1. Dimensions of Human Behavior: Person and Environment
Chapter 7
The Physical Environment

2. KEY POINTS ADDRESSED Identifying the Physical Environment
Theories to Explain the Relationship between the Physical Environment and Human Behavior
Stimulation
Control
Behavior Settings
The Natural Environment
Good for Body, Mind, and Spirit
An Inconvenient Truth
Why Do We Care
The Built Environment
For Large Groups
In Daily Living
Special Circumstances
Considering the Possibilities
Chapter 7: Physical Environment

3. Identifying the Physical Environment
What is the physical environment?
What is the transactional approach to understanding the relationship between the physical environment and human behavior?
What aspects of the physical environment are related to human behavior?
Both natural and built.. How does physical environment relate to social environment.. Can you have physical environment without social environment.. Can you have social environment without physical environment
Iterative nature Interlocking and on-going process.. People shape and are shaped by their environments.
Chapter 7: Physical Environment

4. The Physical Environment –
Consists of the natural environment and
the built environment
Serves as source of sensory information (explained by stimulation theories)
Constrains or limits some behaviors
(explained by control theories)
Encourages / prescribes some behaviors
(explained by behavior setting theories)
Chapter 7: Physical Environment

5. Theories that Explain the Relationship between the Physical Environment and Human Behavior
Stimulation Theories
The physical environment is a source of sensory information essential for human well-being
Patterns of stimulation influence thinking, emotions, social interaction, and health.
Important concepts
stimulus overload
restricted environmental stimulation
Chapter 7: Physical Environment

6. Theories that Explain the Relationship between the Physical Environment and Human Behavior (cont)
Control Theories
Humans desire control over their physical environment.
Some person/environment configurations provide more control over the physical environment than others.
Important concepts:
privacy
personal space (boundary-regulating mechanisms)
territoriality (boundary-regulating mechanisms)
crowding
Chapter 7: Physical Environment

7. Theories that Explain the Relationship between the Physical Environment and Human Behavior, (cont)
Behavior Settings Theories
Consistent, uniform patterns of behavior occur in particular settings.
Behaviors of different persons in the same setting are more similar than the behaviors of the same person in different settings.
Important concepts:
behavior settings
programs
staffing
Chapter 7: Physical Environment

8. Comparing and Contrasting the Theories of Physical Environment
How do the various human behavior theoretical perspectives help us better understand the theories of the relationship between the physical environment and the human environment
Chapter 7: Physical Environment

9. The Natural Environment: Good for Body, Mind, and Spirit
Water – the preferred landscape element
Trees – increase positive, creative, cooperative feelings
Sunlight – curvilinear relationship with feelings of relaxation
Chapter 7: Physical Environment

10. The Natural Environment: “An Inconvenient Truth”?
Growing demands for food, fresh water, timber, and fuel
>>> humans change ecosystems to meet demand
>> sizable, mostly irreversible loss of diversity of life
> exacerbated poverty for some groups of people
Many costs of the changes will be deferred to future generations.
The degradation of world ecosystems expected to grow significantly worse in the first half of the 21st century.
Reversing the degradation of ecosystems will require major changes in policies across the globe.
Chapter 7: Physical Environment

11. The Natural Environment: Why Do We Care?
The spiritual model: views nature as sacred in its own right and threatened by human activity.
The ecological model: views humans as interconnected with nature, and looks to science and technology to find ways for humans to live in balance with nature.
Chapter 7: Physical Environment

12. The Built Environment: The Result of Human Effort
How stimulation theory, control theory, and behavior setting theory help us design optimal settings for large groups of people, such as:
Therapeutic institutions like mental hospitals and residential treatment facilities
Schools and universities
Correctional institutions
Institutions for persons with mental etardation
Large hospitals
College dormitories
Chapter 7: Physical Environment

13. The Built Environment: The Result of Human Effort
How would stimulation theory, control theory, and behavior setting theory help us design optimal settings for daily living in:
Planned residential communities
New urban villages
Low income housing projects
Urban and suburban condominiums
Chapter 7: Physical Environment

14. The Built Environment: The Result of Human Effort
How would stimulation theory, control theory, and behavior setting theory help us design optimal settings for special circumstances, such as:
Crime prevention
Substance addictions
Homeless populations
Persons with physical disabilities
Chapter 7: Physical Environment

15. Physical Environment Needs of Particular Populations:
Children and Elderly Adults:
Personal identity
Sense of competence
Intellectual, social, and motor development
Security and trust
A balance of social interaction and privacy
Chapter 7: Physical Environment

16. Consider:
Why the authors of the text suggest that conflict theory applies to accessible environments for persons with disabilities
How the concepts of place attachment and place identity can be incorporated into social work interventions
What role, if any, the physical environment, both natural and built, played in the Virginia Tech shootings of April 2007
Chapter 7: Physical Environment