Lecture 08 – Human Spatial Behavior
Listen now
Description
This lecture explores the topic of proxemics, or the ways in which people use space in their day-to-day interactions with others. Four core processes of human spatial behavior are privacy, personal space, territoriality, and crowding. Examples of these processes and the ways they work together as part of a dynamic system to regulate individuals’ privacy needs are discussed. Cultural differences in people’s use of personal space and territoriality are illustrated. Also, distinctions between the physical conditions of spatial and social density as compared to the motivational state of crowding stress are noted. Finally, key differences between human and non-human territorial behavior also are described, as well as various types of human territories including primary, secondary, and public spaces.
More Episodes
Viewing human environments as sociophysical systems means that the qualities of our environments and their impacts on behavior and health can be changed by altering their physical or social structures. Illustrative cases in which specific architectural or social features of behavior settings...
Published 06/07/12
Throughout this course, we have emphasized the importance of systematically evaluating the effects of sociophysical environments on people’s behavior and health; and the efficacy of social and environmental policies and programs in fostering higher levels of mental and physical well-being in a...
Published 06/07/12
People’s reliance on mobile communications and Internet technologies has increased dramatically since the 1990s. Today, there are nearly 5.5 billion cell phone users and two billion Internet users in the world. The explosive growth of digital information and communications have altered the...
Published 05/31/12