Design Theory
Environment and Behavior
Theories to be Discussed
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Gestalt Theory
Maslow Hierarchy
Altman
Sommer
Hall
Kinzel
Gestalt Theory
• Gestalt theory originated in Austria and Germany toward
the end of the 19th century. Since then, Gestalt theory has
has become fundamental to several related disciplines,
including art, graphic design, web design and interior
design.
What is Gestalt Theory
• Gestalt theory focuses on the mind’s perceptive
processes
• The word "Gestalt" has no direct translation in English,
but refers to "a way a thing has been gestellt ; i.e.,
‘placed,’ or ‘put together’";
• common translations include "form" and "shape"
What is Gestalt Theory
• Gestalt theorists
followed the basic
principle that the whole
is greater than the sum
of its parts.
• In viewing the "whole,"
a cognitive process
takes place – the mind
makes a leap from
comprehending the
parts to realizing the
whole.
Fish/Duck/Lizard 1948 M.C. Esher
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Figure Ground Segregation
• When you look at the
environment, you look at it as a
whole picture, not separate parts.
• There are images in the
environment that people are
aware, this would be the figure.
• Images people are not aware of
make up the ground.
Figure – Ground Segregation
• The figure is what a person is
concentrating on;
• The ground would be everything else
in that environment;
• Some properties of figure ground:
• Figures hold more memorable
association than the ground.
• Figures are seen as being in front of
the ground.
• The ground is seen as uniformed
material and seems to extend behind
the figure.
• The contour separating the figure
from the ground appears to belong to
the figure. (Goldstein, pp. 156-159)
Reversible figure/ground
• There are no correct interpretations to
what the figure is and what the ground
is; it is the individual’s choice.
• People have different memories and
experiences that influence their
perception of images.
• We have seen that meaningfulness can
help determine which area we see as
figure.
• If something has meaning to someone, it
normally "jumps out" at them, and is
more noticeable
Gestalt Laws of Organization
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proximity - elements tend to be grouped together
according to their nearness
similarity - items similar in some respect tend to be
grouped together
closure - items are grouped together if they tend to
complete some entity
Continuation – the eye is compelled to move through
one object and continue to another object
Law of Proximity
• The Gestalt law of proximity
states that "objects or
shapes that are close to one
another appear to form
groups“
• Even if the shapes, sizes,
and objects are radically
different, they will appear as
a group if they are close
together.
Law of Similarity
• Similarity occurs when
objects look similar to
one another. People often
perceive them as a group
or pattern.
• Our mind groups similar
elements to an entity.
• The similarity depends on
form, color, size and
brightness of the
elements.
Law of Closure
• Gestalt theory seeks
completeness; when shapes
aren’t closed, we tend to add
the missing elements to
complete the image
• Although the panda is not
complete, enough is present
for the eye to complete the
shape.
• When the viewer's
perception completes a
shape, closure occurs.
Law of Good Continuation
• Continuation occurs
when the eye is
compelled to move
through one object and
continue to another
object.
• "tend to continue shapes
beyond their ending
points"
Environmental
Psychology
We shape our environments and then they shape us.
-Winston Churchill
The built environment
• directly influences our lives from not only providing the
basics (shelter and safety) but it can also affect our
behavior and health.
• In other words, we shape our environments and then they
shape us….
Which room would you choose?
What role does our home play in our
lives?
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Shelters and protects us from physical harm
Shapes our behavior and productivity
Enhances self image
Insulates us from the stress of the outside world
Provides a feeling of control over at least a small
segment of our environment
• Contributes to our health and psychological well
being.
• Provides a setting for social interaction
• Serves as an outlet for our need for creative selfexpression.
In short…
• Our home is central to the satisfaction of the hierarchy of
human needs first proposed by Abraham Maslow
Maslow’s Hierarchy
A psychological theory developed
by Abraham Maslow in 1943.
Needs at the lower level must be
met to some extent before higher
needs begin to manifest
themselves.
Maslow’s theory is important to
understand when relating
personal needs to the built
environment.
Ergonomics and Human Factors
Engineering
• Ergonomists study the
relationship between
humans and their work
environment.
• Seating (back strain, RSI)
• Lighting (eye strain, glare)
• Computer Equipment
• Furniture (worksurface
heights)
Ergonomics – Eye Strain
• Monitor distance should be
18-26 inches from user
(approximately an arm's
length)
• Neither monitor nor user
should face a window
• Monitor should be placed at a
right angle to windows or
between rows of fluorescent
lighting rather than directly
under them
Chair Ergonomics
• Height should be adjustable (in the
range of 15-21 inches for most
users)
• The seat pan should have a depth of
17-20 inches
• The front edge of the seat should be
rounded with a slight downward
slope to prevent loss of circulation in
the thighs. (waterfall front)
• The backrest should support the
lumbar region
• Armrests are optional. They should
be adjustable. Do not use while
typing.
• Tilt-tension and locking mechanism
Worksurface height
• Typing height is from 26” –
28”
• Writing is 29 – 30”
• Use keyboard tray with
negative tilt
• Using a wrist rest can be
problematic
• Repetitive Strain Injuries
(RSI):
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Tendonitis
Anthropometrics
• The study of human
body measurements
including height, weight,
and reach ranges
• Human Physiology
• Information is used by
designers to create
functional spaces
You must know your population
• Varies by age, gender, and ethnicity
• The anthropometric range will be much
different if we are designing products for
male, professional basketball players than if
we are designing for the general public.
Environmental Psychology
• The study of the interaction between people and the
built environment. This is a relatively new area of
study, beginning in the 1950’s with a campaign to
improve mental hospitals.
• Environmental psychology is interdisciplinary
combining research of many scientific disciplines
along with design practitioners to contribute to the
body of knowledge.
