Neighborhood Size and Resident Satisfaction (06-15-16)
The perceived size of a neighborhood influences resident satisfaction. Barnardo and Palma-Oliveira found that “smaller neighborhoods reported higher identification and satisfaction with the place of residence.”
Fatima Bernardo and Jose-Manuel Palma-Oliveira. 2016. “Identification with the Neighborhood: Discrimination and Neighborhood Size.” Self and Identity, vol. 15, no. 5, pp. 579-598.
Evaluating and Using Art (06-14-16)
Research by Lauring and his team confirms that multiple factors influence evaluations of art and that art has a special, social role. They found that when participants in their study “were primed [i.e., led to think] that a certain social group (fellow students, art museum curators/art experts, or low-education/income youth) had rated the painting positively or negatively (social prime, . . .) or with a fictitious sales price of the artwork (monetary prime) . . . . Paintings with high monetary primes or with high ratings by peers and art experts led to higher participant liking ratings. In contrast, paintings with a low rating by the low-education/income social group led to higher liking ratings by participants. . . . results provide empirical support for the social ‘distinction’ behavior theory, according to which individuals use their evaluation and engagement with art in order to show allegiance to, or distance themselves from, desirable/undesirable social others.”
Jon Lauring, Matthew Pelowski, Michael Forster, Matthias Gondan, Maurice Pitto, and Ron Kupers. “Well, If They Like It . . . Effects of Social Groups’ Ratings and Price Information on the Appreciation of Art.” Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, in press.
Photoing Affects Experience (06-10-16)
Research by Diehl, Zauberman, and Barasch generally supports building places for photo taking, such as wider areas along circulation routes into which people can step to take “selfies,” into spaces. They learned that “taking photos enhances enjoyment of positive experiences across a range of contexts. . . . This occurs when photo taking increases engagement with the experience, which is less likely when the experience itself is already highly engaging, or when photo-taking interferes with the experience. . . . we also find that this greater engagement due to photo-taking results in worse evaluations of negative experiences.”
Kristin Diehl, Gal Zauberman, and Alixandra arasch. “How Taking Photos Increases Enjoyment of Experiences.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, in press.
House to Home (06-09-16)
Cox has investigated properties that people link to homier environments, and her findings are relevant to the full range of spaces where people will live, even temporarily. As a press release from the publisher of Cox’s study (Home Cultures journal) states: “Rosie Cox’s study in Home Cultures explores property owners’ notions of ‘home’ and their home making journeys and argues that sometimes what is ‘homey’ about a home is its very lack of robustness. . . . Cox interviewed 30 homeowners from New Zealand about their home improvements. . .. She explored what motivated their home renovations and the division of labour. Surprisingly, most did not want a perfectly fortress like house but preferred to put their own stamp on it through self-improvements and felt they did not truly ‘own’ it until they had. . . . many expressing a preference for more malleable materials such as wood over concrete or steel.”
“What Makes a House a Home.” 2016. Press release, Taylor and Francis Group. http://newsroom.taylorandfrancisgroup.com/news/press-release/what-makes-a-house-a-home#.V1sJcmPHmft
Reducing Outdoor Lighting and Crime (06-08-16)
Reducing lighting in an outdoor environment does not necessarily affect wellbeing there. Steinbach and her team “quantified the effect of 4 street lighting adaptation strategies (switch off, part-night lighting, dimming and white light) on casualties and crime in England and Wales.” The researchers found that “There was no evidence that any street lighting adaptation strategy was associated with a change in collisions at night. . . . there was no evidence for an association between the aggregate count of crime and switch off . . . or part-night lighting. . . . There was weak evidence for a reduction in the aggregate count of crime and dimming. . . . This study found little evidence of harmful effects of switch off, part-night lighting, dimming, or changes to white light/LEDs on road collisions or crime in England and Wales.”
Rebecca Steinbach, Chloe Perkins, Lisa Tompson, Shane Johnson, Ben Armstrong, Judith Green, Chris Grundy, Paul Wilkinson, and Phil Edwards. 2015. “The Effect of Reduced Street Lighting on Road Casualties and Crime in England and Wales: Controlled Interrupted Time Series Analysis.” Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2015/07/08/jech-2015-206012.short?g=w_...
