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Abstract

The influence of variations in space on affective response has not been widely researched. This study investigated the relationship of variations in height, width/depth, and shape to affective responses. Each of 120 respondents was asked to sort, by preference, models of spaces which represented, at one-twelfth scale, all possible combinations of 2.14-m and 6.10-m heights with 1.52-m, 3.05-m, or 6.05-m widths and depths. The results of the chi-square analyses indicate that respondents felt more secure in response to models 2.44 m high than to models 6.10 m high, more pleased in response to the models of square rather than rectangular spaces, and more secure, pleased, and interested, on the average, in response to models of wide rather than narrow spaces. The need for further investigations for special populations and contexts is described and speculations about the implications of this research for use in designing actual settings are discussed.

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Responses to Different Spatial Configurations

Abstract

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