Environmental bEHAVIOUR ARCHITECTURE - EBS

Behaviour

1. AR3005- UNIT IV CARE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE- SEM-V Ar.PARVATHY KARTHA 19/10/2023
HUMAN BEHAVIOUR AND
BUILT ENVIRONMENT
THEORIES OF ENVIRONMENT-BEHAVIOUR RELATIONSHIP- LECTURE 6

2. How do people interact with the built environment?
What are their needs?
How do we apply such understandings in the design process?
BASIC QUESTIONS

3. ADAPTATION PARADIGM - Biological & psychological survival as the key
process. Coping with stress and perception, cognition, and assessment
of our environments all may be seen as processes to help us survive.
OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE PARADIGM - Considers environment as a
place for us to actively fulfil goals which we plan & use.
SOCIOCULTURAL PARADIGM - History, culture, economic & societal
forces all influence person- environment relations.
3 PARADIGMS

5. 1. Stimulation Theories
2.Control Theories
3.Behaviour Setting Theories
4.Integral Theories
5.The Operant Approach
6.The Ecopsychology Approach
CATEGORIES OF THEORIES IN EBR
6 Categories
•Environment affects us- We react to
it- How & Why?
•We adapt to stimulation- We change
our reaction to it over time-
Adaptive or Maladaptive based on
Consequences.
•Noise, weather, air pollution,
personal space, crowding and urban
environments.
Purpose- Provide generalisations
that give order & meaning to specific
observations about person-
environment relations

6. 1.Focus on the common occurrence of too much or too little stimulation and predicts
that a wide range of behaviours & experiences will be affected.
1.The Arousal Approach- Form & content of broad range of our behaviours are based
on how aroused we are.
2.The Stimulus Load Approach- Concentrates on the effects of overload or stimulus
deprivation (Restricted environmental stimulation- REST).
3. The Adaptation Level Approach- Each of us get accustomed to certain level of
stimulation
4.The Stress Approach- Behavioural & Health effects that occur when environmental
stimulation exceeds an individual’s adaptive resources. Acute stressors, Ambient
stressors & daily hassles. Hans Selye
STIMULATION THEORIES

7. Exposure to Environmental stimulation leads to increased arousal
(Neurophysiological- Heightening of brain activity by the arousal centre of the
brain called reticular formation.
Measured- Physiologically (Heightened autonomic activities), Behaviourally
(Increased motor activity) or Self reported arousal.
Characterised as sleep on one end and excitement on the other end.
Leads people to seek info about their internal status- Pleasant/ unpleasant,
people around us, perceived threat, physical aspect of environment, emotions
of others (social comparison)
People interpret it based on emotions isolated by others. Causes which we
attribute to arousal have significant consequence for our behaviour.
AROUSAL APPROACH

8. YERKES-DODSON LAW
•Performance is maximal at
intermediate levels of arousal
•It varies based on complexity of
task
•For complex tasks optimal level
of arousal occurs at a slightly
lower level of arousal than for
simple tasks.

9. Environmental Load/ Stimulus Load/ overstimulation Approach
Useful in describing reactions to novel or unwanted environmental stimuli- Derives from
works on attention and information processing.
1.Humans have limited capacity to process incoming stimulus & can invest only limited
effort in attending to inputs at any one time.
2.When amount exceeds individual’s capacity, overload occurs leading to Tunnel vision.
3.When it is required to resort for adaptive response, significance is evaluated using
monitoring process to decide on the coping mechanism. Intense, uncontrollable,
unpredictable an input.
4. Amount of attention is not constant & temporarily depleted after prolonged demands.
LOAD APPROACH

10. Directed Attention Deficit- Recovery in Restorative environment Kaplan &
Kaplan(1989)
1. Being away- Not your normal environment
2.Extant- An experience extended in time and space.
3.Fascination- Interesting & Engaging
4.Compatibility- Ability of the environment to support what you intend to do.
• Intensity, novelty, complexity, temporal change or Variation, surprisingness and
incongruity. Wohlwill (1966)
RESTORATIVE ENVIRONMENTS