Supporting Team Work (06-03-16)
Confirming previous research, Greenway, Thai, Haslam, and Murphy report that a group’s performance is tied to the “decoration” of the spaces where they work. The research team told participants in a study that they conducted that they were members of a red team and then had them personalize their work area with a poster they developed and red decorations. A rival group was identified as a blue team. Then, the test groups were moved to another space with red decorations, with blue decorations, or with none at all. Greenway and her group determined that “Work teams performed better [on a cognitive task] in both ingroup [red] spaces and outgroup [blue] spaces than in undecorated spaces.” Team room design and policies can support customization by group members.
Katharine Greenway, Hannibal Thai, S Haslam, and Sean Murphy. 2016. “Spaces That Signal Identity Improve Workplace Productivity.” Journal of Personnel Psychology, vol. 15, pp. 3-43.
Option to Stand and Performance (06-02-16)
Garrett’s team confirms the value of adding sit-stand desks to work areas. They report that “When deciding on adoption of stand-capable workstations, a major concern for employers is that the benefits, over time, may not offset the initial cost of implementation. . . . This study compared objective measures of productivity over time between a group of stand-capable desk users and a seated control group in a call center. . . . Users of stand-capable desks were [approximately] 45% more productive on a daily basis compared to their seated [those working at sit-only desks] counterparts.” In stand-capable desks, people can work while standing or sitting, as they choose. The number of calls successfully completed per hour was used to assess productivity. Employees participating in the study were assigned to a particular desk, they were not able to select their desk.
Gregory Garrett, Mark Benden, Ranjana Mehta, Adam Pickens, Camille Peres, and Hongwei Zhao. “Call Center Productivity Over 6 Months Following a Standing Desk Intervention.” IIE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors, in press.
Bright Lights and Healthy Eating (06-01-16)
Researchers have linked light intensity to eating behavior. Biswas, Szocs, Wansink, and Chacko found that “Dining in dimly lit restaurants has been linked to eating slowly and ultimately eating less than in brighter restaurants. . . .New research findings forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing Research illustrate that those dining in well-lit rooms are about 16-24% more likely to order healthy foods than those in dimly lit rooms. . . . the researchers found evidence that this effect is due mainly to the level of diners’ alertness. ‘We feel more alert in brighter rooms and therefore tend to make more healthful, forward-thinking decisions,’ explains lead author Dipayan Biswas, PhD, University of South Florida.”
“Bright Lights, Healthy Choices.” 2016. Press release, Food and Brand Lab, Cornell University, http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/discoveries/bright-lights-healthy-choices
Designing for Lines (05-31-16)
New research provides insights on whether you should provide space for multiple lines or a single one in areas where people will spend time waiting in queues. A single line feeding multiple service providers is not as efficient as a set of lines. Niederhoff, Shunko, and Rosokha report in an article to be published in Management Science that “when customers wait in one long line and go to the next available server, those servers work more slowly than when servers each have their own queue.” Procedures can help correct this situation, however: “there are system design issues and other performance incentives that motivate workers in both settings. ‘When workers have clear feedback on the number of customers in line and how quickly they are moving, it can affect motivation in different ways,’ said Niederhoff. ‘It also helps if managers provide pay-per-customer or other financial incentives. . . . One thing to note, though, is that we only measure worker speed in each setting. This doesn’t necessarily mean worse customer service. Slower workers might not always lead to lower customer satisfaction,’ said Niederhoff. ‘For example, in settings where customers are not concerned about speed but, rather, prefer a slower and more-personalized service, a server slowdown may lead to an increase in customer satisfaction. This is something for a manager to consider.’”
More Lines Are Usually Better When It Comes to Worker Speed.” 2016. Press release, Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University, http://whitman.syr.edu/NewsRoom/News.aspx?id=2137.
Bariatric Design (05-27-16)
A growing percent of the population is obese, and bariatric design, or developing spaces and objects to meet the specific needs of this group, is receiving increased attention. A study published in the Journal of Travel Research determined that “Feelings of shame and humiliation bother obese air passengers more than tight seat belts and tiny seats. . . . ‘Most participants agreed that the way people stare at them during boarding and deplaning is humiliating, and at times even shameful,” says Prof. Yaniv Poria. . . . Prof. Poria collaborated with Jeremy Beal, a graduate of Virginia Tech’s Hospitality and Tourism Management Program. They suggest allowing obese people to board first and deplane last, and making design changes to rest rooms and seat trays which would make everyone more comfortable. Additionally, they argue for the need to offer different-sized seats. Squeezing down aisles and into seats is particularly troublesome, the participants said, because they are unable to avoid touching other passengers. Many attempted to be first in line to board so they could easily find their seats ‘and disappear.’” Although this study focused on air travel, lessons learned can be applied in other settings.
