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What's the name for the kind of place on the left? How about the photo on the right? I reckon most of you will have a (different) word come to mind instinctively in each case. Why is that? Come with me on a magical mystery tour of #EnvironmentalPsychology & #PeopleArchitecture
So, just to drive this point home, your brain has suggested a category for both these places on the basis of visual inspection alone; without you needing to think hard, ask questions, talk to anyone, read any signage or see the products on sale* up close.
Clever Brain.
Clever Brain.
* Although (spoilers) you might have actually seen more of what's on sale than a casual analysis would suggest; more on that later. Aaaanyway, back to the main thread...
So what?
Well, turns out this categorisation process your brain's performed for you here is pretty important. Cos it's the reason your behaviour in each environment's likely to be very different, and so is your expectations of how the staff and other guests will behave:
Well, turns out this categorisation process your brain's performed for you here is pretty important. Cos it's the reason your behaviour in each environment's likely to be very different, and so is your expectations of how the staff and other guests will behave:
How'd you feel about waltzing in off the street & plonking yourself down at a table of your choice in the room on the right? How about the left? If another guest got their laptop out or took a business call, would which space you were in affect how you felt about that behaviour?
How would you expect to order food or drink in each of these rooms? How do you know? How would this affect your behaviour? What would you consider poor service in each place? All different, right?
So it turns out our physical surroundings are giving us all sorts of sub-conscious messages about how we should behave and how we should expect to be treated.
We call these messages Behavioural Cues. They don't just come from our surroundings but that's one important source.
We call these messages Behavioural Cues. They don't just come from our surroundings but that's one important source.
And a pretty big part of how society functions, how we interact with each other, the choices we make & how we judge each others' actions is informed by our ability to sub-consciously read the behavioural cues around us & understand the 'appropriate' behaviour for the situation.
Our surroundings might also give us a message about our status and value within a place too. And those sub-conscious messages can affect our behaviour in really profound ways.
We also use our surroundings to assess the values, purpose, competence, likely behaviour and priorities of those responsible for the place. This is important cos those decisions help us form first impressions & make choices about those places & the people responsible for them.
OK, great. But both these places look nice; I'm getting the vibe I'd be treated well in both and that the proprietors of both are good at what they do. And I expect to be able to purchase food and drink in both. So why does my brain give me two separate categories here?
Well it's cos they're not just selling food & drink. They're also selling experiences. Both are (hopefully) good experiences, but they're different. How are they different? Well the food on offer might be different, and so are the surroundings, but mostly it's the behaviours.
So if we wanna experience a romantic meal we won't choose a place which sends out behavioural cues that suggest chatting on the phone at the next table is appropriate here. Cos that's not the behaviour we want to experience right now. If we want somewhere to work, however...
And this means it's not just that our surroundings have an impact on how we behave. Our decisions about how we want to behave (and how we want others around us to behave) will affect our choice of surroundings; this is a reciprocal relationship.
We call somewhere that's designed to be the place for a particular experience and/or set of behaviours a Behaviour Setting. And that's ultimately why our brain has different categories for "Café" and "Restaurant" - They're different behaviour settings. For different behaviours.
"So what, James?" I hear you say. "I don't run an eatery of any kind and I'm just... I'm not dating right now".
Well firstly, I hope we can still be friends, and secondly, This whole thing about our surroundings affecting our behaviour and choices can be applied to *all* places
Well firstly, I hope we can still be friends, and secondly, This whole thing about our surroundings affecting our behaviour and choices can be applied to *all* places
So if your job includes impressing potential clients, then your surroundings & the places your company is responsible for matter; you might wanna have someone with a deep understanding of how people respond to place consult on that #PeopleArchitecture #EnvironmentalPsychology
If you need to attract & retain staff that share your values, their surroundings & the places your company's responsible for matter; you might wanna have someone with a deep understanding of how people respond to place consult on that #PeopleArchitecture #EnvironmentalPsychology
If you want to attract customers to your store, get them excited about your products, even see loyalty to you as part of their identity, then how the place looks matters; you might wanna have someone with a deep understanding of how people respond to place consult on that.
If you want more people to use your leisure centre then it's important it feels welcoming to everyone, not just "sporty" people; you might wanna have someone with a deep understanding of how people respond to place consult on that #PeopleArchitecture #EnvironmentalPsychology
If we want to improve health outcomes we should know that surroundings affect how well people respond to surgery; we might want to have someone with a deep understand of how people respond to place consult on that #PeopleArchitecture #EnvironmentalPsychology
If we want people born into poor communities to succeed in life, we might want to have someone with a deep understand of how people respond to place consult on that (cos our surroundings affect our sense of self-worth and aspiration). #PeopleArchitecture #EnvironmentalPsychology
If we need more people to use active travel, we have to make it feel safe and encourage safe behaviour from other road users; we might want to have someone with a deep understand of how people respond to place consult on that #PeopleArchitecture #EnvironmentalPsychology
And if we want vibrant town centres, we need to ensure they support behaviours people want to experience (that a retail park can't); we might want to have someone with a deep understand of how people respond to place consult on that #PeopleArchitecture #EnvironmentalPsychology
In short, make sure your designers are putting people & their needs (both physical & psychological) at the centre of their process. Make sure they've considered how their decisions will affect people's behaviour & attitude towards you. #PeopleArchitecture #EnvironmentalPsychology
Here endeth the lecture.
Thank you for paying attention to this public service announcement. You have earned 1 (one) Kitten gif. Enjoy.
Thank you for paying attention to this public service announcement. You have earned 1 (one) Kitten gif. Enjoy.