11. Atleast 3 categories of environment behavior relationships should confirm to optimal
level hypothesis (Wohlwill 1974)- Adaptation Vs Adjustment
Sensory stimulation,
social stimulation,
and movement.
These categories vary along 3 dimensions tat have optimal levels
Intensity
Diversity
Patterning (degree to which perception contains structure and uncertainty)
ADAPTATION LEVEL

12. Stress is an intervening or mediating variable defined as the reaction to
circumstances that threaten the well-being of the person.
This reaction includes 3 components
Emotional
Behavioural (Proposed by Lazarus (1966) & often called psychological stress)
& Physiological (Proposed by Selye(1956) and is often called systemic stress)
Stress- stimulus response situation, stressor- environmental component, stress
response- reaction caused by stressor.
ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS APPROACH

13. Categories of Characteristics of Stressors
Cataclysmic events
Personal stressors
Background stressors
Daily hassles
Ambient stressors
ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS APPROACH

14. 1.Theories of personal control also called Behaviour constraint approach.
2.Those who have more control over the amount and kind of environmental
stimulation are more better off than others with less or no control.
3.Control changes based on settings.- Home Vs School.
4.Developed to account for the effects of being able to or unable to influence
stimulation patterns eg. Lack of control leads to psychological reactance, an
attempt to regain the lost freedom.
5.Learned helplessness- Conviction that no effort is going to succeed.
6.Boundary regulation mechanisms such as personal space & territoriality.
CONTROL THEORIES

15. 1.Types of Categories of Control (Averill 1973)
1. Behavioural control
2.Cognitive control
3. Decisional control
2.Retrospective control (Thompson, 1981)
3.Primary Control & Secondary control
4.Aspects of helplessness & Attributions
BEHAVIOUR CONSTRAINT APPROACH

16. 1.Based on Roger Barker’s Ecological psychology.
2.Central tenet- Consistent, prescribed patterns of behaviour called PROGRAMS are
found in many places.
3.Recurrent activities regularly carried out by persons holding specific roles.
4.These theories are interested in uniformity of actions of those holding a particular
role as opposed to others with a different role.
5.Person-environment relations explained primarily in terms of the social features of
settings such as rules, customs & typical activities & their physical features.
BEHAVIOUR SETTING THEORIES

17. 6.Key concept is level of Staffing.
7. A behaviour setting may attract many or few who wish to participate in its activities.
8.When there are too many individuals around and the behaviour setting fails to
exclude the extras overstaffing occurs.
9.When too few are attracted understaffing occurs.
10.Allan Wicker & others have extended this concept in time. Behaviour settings are
not static; they are born, they struggle, adapt, thrive & they die.
BEHAVIOUR SETTING THEORIES

18. 1.A model that captures the full complexity of everyday person-environment relations.
2.Earliest explicit theory of environmental psychology was proposed by Isidor Chein-
calling it a description of the geo-behavioural environment in 1954.
3. His framework consisted of 5 major elements- 1. Instigators (Env stimuli that trigger
particular behaviour). 2. Goal objects or noxients ( Situations that can satisfy needs or
cause pain) 3. Supports & constraints (Aspects of physical environment that facilitates
like lights, desks, roads or restricts like fences, walls, trackless wilderness, locks)
4.Directors (Features of the env that tell us where to go or what to do). 5.Global
environment- Generalized characteristics of an environment (Arctic is harsh, forests are
wet, high rises are made of glass & steel.
4.If one understands a person’s environment in terms of Chein’s 5 elements one probably
will be able to understand that person’s behaviour quite well.
INTEGRAL THEORIES

19. 1.Our understanding of behaviours, cognitions, wellbeing etc. grows with the
number of quality scientific investigations.
2.Some outcomes can be explained by knowing key information about the
person and others primarily by knowing key information about the setting.
3.Finally some outcomes require an explanation based on knowing which kind
of person is in which kind of setting- an interaction.
INTEGRAL APPROACH