“Stares Worse Than Tiny Seats for Obese Air Travelers.” 2016. Press release, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, https://aabgu.org/stares-worse-than-tiny-seats-for-obese-air-travelers/.
Measuring Has Consequences (05-25-16)
Devices are being used to collect information from people in a number of different situations, and the resulting data are being used to guide design. Research by Etkin indicates that measuring has psychological repercussions that could affect responses to objects and environments ultimately developed: “The appeal of personal quantification seems clear. By better understanding our behavior, we can make the necessary changes to live happier, healthier lives. . . . Six experiments demonstrate that while measurement increases how much of an activity people do (e.g., walk or read more), it can simultaneously reduce how much people enjoy those activities. This occurs because measurement can undermine intrinsic motivation. By drawing attention to output, measurement can make enjoyable activities feel more like work, which reduces their enjoyment. As a result, measurement can decrease continued engagement in the activity and subjective well-being. Even in the absence of explicit external incentives, measurement itself can thus have similar effects.”
Jordan Etkin. 2016. “The Hidden Cost of Personal Quantification.” Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 42, no. 6, pp. 967-984.
Who Uses Neighborhood Parks? (05-24-16)
Cohen and team were interested in learning more about who visits neighborhood parks, and their findings are useful to people managing and designing parks. They report that “a representative sample of 174 neighborhood parks in 25 major cities (population >100,000) across the U.S. was selected [for study]. Park use, park-based physical activity, and park conditions were observed during a typical week using systematic direct observation during spring/summer of 2014. . . Nationwide, the average neighborhood park of 8.8 acres averaged 20 users/hour or an estimated 1,533 person hours of weekly use. Walking loops and gymnasia each generated 221 hours/week of moderate to vigorous physical activity. Seniors represented 4% of park users, but 20% of the general population. Parks were used less in low-income than in high-income neighborhoods, largely explained by fewer supervised activities and marketing/outreach efforts.” Men and boys are more likely to use parks than women and girls.
Deborah Cohen, Bing Han, Catherine Nagel, Peter Harnik, Thomas McKenzie, Kelly Evenson, Terry Marsh, Stephanie Williamson, Christine Vaughan, and Sweatha Katta. “The First National Study of Neighborhood Parks: Implications for Physical Activity.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, in press.
Light, Sleepiness, and Metabolism (05-23-16)
Being exposed to particular types of light at certain times of day has been linked to changes in metabolism. Cheung and her team share that “Increasing evidence points to associations between light-dark exposure patterns, feeding behavior, and metabolism. This study aimed to determine the acute effects of 3 hours of morning versus evening blue-enriched light exposure compared to dim light on hunger, metabolic function, and physiological arousal.” Over a 4-day period, “Participants were randomized to 3 hours of blue-enriched light exposure . . . starting either 0.5 hours after wake (. . . morning group) or 10.5 hours after wake (. . . evening group). . . . Blood was sampled at 30-minute intervals for 4 hours in association with the light exposure period for glucose, insulin, cortisol, leptin, and ghrelin. . . . In both the morning and evening groups, insulin total area, HOMA-IR, and HOMA-IR AUC were increased and subjective sleepiness was reduced with blue-enriched light compared to dim light. The evening group, but not the morning group, had significantly higher glucose peak value during blue-enriched light exposure compared to dim light. . . . Blue-enriched light exposure acutely alters glucose metabolism and sleepiness.” The effects seen with evening exposure (the higher glucose peak value) have been linked to ill health. Dim light conditions were less than 20 lux, and “All participants were kept in dim light during wake for the duration of their stay in the [test area], except for blue-enriched light exposure . . . that was achieved with two goLITE BLU Plus light boxes (Philips, Amsterdam, Netherlands) and normal overhead room lighting (260 lux). The goLITE BLU Plus is a 5.5 x 5.5 inch device containing 60 blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) with a peak wavelength of 468 ± 8nm and a half-peak bandwidth of 20nm.”
