The impact of the built environment on prosocial and affiliative behaviour: A field study of the townsville city mall

Abstract

Rates of prosocial and affiliative behaviour were measured in the Townsville central business district before and after construction of a downtown mall. Pedestrians were more likely to help an investigator pick up fallen pencils after construction of the mall. Pedestrians were also more likely to return eye contact and speak to an investigator who offered a friendly greeting after construction of the mall. Subjects rating slides of the pre-mall and mall environments reported the mall to be a more pleasurable setting to be in. They also anticipated feeling more friendly and helpful there. The results are discussed in reference to Mehrabian and Russell's (1974) theory of the emotion-eliciting characteristics of environments.