20. 1.Interactionism- A simpler form of Integral theory
2.Older, simpler deterministic theories attributed most or all of the causes of human
behaviour either to the person or to the environment.
3.Persons & Environment are considered to be separate entities which are continually
engaged in a series of interactions.
4. Transactionalism- Person & environment are part of one inclusive entity & cannot be
adequately defined without referring to the other & their activities influence each other.
5. Organismic Theories- Emphasizes the dynamic interplay of social, societal & individual
factors in a mutual complex system. Behaviour is viewed as part of many possible
developmental equilibria that have both short term & long term goals and contextual
changes that may occur rapidly or gradually.
INTEGRAL THEORIES

21. 1. Type A: Perfectionist, impatient, competitive, work-obsessed,
achievement-oriented, aggressive, stressed
2. Type B: Low stress, even-tempered, flexible, creative, adaptable to change,
patient, tendency to procrastinate
3. Type C:  Highly conscientious, perfectionist, struggles to reveal emotions
(positive and negative)
4. Type D: Worrying, sad, irritable, pessimistic, negative self-talk, avoidance
of social situations, lack of self-confidence, fear of rejection, appears
gloomy, hopeless
PERSONALITY TYPES

22. 1. By helping people understand themselves, Myers and Briggs believed that
they could help people select occupations that were best suited to their
personality types and lead healthier, happier lives.
2. Identifies a personality based on where someone is on four continuums:
1. Extraversion (E) - Introversion (I)
2. Sensing (S)-Intuition (N)
3. Thinking (T)-Feeling (F)
4. Judging (J)- Perceiving (P)
MYERS-BRIGGS THEORY

23. 1. Introversion-extraversion- How people respond & interact with the world around.
Extraverts are "outward-turning" and tend to be action-oriented, enjoy more
frequent social interaction, & feel energized after spending time with other
people. Introverts are "inward-turning" & tend to be thought-oriented, enjoy deep
& meaningful social interactions, & feel recharged after spending time alone.
2.Sensing-intuition- How people gather information from the world around. People
who prefer sensing tend to pay a great deal of attention to reality, particularly to
what they can learn from their own senses. They tend to focus on facts and details
and enjoy getting hands-on experience. Those who prefer intuition pay more
attention to things like patterns and impressions. They enjoy thinking about
possibilities, imagining the future, and abstract theories.
MYERS-BRIGGS THEORY

24. 3. Thinking-feeling- How people make decisions based on the information that
they gathered from their sensing or intuition functions. People who prefer
thinking place a greater emphasis on facts and objective data. They tend to be
consistent, logical, and impersonal when weighing a decision. Those who
prefer feeling are more likely to consider people and emotions when arriving at
a conclusion.
4. Judging-perceiving- How people tend to deal with the outside world. Those
who lean toward judging prefer structure and firm decisions. People who lean
toward perceiving are more open, flexible, and adaptable. The judging-
perceiving scale helps describe whether you behave like an extravert when you
are taking in new information (sensing and intuiting) or when you are making
decisions (thinking and feeling).
MYERS-BRIGGS THEORY

25. 1.ISTJ - The Inspector
2.ISTP - The Crafter
3.ISFJ - The Protector
4.ISFP - The Artist
5.INFJ - The Advocate
6.INFP - The Mediator
7.INTJ - The Architect
8.INTP - The Thinker
MYERS-BRIGGS INDICATOR
9.ESTP - The Persuader
10.ESTJ - The Director
11.ESFP - The Performer
12.ESFJ - The Caregiver
13.ENFP - The Champion
14.ENFJ - The Giver
15.ENTP - The Debater
16.ENTJ - The Commander

