Seat choice in a crowded café: effects of eye contact, distance, and anchoring

According to theories of interpersonal distance people choose to position themselves in relation to nearby others in a way that optimizes intimacy and privacy. In two studies we investigated the influence of intimacy and privacy on seating behavior in a café (coffee house) setting. In Study 1 (N = 71) we manipulated two aspects of intimacy (eye contact and distance to others), and one aspect of privacy (architectural anchoring) in separate scenario’s and registered participants’ seat choice on floor plans of the three hypothetical cafés. We found that more often participants chose a seat that was at a larger distance to other café-goers. Study 2 (N = 121) replicated the design of the first study, but included affective and cognitive appraisal measures concerning both available seats in each scenario. This time we found that participants more often chose low-eye contact and anchored seats. Choices in line with hypotheses as well as those that were against hypotheses co-occurred with strong beliefs about the pleasure and arousal that each choice might provide and related to the expectations of interaction with others present. Results qualify expectations about protection and violation of intimacy and privacy, at least for café settings.Social decision makin

Conservation as integration: desire to belong as motivation for environmental conservation

Considering the growing need to protect nature and acknowledging that not everyone has intrinsic desires to do so, what happens when social, community-based motives are seen to align with pro-environmental behavior? Specifically, the hypothesis addressed in this study is that individuals engage in actions to protect the natural environment at least partly to improve their sense of belonging to their community. To test this hypothesis, we distributed an online survey in rural regions of the UK. We found that particularly people who are concerned about their reputation and have a strong desire to belong engage in conservation actions. Our findings support the hypothesis that people conserve the environment to enhance their sense of belonging and illustrate that there are different additional processes at work that affect the relationship between desire to belong and engagement in conservation actions.Social decision makin

Restorative effects of exposure to nature on children and adolescents: a systematic review

One of the most documented effects of exposure to nature is physical and psychological restoration. Restoration refers to the recovery or strengthening of adaptive resources (e.g., attentional capabilities, positive emotions, etc.) that are being spent in meeting the demands of everyday life. The restorative process has been widely studied in adults, but less is known about the restorative effects that exposure to nature has for children and adolescents. To fill this gap in the literature, we conducted a systematic review aiming at systematically summarizing the accumulated evidence about the restorative effects of nature exposure on children and adolescents and reporting the main findings in terms of the restoration of (1) cognitive, (2) emotional, (3) social or (4) behavioural resources. To conduct the study, we followed the PRISMA procedure. Databases were extracted from Web of Science, PUBMED, and SCOPUS. Studies were selected if (a) they included non-adult participants, (b) they included empirical results at least for one of the four selected variables, (c) the study was published in English and (d) the study had been peer-reviewed. According to these criteria, 30 studies were finally selected.Selected studies were categorized in terms of sample size, duration of the intervention (if applicable), and quality of the study (following the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute assessment tool). Results show that exposure to nature has significant restorative effects, but the effects differ across the selected variables. Due to methodological limitations, such as a lack of measurement standardization, and the scarcity of experimental and longitudinal studies, caution should be exercised when interpreting the available results. Suggestions for future lines of research in this area are provided.Social decision makin

Aesthetics and logistics in urban parks: can moving waste receptacles to park exits decrease littering?

In this paper we test two approaches to reduce littering in urban parks that potentially reinforce each other: Relocating waste receptacles and the presence of watching eyes. Moving waste receptacles from the interior to the exits of a park makes waste collection more efficient, but can have opposing effects: Decreased littering because of greater care inspired by the perception of natural beauty in a park without artifacts like waste receptacles, or increased littering because of the greater distance to waste receptacles. Preceded by an online study (N = 153), three successive field studies showed mixed evidence for increased littering when moving waste receptacles to the exits (Study 2 and 3). However, when additionally attaching pictures of watching animal eyes to trees in the park (Study 4), litter levels seemed to decrease. We conclude that littering is best countered with a combination of persuasive communication and physical measures.Social decision makin

Verduurzaming loyaliteitsprogramma's: onderzoeksrapport

TESE115007Social decision makin

Nature, a psychological perspective

Social decision makin

Seat Choice in a Crowded Café : Effects of Eye Contact, Distance, and Anchoring

According to theories of interpersonal distance people choose to position themselves in relation to nearby others in a way that optimizes intimacy and privacy. In two studies we investigated the influence of intimacy and privacy on seating behavior in a café (coffee house) setting. In Study 1 (N = 71) we manipulated two aspects of intimacy (eye contact and distance to others), and one aspect of privacy (architectural anchoring) in separate scenario’s and registered participants’ seat choice on floor plans of the three hypothetical cafés. We found that more often participants chose a seat that was at a larger distance to other café-goers. Study 2 (N = 121) replicated the design of the first study, but included affective and cognitive appraisal measures concerning both available seats in each scenario. This time we found that participants more often chose low-eye contact and anchored seats. Choices in line with hypotheses as well as those that were against hypotheses co-occurred with strong beliefs about the pleasure and arousal that each choice might provide and related to the expectations of interaction with others present. Results qualify expectations about protection and violation of intimacy and privacy, at least for café settings

Restorative qualities of being alone in nature

Social decision makin

Trash cans, eyes, and littering

Parks are used by many people for many different purposes ranging from weekly tai-chi or other sports to daily dog walking, the yearly spring barbecue, or a simple breath of fresh air in a busy working day. Little green oases in the city, parks have many benefits at the psychological and environmental level. One of the requirements to reap these benefits is a clean park. But keeping a park clean often seems to be less of a shared habit. Littering is a big and resilient issue in many societies, not in the least in public places like urban parks.Social decision makin