Human Behaviorand EnvironmentADVANCES IN THEORY AND RESEARCH

Volume 4Environment and Culture

Human Behaviorand EnvironmentADVANCES IN THEORY AND RESEARCH

Volume IVolume 2

Volume 3: Children and the EnvironmentVolume 4: Environment and Culture

Human Behaviorand EnvironmentADVANCES IN THEORY AND RESEARCH

Volume 4Environment and Culture

EDITED BY

IRWIN ALTMANUniversity of Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah

AMOS RAPOPORTUniversity of WisconsinMilwaukee, Wisconsin

AND

JOACHIM F. WOHLWILLPennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, Pennsylvania

Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Main entry under title :

Human behavior and environrnent.

Inc1udes bibliographies and indexes .1. Environmental psychology - Collected works . I. Altman , lrwin. H. Wohlwill,

Joachim F.BF353.H85 301.31 76-382942

© 1980 SpringerScience+Business MediaNew YorkOriginallypublishedby PlenumPress, New York in 1980.Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1980

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming ,

recording, or otherwise , without written permission from thc Publisher

ISBN 978-1-4899-0453-9 ISBN 978-1-4899-0451-5 (eBook)DOI 10.1007/978-1-4899-0451-5

Articles Planned for Volume 5TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENT

Editors: Joachim Wohlwill, Peter Everett, and Irwin Altman

Social Impact Assessment of Transportation EnvironmentsLYNN LLEWELLYN

Transportation and Stress: An Ecological PerspectiveDANIEL STOKOLS AND RAYMOND NOVACO

Human Factors and Transportation SafetySLADE HULBERT

Psychological Contributions to Travel Demand ModelingIRWIN P. LEVIN AND JORDAN P. LOUVIERE

Travel Behavior Change StrategiesPETER EVERETT

Transportation and the Behavioral SciencesDAVID T. HARTGEN

Transportation Environments for the FutureRICHARD M. MICHAELS

V

Contributors

JOHN R. AIELLO • Department of Psychology, Rutgers-The State Univer­sity, New Brunswick, New Jers ey

JOHN W. BERRY • Department of Psychology, Queens University, Kings­ton, Ontario, Canada

JOHN W. BENNETT • Department of Anthropology, Washington Univer­sity, St. Louis, Missouri

RICHARD W. BRISLIN • East-West Center, Culture Learning Institute,Honolulu, Hawaii

SIDNEY N. BROWER • Planning Commission, Department of Planning,City of Baltimore, 222 East Saratoga Street, Baltimore, Maryland

AMOS RAPOPORT • Department of Architecture, University of Wisconsin­Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

MILES RICHARDSON • Department of Geography and Anthropology,Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

IGNACY SACHS • Le Centre International de Recherche sur I 'Environ­nement et le Developpement, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes,54 Boulevard Raspail, Paris, France

JOHN H . SORENSEN • Department of Geography, University of Hawaii,Honolulu, Hawaii

DONNA E. THOMPSON • Department of Psychology, George PeabodyCollege, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee

GILBERT F. WHITE • Institute of Behavioral Science, University ofColorado, Boulder, Colorado

vii

Preface

Following upon the first two volumes in this series, which dealt with abroad spectrum of topics in the environment and behavior field, rangingfrom theoretical to applied, and including disciplinary, interdisciplinary,and professionally oriented approaches, we have chosen to devote sub­sequent volumes to more specifically defined topics. Thus, VolumeThree dealt with Children and the Environment, seen from the combinedperspective of researchers in environmental and developmental psy­chology. The present volume has a similarly topical coverage, dealingwith the complex set of relationships between culture and the physicalenvironment. It is broad and necessarily eclectic with respect to content,theory, methodology, and epistemological stance, and the contributorsto it represent a wide variety of fields and disciplines, including psy­chology, geography, anthropology, economics, and environmental de­sign. We were fortunate to enlist the collaboration of Amos Rapoport inthe organization and editing of this volume, as he brings to this task aparticularly pertinent perspective that combines anthropology and ar­chitecture.

Volume Five of the series, presently in preparation, will cover thesubject of behavioral science aspects of transportation.