26. 1. ISTJ - The Inspector: Reserved and practical, they tend to be loyal, orderly, and traditional.
2. ISTP - The Crafter: Highly independent, they enjoy new experiences that provide first-hand learning.
3. ISFJ - The Protector: Warm-hearted and dedicated, they are always ready to protect the people they care about.
4. ISFP - The Artist: Easy-going and flexible, they tend to be reserved and artistic.
5. INFJ - The Advocate: Creative and analytical, they are considered one of the rarest Myers-Briggs types.3
6. INFP - The Mediator: Idealistic with high values, they strive to make the world a better place.
7. INTJ - The Architect: High logical, they are both very creative and analytical.4
8. INTP - The Thinker: Quiet and introverted, they are known for having a rich inner world.
9. ESTP - The Persuader: Out-going and dramatic, they enjoy spending time with others and focusing on the here-and-now.
10. ESTJ - The Director: Assertive and rule-oriented, they have high principles and a tendency to take charge.
11. ESFP - The Performer: Outgoing and spontaneous, they enjoy taking center stage.
12. ESFJ - The Caregiver: Soft-hearted and outgoing, they tend to believe the best about other people.
13. ENFP - The Champion: Charismatic and energetic, they enjoy situations where they can put their creativity to work. 
14. ENFJ - The Giver: Loyal and sensitive, they are known for being understanding and generous.
15. ENTP - The Debater: Highly inventive, they love being surrounded by ideas and tend to start many projects (but may struggle to finish them).
16. ENTJ - The Commander: Outspoken and confident, they are great at making plans and organizing projects.

27. 1.Based on Skinnerian principles, & its goal is to modify the behaviour of
individuals whose behaviour is contributing to some environmental problem.
2. Consequences for bad behaviour and incentives to encourage acceptable
behaviour.
3.Governments, correctional facilities, schools use these techniques.
OPERANT APPROACH

28. 1.Environment- entered approach- Pay attention to the state or quality of the
environment, without ignoring people.
2. Instrumental Approach- Environment viewed as a tool for supporting
human goals such as productivity Vs Spiritual Approach- Environment as a
context in which important human values can be cultivated.
3. Person- centered theory Vs Green psychology- Concentrates on
preserving, conserving and helping the natural environment.
4. Theodore Roszak (1986)- Review of psychological progress in Mexico-
Weight of Industrialism. Earth is a kind of living being embodied by the
Goddess Gaia.
ECOPSYCHOLOGY

29. 1. A great deal of information as emerged from the multidisciplinary field of EBS.
2.This has begun to document the relationships between
1. Individual behaviour,
2.social rules,
3.Cultural values, and
4. The physical environment
3. A number of methods have been proposed by architects and other professionals
for using sociobehavioural information in the design process and for checking
proposed designs against behavioural criteria.
USE OF EBS IN DESIGN

30. Environment-behaviour studies in the design process (based on the work of J.Zeisel, 1975)

31. Introspection Method (EB Titchener)- Self-observation method- ‘to look
within’. Deterrents- No internal validation possible. Cannot be done on kids,
animals & patients with mental disorders. Techniques like interviews,
descriptions, rating scales.
Observation Method- ‘naturalistic observation’ or ‘objective observation’
method, video taping, photographs etc.
Experimental Method- Field Experiments, Field Studies & Quasi experiments
METHODS

33. 1. The Arousal Approach
2.The Stimulus Load Approach
3.The Adaptation Level Approach
4.The Behaviour constraint approach
5.The Stress Approach
6.The Ecological Psychology Approach
THEORIES OF EBR
The effects of environmental conditions on behaviour.

34. Gordon Cullen coined the concept of "serial vision" in 1961. He believed that urban experience is a
series of revelations, with delight and interest being stimulated by contrasts. Cullen saw particular
significance in the tension between "hereness" and "thereness". He believed that cities should be
designed from the point of view of moving people since residents "apprehend urban environments
through kinesthetic experience". Cullen's work showed how movement can be read as a pictorial
sequence, and how our perception of time passing and distance travelled differs from reality. The
development of new modes of travel has provided additional ways of seeing, engaging with, and
forming mental images of urban environments, seen at different speeds, with different levels of
focus, and the pedestrian viewpoint is accompanied by the freedom to stop and engage with one's
surroundings.2 Serial vision revolves around working on a set of revelations while keeping the
interest and contrast to upkeep the stimulation and create a vibrant environment.

35. Kevin Lynch's 1960 book, "The Image of the City," explores how people form mental
maps of their surroundings consisting of five basic elements: Paths, Edges, Districts,
Nodes, and Landmarks. Lynch argues that for any given city, a corresponding set of
mental images exist in the minds of the people who experience that city. The findings
are developed into a theory of imageability, or legibility or visibility, with elements
rendered measurable and comparable, and formulated as a new criterion for city
design useful to city designers faced with building and rebuilding cities.