmental Cognition
People not only see the physical envi of bldgs and react to
what they see, but they also have memory images of the envi, and
their behavior is strongly affected by these images.
There are 4 types of images that are part of people’s envi.
cognition: 1. urban cognitive mapping – subjective knowledge of
layout of a town, 2. linguistic category systems or cognitive domains
– basic ways of thinking abt the envi & abt people on the land, 3.
Meanings &sentiments, 4. Symbolism.
Two aspects of envi cognition concern architects: 1. Building
imagery, 2. urban cognitive mapping
Building imagery - People remember bldgs first &foremost in terms
of their significance for us, not their architectural characteristics, and
then on the basis of visibility (siting considerations) than on the basis of
physical form (size, shape)
Meaning and symbolism – People react to the envi thro its meaning
for them. Bldgs have certain meanings or nonverbal messages for
people that are influenced by the layout, organization, and character
of the bldg.
For ex, studies of child envi relations- noted that children
infer about the personality of the people in a house by the nature of
their gardens.
Neighborhoods and communities – Neighborhood and its related
concepts of social interaction and social networks are poorly
understood by urban planners and architects, but by physical planners
and architects.
Role of built envi in influencing the interaction – homogenity
and heterogeneity of the population, kinship, professional contacts,
and status as a basis for friendship and length of residence.
USER GROUPS AND DESIGN
The needs of different user group and the behavioral criteria
for the dsgn of diff bldg types may be thought of interms of
- the range of behavioral phenomena
- concepts expected to be imp for that group in that setting.
For ex, we will consider 2 user groups & 2 bldg types.
Contemporary sculpture
playground
Building types and design
3. Schools
Adventure playground
Generally in open-plan schools, there is
more obsevational learning among staff,
greater feeling of openness, students are
found to have more sense of the whole of
the school.
On the other hand, students consume more nonlearning time,
experience more noise, and are bothered by more visual distractions.
Students and faculty have less control over their own environment.
4. Offices
The design concept of open-office planning or office
landscaping, was introduced in the 1950’s was very influential, now is
coming under heavy criticism.
The 2 qualities creating the most problems in open-plan
offices were acoustics and ventilation, but that light quality and
layout were also critical factors.
Open plan vs closed plan
1. There is no significant diff in the amount of management time
spent on most activities.
2. conferences are the only activity which are held for longer
periods of time
3. there is no overall improvement in worker efficiency, but
4. there is more collaboration and communication among workers
5. some workers feel greater amounts of tension and irritability
6. some have a greater feeling of supervision and being checked
upon
7. many management personnel feel a decrease in stature by virtue
of loss of clear territorial and status image, and therefore
8. there is more desire for visual and auditory screening, &
9. there is more use of objects and the organization of space as
territorial markers, but
10. there are great individual differences, some employees definitely
preferring the open structure, open visual appearance, & open information
access.
The architect is accountable first and foremost to people, user
needs and enviroment-behavior relations.
ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON HUMAN BEHAVIOR
The environmental influences that can and do effect human
bahavior vary from region to region and even from family to family.
Lifestyle has a alot to do with how someone will allow themselves to be
influenced by their environment.
The factors that influence behaviour change are environmental
constraints, skills and self standards.