Using Altman's conceptualization, this research investigated territorial and spatial behavior of elderly residents of congregate housing. Respondents reported tendencies to demonstrate possession, control and defense, and patterns of daily activities, in primary, secondary, and public spaces of the facility. Results indicated that personal competence mediated the relationship between architecturally defined territories and residents' responses to these spaces. Hypotheses that residents varying in behavioral independence would respond differently toward their private spaces and that residents varying in mental alertness would respond differently toward the public space were supported for territorial, but not spatial, behavior. Findings lend support to theories of territoriality and person-environment relations for older adults in congregate housing.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ALTMAN, I. (1973) "Some perspectives on the study of man-environment phenomena," pp. 99-113 in W.F.E. Preiser (ed.) Environmental Design Research (Vol. 2). Stroudsburg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross.
2.
ALTMAN, I. (1975) The Environment and Social Behavior. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
3.
ALTMAN, I. and M. M. CHEMERS (1980) Culture and Environment. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
4.
ALTMAN, I. and W. E. HAYTHORN (1967) "The ecology of isolated groups."Behavioral Sci.12:169-182.
5.
ALTMAN, I. , P. A. NELSON, and E. E. LETT (1972) The Ecology of Home Environments: Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
6.
ALTMAN, I. , D. A. TAYLOR, and L. WHEELER (1971) "Ecological aspects of group behavior in social isolation."J. of Applied Social Psychology1: 76-100.
7.
BARKER, R. G. (1968) Ecological Psychology. Stanford, CA: Stanford Univ. Press.
8.
BRONFENBREMMER, U. (1977) "Toward an experimental ecology of human development."Amer. Psychologist32: 513-531.
9.
CARP, F. M. (1979) "Life-style and location within the city," pp. 16-32 in T. O. BYERTS, S. C. HOWELL, and L. A. PASTALAN [eds.] Environmental Context of Aging. New York: Garland Press.
10.
CONIGLIO, C. B. (1974) "The meaning of personalization and freedom of choice with residential interiors." Unpublished Master's thesis, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
11.
DeLONG, A. J. (1970) "The micro-spatial structure of the older person," pp. 68-87 in A. L. Pastalan and D. H. Carson (eds.) Spatial Behavior of Older People. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press.
12.
EIBL-EIBESFELT, J. (1970) The Biology of Behavior. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
13.
EDNEY, J. (1974) "Human territoriality."Psych. Bull.8: 959-975.
14.
EDNEY, J. (1975) "Territoriality and control: a field experiment."J. of Personality and Social Psychology31: 1108-1115.
15.
EDNEY, J. (1976) "Human territories: comment on functional properties."Environment and Behavior8: 31-47.
16.
FISHER, J. D. , P. BELL, and W. BAUM [eds.] (1984) Environmental Psychology (2nd ed). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
17.
FRIEDBERG, L. P. (1975) "Comparative perceptions of residential environments and 'home' image: visual responses and physical referents." Master's thesis, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
18.
GELWICKS, L. E. and M. B. DWIGHT (1982) "Programming for alternatives and future models," pp. 69-88 in R. D. Chellis et al. (eds.) Congregate Housing for Older People: A Solution for the 1980's. Lexington, MA: Lexington.
19.
HITCH, D. and A. SIMPSON (1972) "An attempt to assess a new design in residential homes for the elderly."British J. of Social Work2: 481-501.
20.
HOLAHAN, C. J. (1982) Environmental Psychology. New York: Random House.
21.
KAHANA, E. (1982) "A congruence model of person-environment interaction," pp. 97-121 in M. P. Lawton et al. (eds.) Aging and the Environment. New York: Springer.
22.
LANG, J. , C. BURNETTE, W. MOLESKI, and D. VACHON (1974) "Fundamental processes of environmental behavior," pp. 92-96 in J. Lang et al. (eds.) Designing for Human Behavior. Stroudsburg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross.
23.
LAWTON, M. P. (1970) "Ecology and aging," pp. 40-67 in L. A. Pastalan and D. H. Carson (eds.) Spatial Behavior of Older People. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press.
24.
LAWTON, M. P. (1974) "The human being and the institutional building," pp. 60-71 in J. Lang et al. (eds.) Designing for Human Behavior. Stroudsburg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross.
25.
LAWTON, M. P. (1983a) "Environment and other determinants of well-being in older people."Gerontologist23: 349-357.
26.
LAWTON, M. P. (1983b) "Time space and activity," pp. 41-62 in G. D. Rowles and R. J. Ohta (eds.) Aging and Milieu. New York: Academic Press.
27.
LIPMAN, A. (1967) "Chairs as territory."New Society20: 564-566.
28.
LIPMAN, A. (1968a) "Building design and social interaction: a preliminary study in three old people's homes."Architects J. Information Library, pp. 23-30.
29.
LIPMAN, A. (1968b) "A socio-architectural view of life in three homes for old people."Gerontologia Clinica10: 88-101.
30.
MERCER, G. and M. BENJAMIN (1980) "Spatial behavior of university undergraduates in double occupancy rooms: an inventory of effects."J. of Applied Social Psychology10: 32-44.
31.
SOMMER, R. (1974) Tight Spaces: Hard Architecture and How to Humanize It. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
32.
STEPHENS, M.A.P. , J. M. KINNEY, and A. E. McNEER (1986) "Accommodative housing: social integration among well and frail residents."Gerontologist26: 176-180.
33.
STEPHENS, M.A.P. and E. P. WILLEMS (1979) "Everyday behavior of older persons in institutional housing: some implications for design," pp. 344-348 in A. S. Seidel and S. Danford (eds.) Environmental Design, Research, Theory, and Applications. Washington, DC: Environmental Design Research Association.
34.
SUNDSTROM, E. and I. ALTMAN (1974) "Field study of territorial behavior and dominance."J. of Personality and Social Psychology30:115-124.
