Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Research shows that preference for scenes rest more in the character of the scene than in the observers. What features fit the design of a presidential library, such as the one under consideration by former president Clinton? The present study used six color photographs that represented various styles of architecture for institutional buildings such as a library or museum. The study used the photos to gather two kinds of data. For the independent variables, one sample of eight observers rated each building on four features: goodness of example, order, complexity, and historical significance. For the dependent variable, interviewers had a cluster sample of 130 respondents in central Ohio evaluate each building. The interviewers asked them to pick the building they liked the most for a presidential or senatorial library, the building they liked the least for that purpose, to report the reasons for the choices, and to rate each building on five 7-point evaluative scales. The analysis confirmed that importance of building over respondents features in the evaluations; and it showed that participants preferred designs with moderate levels of complexity and order, and moderate to high goodness of example. Open ended responses also indicated a preference for historic significance and symbols of popular over high style.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Berlyne

D. E.

(1971). Aesthetics and psychobiology. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Devlin

, & Nasar

J. L.

(1989). Beauty and the beast: Some preliminary comparisons of “Popular” vs. “High” architecture and public vs. architect judgements of same. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 9, 333–344.

Gaver

W. W.

, & Mandler

(1987). Play it again, Sam: On liking music. Cognition and Emotion, 1, 259–282.

Mandler

(1984). Mind and body: Psychology of emotion and stress. New York: W. W. Norton.

Nasar

J. L.

(1987). Effects of signscape complexity and coherence on the perceived visual quality of retail scenes. Journal of the American Planning Association, 53, 499–509.

Nasar

J. L.

(1998). The evaluative image of the city. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Nasar

J. L.

, & Devlin

A. S.

(2000). Regional variation in preferences for vernacular houses. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30:1, 41–66.

Nasar

J. L.

, & Hong

(1999). Visual preferences in urban signscapes. Environment and Behavior, 31, 671–691.

Peron

Purcell

A. T.

Staats

H. J.

Falchero

, & Lamb

R. J.

(1998). Models of preference for outdoor scenes: Some experimental evidence. Environment and Behavior, 30, 282–305.

10.

Purcell

A. T.

(1995). Experiencing American and Australian high and popular style houses. Environment and Behavior, 27, 771–800.

11.

Purcell

A. T.

, & Nasar

J. L.

(1992). Experiencing other people's houses: A model of similarities and differences in environmental experience. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 12, 199–211.

12.

Purcell

A. T.

Peron

, & Sanchez

(1998). Subcultural and cross-cultural effects on the experience of detached houses: An examination of two models of affective experience in the environment. Environment and Behavior, 30, 348–377.

13.

Rosenthal

, & Rosnow

(1985). Contrast analysis: Focused comparisons in the analysis of variance. New York: Cambridge University Press.

14.

Stamps

A. E.

(1990). Use of photographs to simulate environments. A meta-analysis. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 71, 907–913.

15.

Stamps

A. E.

(1995). Stimulus and respondent factors in environmental preference. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 80, 668–670.

16.

Stamps

A. E.

(1996). People and places: Variance components of environmental preferences. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 82, 323–334.

17.

Whitfield

T. W. A.

(1983). Predicting preference for everyday objects: An experimental confrontation between two theories of aesthetic behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 3, 221–237.

18.

Whitfield

T. W. A.

, & Slater

P. E.

(1979). The effect of categorization and prototypicality on aesthetic choice in a furniture selection process. British Journal of Psychology, 70, 65–75.

19.

Wohlwill

J. F.

(1976). Environmental aesthetics: The environment as a source of affect. In Altman

& Wohlwill

J. F.

(Eds.). Human behavior and the environment: Advances in theory and research (vol. 1, pp. 37–86). New York: Plenum.

20.

Wohlwill

J. F.

(1982). The visual impact of development in coastal zone areas. Coastal Zone Management Journal, 9, 225–248.

What Design for a Presidential Library? Complexity,Typicality,Order,and Historical Significance

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References