THE INFLUENCE ANALYSIS UPON ENVIRONMENTAL PRESSURE PERCEPTION DUE TO DIFFERENT BEHAVIORAL COMPETENCE

Kong Zhe, Bai Xiaopeng Published in the Proceedings of Environment and Behavior Research Association

Abstract: Different individuals would have dissimilar environmental pressure perception level due to their own subjective and objective factors. Because of individuals psychological imprint and accumulated experience, people would have various feedback behaviors. The article analyzes the entire process, during which individuals exhibit different level of perception and feedback behavior influenced by physical and psychological elements and draw conclusions to provide the reference for designers through the examination concerning the observation of individuals feedback action.
Key words: individual behavioral competence, individual psychological perception, environmental pressure, feedback behavior

Under the same condition, every person comprehends the environmental stress differently and displays divergent related action. By analyzing individuals feedback action, we could perceive the motivesthe action experience and the value behind it to prove the ambience impact existence. In order to comprehend the relation among environment, individual and individual feedback action deeper (Figure 1), the article mainly analyzes the reasons that different people have diverse perception to the same ambience and their various feedback action. After observing individuals behavior, classifying Figure 1: The Relation among Environment, Individual and experimental data and Individual Feedback Action summarizing the impact of environmental stress on population, the dissimilar category action and the conclusion could offer designers fundamental measure.

RELATED CONCEPTS

Elucidating from the behavior perspective, there are three concepts needed to be clarified basically. 1.1 THE ENVIRONMENTAL PRESSURE The environmental pressure means that when an individual is in a spaceplace or scene, all the factors except the individual would have the supportive or obstructive combined action on him

(her). 1.2 THE INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR COMPETENCE The individual behavior competence includes the individuals mental capacity and actual action capacity. The former refers that individuals would have the comprehensive thinking according to their physiological conditionpsychological imprint and associated accumulated experience. The latter refers to the actually displayed feedback action conducted psychologically or subconsciously. 1.3 THE PERCEPTION DEGREE If a person is in a circumstance, the circumstance would make certain impact on the person. And the individuals degree of realizing the influence is defined as the perception degree.

2 ANALYSIS OF INDIVIDUAL ATTRIBUTES AND THE PERCEPTION OF ENVRIONMENTAL PRESSURE

After the environmental stress upon individuals, whether or not they could perceive it and the perception degree have straightforward relation with their physiological and psychological characteristics. 2.1 INDIVIDUAL PHYSIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL PRESSURE PERCEPTION ANALYSIS And individuals physical characteristics play an important role in finding out the environmental strain. Each person has different physiological characteristics, such as genders (male or female), ages (children, adolescents, youth or greybeard), and level of physical health (whether in illness or having congenital diseases and so on) and sport coordination capability. As a result, everyone possesses diverse understanding of similar condition stress with the characteristics formed a unique person. Since the physiological dissimilarities between the male and the female, different ages among various people, people are supposed to have divergent psychological needs and perception. For instance, a healthy adult do not pay much attention on the threshold. For the reason that the changed pace and the physical consumption caused by the threshold are too small to become an obstacle. On the contrary, the threshold would cost disabled people plenty of physical strength and energy. If the threshold was higher than two centimeters, wheelchairs can not cross the barrier, so that the disabled have to call for help from others. Therefore, there is specific rules in the construction specification regarding that public construction should possess the disabled ramp near the main entrance without threshold along with the disabled toilet (Figure 2), all of which exhibit the comprehensive and humanized side of architecture for the weak. Besides, individuals in distinct age groups feel differently towards similar environmental pressure. As individuals in different ages having dissimilar physical limits, once the environmental stress is approaching or exceeding their physical limits, they will obviously perceive its function. Generally speaking, youth have higher physical limits than the old do and men have higher ones than women do. Individuals physical limits rise from infant period to middle age and afterwards decline. Figure 2: Disabled Toilet Design Consequently people with unlike physical limits at diverse times would inevitably have a variety of perception towards similar environmental

