Environment-behavior Relations Research Articles

A selectionist approach to reinforcement.

We describe a principle of reinforcement that draws upon experimental analyses of both behavior and the neurosciences. Some of the implications of this principle for the interpretation of behavior are explored using computer simulations of adaptive neural networks. The simulations indicate that a single reinforcement principle, implemented in a biologically plausible neural network, is competent to produce as its cumulative product networks that can mediate a substantial number of the phenomena generated by respondent and operant contingencies. These include acquisition, extinction, reacquisition, conditioned reinforcement, and stimulus-control phenomena such as blocking and stimulus discrimination. The characteristics of the environment-behavior relations selected by the action of reinforcement on the connectivity of the network are consistent with behavior-analytic formulations: Operants are not elicited but, instead, the network permits them to be guided by the environment. Moreover, the guidance of behavior is context dependent, with the pathways activated by a stimulus determined in part by what other stimuli are acting on the network at that moment. In keeping with a selectionist approach to complexity, the cumulative effects of relatively simple reinforcement processes give promise of simulating the complex behavior of living organisms when acting upon adaptive neural networks.

小学校における児童と物理的環境相互の関連に関する考察 : 児童の行動場面から見た空間解析に関する研究 その2

This study investigated the effects of physical settings on children's behavior at the elementary school level. Of special interest was the open plan configuration. Also examined, several important patterns of relations between physical settings and behavior used as means of evaluating schools. The results show that : 1. Children use some physical settings such as steps, handrails, etc. in different ways from adults. 2. Columns, posts, floor tiles, other primary physical elements in the immediate setting, can define assumed boundaries for children's behavior. 3. There are various kinds of territories created by children, such as the place to gather, to escape in, to observe others, etc. The results are supportive of interactional theory of environment-behavior relations.

Nonshared environmental influences and personality differences in adult twins.

The twin design was used to examine the importance of different experiences of siblings within the family and to identify relations between twins' personality differences and their differential experiences. A sample of 161 monozygotic and 74 dizygotic twin individuals between the ages of 18 and 75 years retrospectively reported on their different experiences when growing up. The Sibling Inventory of Differential Experience (SIDE) was used for the first time with a sample of twin siblings. In addition, the twins provided self-report measures of affect and personality. In contrast to results from a sibling adoption design, this study of twins showed greater evidence for genetic variance in the SIDE scales. Nevertheless, the SIDE showed significant associations with differences in personality and affect for monozygotic twins, which reflect pure environment-behavior relations.

Home Interiors

The home is the setting for the development and maintenance of a variety of interpersonal relationships. As such it provides an ideal setting in which to contemplate temporal and physical factors that are important in the formation and progress of relationships. This paper briefly reviews a framework of temporal qualities of homes, and illustrates its utility at identifying important aspects of home-based interpersonal relationships; examples are drawn from the other articles in the present volume. The bulk of the paper is devoted to a description of six ways in which the environment is related to interpersonal relationships: direct cause; mediated cause; perception-mediated cause; facilitator or supporter; reciprocal cause; and integral aspect. In addition to contributing to the precision with which we referto environment-behavior relations, this typology should direct researchers into new areas of inquiry, and help to ground interpersonal relationships theory to particular contexts. Preliminary suggestions are made for linking both time and place holistically with interpersonal relationships.

Effects of the spatial definition of behavior settings on children's behavior: A quasi-experimental field study

Following from an ecological conception of environment-behavior relations, this study investigated the effects of three levels of the spatial definition of behavior settings—from well-defined to poorly defined—on children's social and cognitive behavior. The study used a quasi-experimental post-test-only control group design with multiple levels of treatment and proxy pretest measures. Systematic naturalistic observation was conducted of children and staff at 14 child care centers matched in three groups. The data were analysed by analysis of covariance controlling for subject group differences between settings remaining after the matching. The degree of spatial definition of behavior settings was found to be predictive of a range of behaviors. Significantly more exploratory behavior, social interaction and cooperation occurred in spatially well defined behavior settings than in moderately or poorly defined settings. Strong interactions were noted between teacher styles and spatial definition in affecting children's behavior. The conclusions emphasize the finding that the effects of physical environmental variables can only be understood when studied in interaction with social environmental variables. The results are supportive of a group x settings interactional theory of environment-behavior relations.

Modeling eco-behavioral systems

Eco-behavioral systems deal with discrete units of social activity and its immediate environment called behavior settings. These are the naturally-occurring units or ‘standing patterns of behavior’ into which people sort themselves to get on with the business of daily life — retail stores, offices, school classes, religious services, meetings, athletic events, and so on. The concept was originated by the psychologist Roger Barker, who described an entire small community as a system of behavior settings. Barker and his associates showed that behavior setting surveys could be used to measure differences between two communities, one American and one English, in a given year and that surveys of the two communities taken ten years apart could be used to measure social change in each and differences in their patterns of change. They did not attempt formal mathematical models. The present study illustrates some of the basic issues and implications of mathematical modeling of such eco-behavioral systems. Three most important aspects of environment-behavior relations are analyzed here: evolution and change, variety and diversity, and finally efficiency and interdependence. By utilizing the cross-section and time-series data from behavior-setting surveys these models can be directly applied and hence used for predictive and other purposes.