Reliability of human environmental “sensors”: Evidence from first- and third-person methods

Abstract

The aim of this research was to assess the reliability of occupants' verbalised thoughts and experiences of environmental conditions for objective environmental condition assessment. This research was based on the Integral Sustainable Design approach and included concurrent think-aloud method and environmental measurements at participants indicated most intense temperature, air movement, sound, lighting and preferred place to study (PPS) locations. The results showed that parameters of the most intense environmental places were significantly higher or lower than PPS. Participants' experiences of the most intense environmental places as intensely high and low, compared to PPS, was generally mirrored by differences in measured environmental parameters between the two sets of places. Findings show that, in this case, human sensors of environmental conditions are reliable. The think-aloud method revealed that participants considered multiple environmental parameters of PPS concurrently and made trade-offs that prioritised the studying task. Future studies might consider integrating first-person reporting with building operation and maintenance functions to improve efficiency without compromising occupants’ preferences, satisfaction and comfort.