stress. 2.2 INDIVIDUALPSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS PERCEPTIONS ANALYSIS Since individuals physical characteristics would be the bottom line to verify their condition pressure perception, their own sensitivity and relevant accumulation of experience would be the second measure. On the one hand the congenital sensitivity of individual plays a significant role in the environmental pressure perception. Such as Beethoven and Mozartwho were born with extraordinary musical sensitivity and had mastered esoteric knowledge of notes when they were four or five years old, would accurately capture the subtle tone change. Similarly, individuals possessing special congenital sensitivity would figure out kinds of circumstance press variously like the temperature, humidity, indoor illumination, sound decibels and so on. On the other handthe importance of peoples psychological acquired imprint to the environmental stress perception can never be ignored. When an individual is in the completely unfamiliar environmenthe (she) often dose not have sufficient confidence and certainty to change it. However, when an individual is in a familiar environmentpsychological imprint resulted from previous experiences can help him (her) perceive the environmental pressure quickly and clearly. To illustrate this point, one needs to look no further than people with different occupation, who may have special concernpreference and understanding of environment due to their longtime job impact. For example, with the accumulation experience, a painter can rapidly discern environmental pressure resulted from different colors and area ratio An experienced fireman could estimate the fire and rescue route relying on a small amount of on-site informationThe specialty makes a doctor sensitive to a thin layer of dust on the table. It follows that gradually acquired experience can assist individuals occupy active position in future to determine the environmental pressure.

3 ANALYSIS INDIVIDUALS ENVIRONMENTAL

FEEDBACK

BEHAVIOR

TO

THE

The subject would generate a series of mental activities when perceiving environmental pressures. Nevertheless the most direct reflection of perceiving degree is the feedback conduct. The response behavior could generally be divided into three types: no action, the subject considers his action while others do not; the subject considers his action and others agree. Through the combination of experiment appearance and data, the following part analyzes the three kinds of behavior so that the interaction between environmental press and individual reaction could be evidently understood. The experiment is: first of all, the left door of the teaching building entrance was closed while an obstructin was put in the middle of the right open door. During 1.2 hours, the entering or exiting action of students, teachers and staff were taken stock of (The experiment scene is shown in figure 3 and figure 4). The test was brought out in the background of campus, so that the composition of test objects would be simple and the test result would be more Figure 3: Text Scene Figure 4: Text Scene concentrated. The test involved 90 cases of individual feedback behavior, including 12 cases that the same person went through the

entrance twice. There were 48 males and 30 females. The gender formation manifests in figure 5 and the age structure shows in figure 6. 3.1 NO ACTION FEEDBACK BEHAVIOR Firstly, when confronting with environmental pressure, subject 61-75 0-15 places personal accumulated energy 3% 3% as measure to evaluate whether he 46-60 (she) is capable to achieve feedback 15% behavior. Hypothetically, the Female individual was supposed to pay 38% Male 31-45 16-30 62% beyond personal capability, he (she) 23% 56% would perform no action to respond. In the meantime, the subject would also put advantages and Figure 5: Gender Formation Figure 6: Age Structure disadvantages into account of reaction. The person would take no action to harm. However, there would be numerously complex and diverging aspects that individuals would think over if the response was beneficial. For example, whether the feedback behavior process satisfied personal need, would the behavior and result content individuals performance Figure 7: Mens Crossing Way Figure 8: Womens Crossing Way needs of self-esteem, and what is the relation between benefits and cost? Supposing one or some of the points did not meet with the individuals demands, the subject would refuse to take action. Secondly, under some circumstances, people are apt to place no action as the behavior to reply to the environmental pressure. In the experiment, 93.33% of the subjects chose passing by or crossing method to avoid strange ambience stress. Moreover, based on physiology disparities, the deeds they chose demanded different energy cost. Among the persons who chose crossing way, 28.57% are female while 71.43% are male. Whats more, men took much greater extent approach of crossing the barrier than women did (figure-7, figure-8). Among the people leaving the building, 28.89% subjects selected the route shorter to destination, while 7.78% ones elected the longer one. After the second person of the six-subject group pick out the longer route, the rest four followed the same way based on the group psychology. 3.2 THE SUBJECT CONSIDERS HIS ACTION WHILE OTHERS DO NOT FEEDBACK BEHAVIOR After an individuals perception of environmental stress, he (she) considers carefully and selects the "action" in response. Nonetheless the subject chooses attempt rather than real movement in one condition. Or in the other condition, the subject disguises the real action. No witness could prove his (her) action despite the fact that the subject do respond to the circumstance press, thus they consider the individual as no action. In the experiment, even though two groups