Ivy Cheung, Phyllis Zee, Dov Shalman, Roneil Malkani, Joseph Kang, and Kathryn Reid. “Morning and Evening Blue-Enriched Light Exposure Alters Metabolic Function in Normal Weight Adults.” PLoS One, vol. 11, no. 5, http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155601.
Green Light and Migraines (05-19-16)
Noseda and his colleagues have learned that light color influences the progression of a migraine. As they report, “Migraine headache is uniquely exacerbated by light. Using psychophysical assessments in patients with normal eyesight we found that [pure-wavelength/narrow band] green light exacerbates migraine headache significantly less than white, blue, amber or red lights. . . . green [light] activates cone-driven retinal pathways to a lesser extent than white, blue and red . . . thalamic neurons are most responsive to blue and least responsive to green . . . cortical responses to green are significantly smaller than those generated by blue, amber and red lights. . . . the findings provide substrate for the soothing effects of green light.” In short, being in green light has been linked to less sensitivity to light during migraines and less severe migraine headaches.
Rodrigo Noseda, Carolyn Bernstein, Rony-Reuven Nir, and 10 others. “Migraine Photophobia Originating in Cone-Driven Retinal Pathways.” Brain: A Journal of Neurology, in press.
Tool: Designing Homes for People with Dementia (05-17-16)
Anyone designing spaces for people living with dementia will find the online materials and app available through the Dementia Enabling Environment Project (DEEP) Virtual Information Centre useful.
The website of the DEEP group aptly describes the information they share: “The Dementia Enabling Environment Project (DEEP) Virtual Information Centre provides practical tips, guides and resources to help make the places where we live more dementia enabling. This will encourage a person with dementia to lead as full and independent life as possible. . . . It can make a significant difference to their independence, quality of life and wellbeing. . . . A well designed environment, planned with cognitive impairment in mind, can help maintain abilities and provide meaningful engagement by providing essential prompts, accessibility and reduce risks to support a person with dementia. A poorly designed environment can be confusing, disorienting and at worst, disabling and even dangerous for those with dementia.” The materials provided relate to spaces inside and outdoors, and are focused on residential environments. However, the design principles presented can be generalized to any sort of space being developed. Topics covered in this highly practical guide include color, color and pattern, color perception and contrast, materials and surfaces, lighting, orientation and wayfinding, sound, and signage.
Project website: http://www.enablingenvironments.com.au/
The DEEP team has also developed a related app: “This application is intended to help you make informed decisions when adapting or designing a home for a person living with dementia. Treat it as a guide, not as a mandate to undertake expensive renovations.”
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-dementia-friendly-home/id1051978132?...
Design and Snacking (05-16-16)
In a study at Google’s New York office, Baskin, Gorlin, Chance, Novemsky, Dhar, Huskey, and Hatzis studied how the location of at-work snacks influences their consumption. Their findings have been published in Appetite. The team reports in a press release that they “looked at the extent to which the proximity of snacks to free beverages increased snack consumption. . . ‘It was a bit surprising that an extra few feet of distance between snacks and beverages yielded such a significant change in snacking frequency,’ says Baskin, who found that the probability of snacking increased by more than half when an employee visited a beverage station that was near the snack supply.”
The article in Appetite provided this information: “The micro-kitchen in which we ran this study had two entrances, and two identical beverage stations with refrigerators and coffee machines, one near (6’5’’) and the other far (17’6’’) from a snack bar displaying snacks such as M&Ms, chocolates, nuts, cookies, granola bars, packaged chips and pretzels, and fresh fruit. . . . The probability of snacking increased by more than half when an employee visited the near beverage machine rather than the far one. . . . Of the employees who used the beverage station near the snacks, 20.5% took a snack, whereas only 12.2% of those who used the far beverage station did. Thus, increased relative proximity of beverages resulted in a 69% increase in the probability of snacking.”
Ernest Baskin, Margarita Gorlin, Zoe Chance, Nathan Novemsky, Ravi Dhar, Kim Huskey, and Michelle Hatzis. 2016. “Proximity of Snacks to Beverages Increases Food Consumption in the Workplace: A Field Study.” Appetite, vol. 103, pp. 244-248.