Experiencing American and Australian High-and Popular-Style Houses

Abstract

An experiment is reported that assessed aspects of a constructivist model of environmental experience, using examples of high- and popular-style, single, detached houses. Of interest was the relationship between measures of typicality and familiarity and affective experience, as well as how this relationship was affected by examples from different cultural/geographic locations. Also investigated were similarities and differences between architecture students at the beginning of their education, architecture students part way through their first year, and students from the general university population. Systematic relationships were found between the judgments of typicality and familiarity and affective judgments. Similarities and differences were related to the cultural/geographic origin of examples. No difference was found between architecture students at different stages of their university work, but both groups were dearly different from their nonarchitecture colleagues. These results are discussed in the context of the constructivist model of environmental experience.