inquired about the obstacle and showed intention to alter the environmental pressure, all the subjects placed no action, which demonstrated passing by or crossing as practical movement in return. The two groups exhibited action as feedback mentally but carried out no action physically. Although their intention to recognize the pressure and take measures to change it did not come to real behavior, the thought in response to environmental pressure is more positive that the first group with disregarding attitude. 3.3 THE SUBJECT CONSIDERS HIS ACTION AND OTHERS AGREE FEEDBACK BEHAVIOR Feeling the pressure of the environment, the subject takes measures to respond it, and there are witnesses to the series of moves. Sometime the subject carries out action after analyzing comprehensive factors. While in other cases, they take action only because certain points satisfy their requirement. Whats more, only a few people would select affirmative approach of transferring the ambiance stress even if they are in familiar condition with a handful of novel stimulation without threat. In the experiment, there are only four subjects, which take up 6.67% of all, choosing action as their response. Two people among the four chose the way of pushing the left door while the other two removed the obstacle and passed. The former situation occurred when there are more than three persons passing, the one on the left tried to keep ahead with his accompanies as well as avoiding congestion. The latter two situations took place when the subjects encountered the obstacle twice. The first girl pulled it slowly aside and the second man pushed it with a foot so as to provide convenience for his girl friend. This indicates that the subjects are apt to take action when facing the obstruction more than one times. All the three sorts of behaviors (figure 9) discussed above repeat incessantly in daily life, although no one would try to conclude all of them consciously before or after them. Take drinking for example, people would not contemplate before or after this simple and fast movement, for it is such an automatism and unconscious movement. It is not true that people take action without mental activities before doing automatism movement. The movement itself lasts only a little seconds and the body get so used to it to the extent that our bodies can achieve it precisely. As a consequence, our brains often erase related memories after it is done and we could hardly recognize the proceeding. Meanwhile, complex and time-demanding behavior would arouse people to concentrate and conclude after its completeness, to accumulate experience for future use. Being aware of others

Figure 9: The Subjects Series Response after Receiving the Environment Pressure

experience is also beneficial for people to take appropriate action swift when confronting with the same stress.

CONCLUSION

To sum up individuals can perceive different level of pressure under the same environment. In the meantime, individuals particular physical and psychological characteristics and no-duplicatable experience and psychological mark could offer them distinct understanding of problems and conclusions. In addition, their various responses could show their action motives. Through the test Figure 10: The Test Result result (figure 10) we could obtain the relevant data 93.33% of the subjects avoided environmental pressure; 6.67% of them had courage to fight against environmental stress52.08% of the male chose to cross the barrier; 6.25% of the male selected to push the door or remove the obstruction; 33.33% of the female chose to cross the barrier; 33% of the female chose to remove the obstacle. Among the individuals who crossed the trial site at the second time 16.67% of them chose to remove the obstacle While among the group who crossed the hamper at the first time, no individuals removed it. We can acquire following conclusionsMost individuals take absentminded, optimistic, or accepting attitudes and perform avoiding, waiting and watching feedback behavior to unfamiliar pressure in their acquainted environment. Only a few people would like to change and fight against the unfamiliar environmental pressure positively and actively People usually take the method consuming the least energy to overcome environmental obstacles When individual reencounter the same environmental pressures, the rate of acting against it is higher. Therefore, when designer is creating a spacethey should establish appropriate environmental pressure by referring to low capacity groups. Under the premise of matching users impression, designers may add certain amount of original purpose to encourage users to convert the environmental pressure positively. With the rapid technology development and the growing concern about the humanity design, designers should always pay much attention to users psychology and behavior as design reference and make great effort to create humanized space to meet users psychology needs.

References
1 Li Daozeng. Introduction to Environmental Behavior. Tsinghua University Press, 1999 2 Sun Kou. Architectural Space Design Based on Personal Behaviors. Harbin Institute of Technology Press, 2007.12 3 Chang Huaisheng. Environmental Psychology and Interior Design. China Architecture & Building Press,

2003.06