Chapter 7: The Physical Environment

Question 1

Transactionalism

Environment

Answer 1

People shape their environment just as the physical environment influences them.

Question 2

Stimulation theory

Environment

Answer 2

Focuses on the physical environment as a source of sensory information that is essential for human well-being.

(ie color, heat, light)

Stimulation theorists propose that patterns of stimulation influence thinking, feeling, social interaction, and health.

Question 3

Stimulus overload

Answer 3

Too much stimulation

Has a negative effect on human behavior.

Question 4

Restricted environment stimulation

Answer 4

Stimulus derivation.

Negative effect on human behavior.

Question 5

Control theories

Environment

Answer 5

Focuses on the issue of how much control we have over our physical environments and the attempts we make to gain control.

Question 6

Boundary regulating mechanisms

Answer 6

Use to gain greater control over our physical environments.

Privacy, personal space, territoriality

Question 7

Personal space

Answer 7

Physical distance we choose to maintain in interpersonal relationships.

Question 8

Behavior setting theories

Environment

Answer 8

Behavior is always tied to a specific place.

Consistent, uniform patterns of behavior occur in particular settings.

Behaviors of different persons in the same setting are more similar than the behaviors of the same person in different settings.

Question 9

Territoriality

Answer 9

Behavior of individuals and small groups as they seek control over physical space.

Question 10

Primary territory

Answer 10

Evokes feelings of ownership that we control on a relatively permanent basis.

Question 11

Secondary territories

Answer 11

Less important territories and control of them does not seem as important.

Question 12

Public territories

Answer 12

Open to anyone in the community and we generally do not try to control them.

Question 13

Crowding

Answer 13

The subjective feeling of having too many people around.

Question 14

Programs

Answer 14

Consistent, prescribed patterns of behavior.

Question 15

Behavior settings theory:

Staffing

Answer 15

Different behavior settings attract different numbers of participants or staff.

Question 16

Natural environment

Answer 16

The portion of the environment influenced primarily be geological and nonhuman biological factors.

Question 17

Biophilia

Answer 17

Humans genetically based need to affiliate with nature.

Question 18

Three features of the environment that have been found to be particularly influential on emotional states:

Answer 18

Water, trees, sunlight.

Question 19

Cultural models of nature-human relationship:

Spiritual model

Answer 19

Sees nature as sacred in its own right and threatened by human activity.

Question 20

Cultural model of nature-human relationship:

Ecological model

Answer 20

Based on science, sees humans as interconnected with nature, and looks to science and technology to improve that relationship.

Question 21

Built environment

Answer 21

Portion of the physical environment attributable solely to human effort.

Question 22

Sociofugal spaces

Answer 22

Physical designs that discourage social interaction.

Question 23

Sociopetal spaces

Answer 23

Physical designs that encourage social interactions.

Question 24

Normalizing principle

Environment

Answer 24

Emphasizes the importance of a homelike physical environment.

Question 25

Theory of defensible space

Answer 25

Suggests that residential crime and fear of crime can be decreased by means of certain features that increase residents send of territoriality.

Question 26

Place attachment

Answer 26

Process in which people and groups form bonds with places.

Question 27

Place identity

Answer 27

When a particular place becomes an important part of our self-identity.

Question 28

Social model of disability

Answer 28

Disability is the result of the relationship between individual and the environment.