Irwin AltmanJoachim F. Wohlwill

ix

Contents

Introduction 1

CHAPTER 1

CROSS-CULTURAL ASPECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN

AMOS RAPOPORT

Introduction 7Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Environmental Design 10The Relationship of Culture and Environmental Design . . . . . . . . . 15The Variability of Culture-Environment Relations 19Culture-Specific Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Designing for Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Implications for the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

CHAPTER 2

CROSS-CULTURAL RESEARCH METHODS:

STRATEGIES, PROBLEMS, ApPLICATIONS

RICHARD W . BRISLIN

Introduction 47Cross-Cultural Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

xi

xii Contents

Overview of Chapter 49The Uses of Cross-Cultural Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 50

Expansion of Independent Variables 50Hypothesis Generation and Testing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51The Generation of Theories 52Theory Validation and Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Culture-Universal and Culture-Specific Frameworks:Emics and Etics 54

Procedures for Using Emic-EticConceptualization 58

The Plausible Rival Hypothesis Approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Archival Material: Content Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Multiple Methods and Multiple Data Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Explaining Complex Phenomena through Low Correlations

among Variables 71Human Relations in Cross-Cultural Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Considerations for the Future. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Bibliographie References to Cross-Cultural Research

Methods .......................... .... . . ... ...... .. ... 77References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

CHAPTER 3

CULTURAL ECOLOGY AND

INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR

JOHN W. BERRY

Introduction 83Systematic Approaches 84Comparative Studies of Individual

Adaptation 91Individual Adaptation to Environmental

Change , . . . . . . .. . . 100Conclusions and Future Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 103References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Contents

CHAPTER 4

PERSONAL SPACE, CROWDING, AND

SPATIAL BEHAVIOR IN A CULTURAL CONTEXT

JOHN R . AIELLO

DONNA E . THOMPSON

xiii

Introduction 107Personal Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 113

Definition and Functional Uses of Personai Space 113Conceptual Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114Methods of Studying Personal Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 114Correspondence among Personal Space Measures 116

Cultural Investigations of Personal Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 120Interactive Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 130Projective Studies 132

Subcultural Investigations of Personal Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 134Crowding and Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156Spatial Behavior and Environmental Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167Summary and Future Directions of Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 171

CHAPTER 5

TERRITORY IN URBAN SETTINGS

SIDNEY N . BROWER

Introduction 179A Model of Territorial Behavior. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Occupancy of Space .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 184Defense of Space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 190Attachment to Place 192Summary.... . . . . . .............. .... . .... . .. . . . . . . .... .. 193

Application of the Model: A Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 194Study Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 194Occupancy . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. 196Defense of Space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 199

xiv Contents

Attachment to Place. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202Application of the Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 203

Directions of Future Study 205References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 206

CHAPTER 6

CULTURE AND THE URBAN STAGE:

THE NEXUS OF SETTING, BEHAVIORAND IMAGE IN URBAN PLACES

MILES RICHARDSON

Introduction 209The Heroic Self 210The Interpretation of Places 215The Cultural Idiom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 221

Diversity within a Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223Confrontation with Nature " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 228

Summary, Uncertainties, and Future Work 236References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

CHAPTER 7

HUMAN ECOLOGY AS HUMAN BEHAVIOR:

A NORMATIVE ANTHROPOLOGY OF

RESOURCE USE AND ABUSE

JOHN W. BENNETT

Introduction 243The Process of Adaptation 248The Process of Rational Choice 254Adaptive Styles and the Problem of Control 262The " Social Limits to Growth" 270References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Contents

CHAPTER 8

NATURAL HAZARDS:

A CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

JOHN H. SORENSEN

GILBERT F. WHITE

xv

Cross-Cultural Comparison. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279The Evolution of Geographic Research on Human

Response to Hazard 280Models of Human Response to Natural Hazard . . . . . 282

Differences in Physical Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 286Global Distribution of Hazards 287Characteristics of Natural Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 289

Differences in Human Use 290Land Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. 291Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292Human Resilience to Hazard 292

Cognition, Perception, and Adjustment 293Models of Human Decisions. .. .... . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. 294Range of Hazard Adjustments . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . 295Cognition of Hazard Events and Adjustment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296Choice of Adjustments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 298

Consequences of Hazard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300Distributional Impact 302Distributional Benefits 302Benefit/Cost Relationships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Toward an Understanding of Hazard and Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 304Four Ways of Coping with Hazard. . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . 305

Predicting Behavior: Adjustment Interaction 306Comparative Study: Nigerian Drought and San Francisco

Earthquake 309Linear Trends and Discontinuities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 310Culture and Response 311Future Research Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 313

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

xvi

CHAPTER 9

CULTURE, ECOLOGY, AND DEVELOPMENT:

REDEFINING PLANNING ApPROACHES

IGNACY SACHS

Contents

Introduction. .. . . ... . . . . 319Ecological Prudence 320Should We Stop Growing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324The Harmonization Game. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 327Three Conditions for Ecodevelopment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332A Proposal for the Peruvian Amazonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 336Toward New Planning Paradigms? . . . . . 339References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 341

INDEX 345