What disciplines contribute to the
research?
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Psychologists
Anthropologists
Sociologists
Urban planners
Health care professionals
Interior designers
Architects
Ergonomists
Areas of Research in Environmental
Psychology
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Healthcare Design
Special Needs (Alzheimer's disease)
Child care centers
Alternative work environments
Stress in the workplace
Crowding
Prisons
Low cost housing
Schools and classrooms
A few questions that environmental
psychologists work with.
• Why are some spaces comfortable and others
threatening?
• How can we enhance our environments to reduce stress,
create more efficiency, and minimize accidents?
http://youtu.be/CnU58hbYN1M
Pruitt- Igoe
• St. Louis Missouri Housing
Project , 1956 - 1972
• 33ea 11-story high rise
buildings consisting of
2,870 apartments.
• Total failure of design.
• The structure did not “fit” the
users who lived there.
• In 15 years, the buildings
were totally run down.
• This disaster made people
start to look at user data and
behavioral attitudes.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7RwwkNzF68
Personal Space
• Iwrin Altman
• Robert Sommer
• Edward T. Hall
Personal Space
• Personal Space: An area around a person that expands or
contracts due to individual needs and social circumstance.
Will vary with personality type. (introvert, extrovert)
Irwin Atlman
• A pioneer in the field of environmental research
• A social psychologist who studied how people use
the environment to shape social interaction in terms
of 4 behavioral concepts
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Privacy
Territoriality
Crowding
Personal Space
Privacy
A process by which a person makes him or herself more or less
accessible to others
•Can you think of some examples?
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Doors
Walls
Window treatments
Porch location
Changing rooms
Territoriality
• Territoriality: A primal instinct, it is the concept of
making space with “ownership” either real (your
home) or perceived (your desk area). We feel safe
and in control in our own territories.
• How do people mark their territory?
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Fences
Closed doors
Signs: No trespassing, Do not enter
Nameplates
Personal items (plants, pictures)
Crowding
• Leads to psychological
discomfort.
• Varies by culture and
personality type
• We can tolerate crowding
on a temporary basis as in
an elevator or crowded
dance floor, but will
become stressed and even
panic if confined for a long
period.
• Examples: Dr’s office,
movie theaters, shopping
behavior, minimal design
vs. nick-knacks
Assignment for next week…
• Territory and Crowding Assignment
• Type written description of your observations of a person or
group of people marking their territory. Cite where you were
and what the person did to claim their space.
• 25 points
• Due at beginning of next class
Edward T. Hall
• An anthropologist that
further researched
personal space and
developed the research
area of proxemics
• Proxemics is the study of
our personal and cultural
spatial needs and the
behavioral and social
impact of our interaction
with surrounding space.
• The Hidden Dimension,
1966
4 Interpersonal distances –
Space Bubbles
• Intimate distance (0-18”)
Usually a private occasion
• Personal Distance (18” –
48”) at hands length,
shaking hands
• Social Distance (4’-12’)
impersonal business, casual
social gatherings, seating
arrangements.
• Public Distance: (12’-25’)
won’t feel obligated to stop
and talk, little personal
interaction
Robert Sommer: Where do you sit?
• Robert Sommer: a psychologist who believed that an
environment should contribute to the comfort of the
individual and the efficiency of the task within a given
space.
• Robert Sommer describes personal space as "an area
with invisible boundaries surrounding a person’s body
into which intruders may not come"
• He studied seating behavior in classrooms and other
institutions and declared there to be a type of
nonverbal communication connected to where people
sit in a classroom. He found that the best students sit
in the 2nd and 3rd row.
• http://www.jamescmccroskey.com/publications/082.pd
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Augustus Kinzel
• Looked at the body buffer
zones (personal space
bubbles) of prisoners. He
found that violent criminals
had zones 4 times larger than
normal and that they had a
much larger back zone. They
changed the seating
arrangements in the eating
area which resulted in fewer
fights between inmates during
meal times.
Key points of Environment/Behavior
Research
•In summary, environment/behavioral research focuses on several
key points.
• the built environment impacts behavior
• Behavioral responses are primal and thus, humans' basic
situational responses are deemed predictable.
• proper planning can support intended behavioral outcomes
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Great Website for ID Majors
•Check out http://www.informedesign.umn.edu/
A word about Cultural Influences
• Culture refers to the system
wherein a group of people or
society share common values
or common ways of doing
things.
• What is right and wrong
• What is beautiful and ugly
• These values could be passed
down from generation to
generation.
Cultural differences
• Americans are very private (walls doors and locks) However, Roman culture uses
very few walls, no doors or locks. The use of these items are considered an insult
because it implies a lack of trust.
• In Poland, one sits quietly and does not interact. In the US, there is pressure to
interact and to be more extraverted. (Bless-you)
• Personal distance in the Middle East, South America and in southern Europe are
much smaller than the US. They are more comfortable touching and embracing
without any threat or discomfort.
• People in parts of Asia and South America prefer to sit on the ground with crossed
legs. They would most likely chose this option over a comfortable chair.
• The American kitchen is the heart of a home, but in Peru and in Poland, this space
is considered one of the most private spaces.
Our attitudes affect the way our homes
are designed….
• How we eat, bath, relax directly affects the design of our home
• American homes are multi-functional with single purpose rooms.
• Master bedroom suites
• Formal Dining Rooms and Living rooms
• Large open kitchens with keeping rooms
• Spend more time at home.
• Japanese homes are much different. They have multi-functional
homes with multi-purpose rooms
• Sit on the floor (social) and eat on the floor in the same room
• Use sliding panels for adaptive use of space
• Use soaking tubs
Can you think of an example of a cultural
difference between the “deep-south” and larger
metropolitan areas relating to space and
interior design?