Abstract
Environment and behavior research investigates the mutual relations between the sociophysical environment at all scales and human behavior at all levels of analysis (Moore, 1987). It is generally assumed that there are an “actor,” an external environment or situation, an input from situation to actor resulting in a “psychological response,” and, on the basis of this response, an output from actor to situation termed action (Golledge, 1987). In studies of environmental perception and cognition, the existence of motives, goals, and attitudes toward action alternatives are usually taken for granted, and the psychological responses or processes mediating between the environment and actions are made a primary focus. These processes include the picking up of information from, and about, the environment; the internal, perceptual, and cognitive representation of the information; and judgments, decisions, and choices made on the basis of the represented information. Knowledge gained about perceptual-cognitive processes may improve the quality of human environments through policy, planning, and design, to the extent that it tells how to plan and design environments that do not interfere with the proper functioning of these processes. Examples are the work of Appleyard (1976) and Lynch (1960), resulting in suggested guidelines for how to make cities legible.
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Gärling, T., Golledge, R.G. (1989). Environmental Perception and Cognition. In: Zube, E.H., Moore, G.T. (eds) Advance in Environment, Behavior, and Design. Advances in Environment, Behavior, and Design, vol 2. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0717-4_7
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