Environmental topic 5 - psychological effects of the built environment

Question 1

Background - Cohen

Answer 1

Looked at the relationship between floor level and reading ability in children
- 54 children, living next to Manhattan interstate
- 1st - 5th graders, noise higher on lower floors, reading on results in test
- positive correlation of the level and performance and word knowledge

Question 2

Background - Diener

Answer 2

1352 children - Halloween field experiment, if they will take money or sweets
- less likely to steal money if alone or asked for name and address
- those in a group or asked for names were 20% more naughty, compared to those that weren’t 58%
- de-individualism occurs when part of a group and they become unidentifiable
- Newman’s theory of defensible space - no ownership things are likely to become vandalised

Question 3

Background - Porteus’ research and White’s research

Answer 3

Porteus - urban renewal can be defined as an integrated series of steps taken to maintain and upgrade the environmental, economic and social health of an urban area
White - introduction of green spaces affecting wellbeing
- longitudinal, data collected annually from 10,000 people between 1991 - 2008
- individuals reported less mental distress and high life satisfaction after living in greener areas

Question 4

Key research - Ulrich

Answer 4

aim: the view that hospital patients have may affect recovery - quasi
sample: 46 patients in Pennsylvania undergone gallbladder surgery - matched based on gender, age, smoking, etc
- either in a room that had a view of trees or a brick wall
Procedure: nurses blind to cause of experiment gathering:
1. length of hospitalisation
2. number and strength of analysis each day
3. number and strength dose of anxiety each day
4. minor complications regarding medication
5. nurses’ notes on patients
Results:
those who had a view of trees did better on all levels
those with a tree view had more positive notes than negative ones compared with the brick wall view
conclusion:
- natural scene can give patients therapeutic benefits and designs and locations should be taken into account for hospitals

Question 5

Key research - Ulrich - evaluation

Answer 5

Strengths:
- matched pairs - reduced characteristics variables and increased validity
- high ecological validity
- high control (nurse blind to condition)
- useful
Weaknesses:
- correlation - possible coincidence
- reductionist - window view sole explanation
- time-locked - results not applicable to present day
- sample - small, gender unbalanced and based on 1 operation
- pain tolerance - subjective
- ungeneralisable
- ethnocentrism

Question 6

Application - adding street lighting to those that lack them

Answer 6

• comparison study between Hull and Cardiff
• reduced crime, improved wellbeing
• reduced de - individualisation increasing street usage
• seen as positive investment

Question 7

Application - CCTV in streets and town centres (Griffis)

Answer 7

Griffis:
Five-year period between some areas that had CCTV and some that didn’t
- reduction of crime rates and increased wellbeing and safety
- reduction of reporting crimes from 35% to 0.05% with CCTV

Question 8

Application - Cul de sac street designs (Hochschild)

Answer 8

Hochschild:
interviewed adults and showed that children are kept safer, increasing quality of life. Higher chances of improved safety - noise reduction

Question 9

Application - Green spaces (Nulford)

Answer 9

Nulford:
- cross-section examination between green spaces within 3 km
- meant that anxiety and medical disorder treatment was successful and positive
- protective factors for mood anxiety disorders