Robert Sommer

Social Interaction On a Geriatrics Ward

S mental hospitals change from custody to therapy the question of improving the lot of the long-stay patients arises. The elimination of the feeling of hopelessness has created a vacuum in hospital policy. When it became known that something could be done, superintendents began wondering where to start. Obviously there were many courses of action open-building new wards, improving old wards, obtaining more nurses, retraining old nurses, etc. Many times the changes were made without any clear idea as to goals or policies. This paper describes a study of a geriatric ward several months after the ward had been renovated. The walls had been painted in cheerful colours, a spacious day-room had been created out of a series of small rooms and corridors, incandescent lighting was installed, new chairs were brought in, a TV and several air-conditioning units were installed, etc. Many visitors considered this a model ward. In fact, when the hospital submitted its application for an American Psychiatric Association Achievement Award, photographs of this ward were included in the packet. However, there is one salient feature in the pictures of this ward that was not noticed at the time. There is not one sign of any human interaction. Somehow we had given the ladies a model ward that effectively discouraged social relationships. Each lady could sit on her new chair and look straight ahead at the freshly painted walls or look downwards at the new rubber

Further Studies of Small Group Ecology

To learn how groups arrange themselves, pairs of students were observed in a cafeteria where interaction was encouraged and in a library where interaction was discouraged. In the former situation, people chose to sit across from one another while in the library people chose a distant seating pattern. Several paper-and-pencil instruments were used to gauge seating preference in casual, cooperating, competing, and co-acting groups. In general, casual groups prefer corner seating, cooperating groups to sit side-by-side, co-acting in a distant arrangement, and competing groups opposite one another. The role of eye contact in regulating spatial arrangements of small groups is discussed.

Further Studies of Preferred Tree Shapes

Three studies examine preferred tree shapes in relation to theories of landscape aesthetics. Study 1 found a preference for trees with acacia-like characteristics and also showed that size preference was related to environmental context. Using different stimulus figures, Study 2 elicited a preference for trees with large canopies and short trunks. Study 3 found that preferred trees were high in value and strength on the semantic differential and also that the semantic profiles of tree forms were similar to those of geometric figures with the same underlying shape. The results add support to functional and evolutionary theories of landscape preference.

Social Facilitation Effects in Shopping Behavior

Unobtrusive observation was used to compare time in the store and load size of lone and group shoppers. Consistent with social facilitation theory, groups spent more time in the store and purchased larger loads than did lone individuals. The larger loads of group shoppers held up with shopping time controlled. Women and older people spent more time in the store and bought larger loads than did men and younger people.

Mental Mapping of Two Supermarkets

Customers in two supermarkets were shown floor plans and asked to specify the location of various product categories. Items in peripheral aisles were recalled more frequently and accurately than items in central aisles. Accuracy was directly related to frequency of patronage and was greater for the small than for the large market.

An Exploratory Study of Preferred Tree Form

Two computer-generated tree icons plus one icon copied from a nursery catalog were designed with five variations each in canopy size, trunk height, and trunk width. Seven classes of students selected the most attractive tree forms. Respondents showed a preference for larger canopies and for smaller and thinner trunks. Preferred canopy size was positively related to trunk thickness and less to trunk height. The results support the predictions of habitat theory regarding preferred tree shape and show the feasibility of using psychophysical methods to explore these issues.

Surveying Householder Response to Street Trees

To complement horticultural methods of street tree valuation and simulation studies of landscape perception, a survey procedure for assessing householder response to specific street trees was developed. Use of the instrument in eight California cities involving 816 householders showed significant differences among species in benefits and annoyances. Consistent with the positive image of street trees, benefits were mentioned more often than annoyances and correlated more highly with overall satisfaction. Complaints regarding city tree maintenance were endemic in all of the communities.

Urban tree-planting programs — A model for encouraging environmentally protective behavior

Efforts to increase environmentally sound behaviors and practices have in the past often focussed on consciousness-raising and attitude change. Research indicates that such efforts are less effective than interventions designed to make environmentally sound behaviors easier to engage in, or to make personal advantages resulting from such behaviors more clear to individuals. Four nonprofit tree planting organizations were studied as examples of successful environmental interventions. From these studies, as well as a review of the literature, several principles underlying successful behavioral interventions are identified. Implications of these principles for future environmental programs are discussed.

Social Effects on Duration in Restaurants

A nonreactive observational study in full-service restaurants showed group size to be positively correlated with length of stay. Among the serendipitous findings were the role of reading in lengthening duration and the paucity of lone diners in full-service restaurants.

The Soft Classroom

Most college students and faculty regard their classrooms as drab, sterile, and institutional. A traditional classroom was converted into a softer more aesthetically pleasing room. Student attitudes toward the new room were favorable, and there was an increase in classroom participation, including student-student discussion.