填空题
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions
14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 on pages 74-75.
Is there a psychologist in the
building?
CHRISTIAN JARRETT reports on
psychology's place in new architectural development.
A.
The space around us affects us profoundly - emotionally, behaviourally,
cognitively. In Britain that space is changing at a pace not seen for a
generation. Surely psychology has something to say about all this change. But is
anyone listening? 'There is a huge amount of psychology research that is
relevant, but at the moment we're talking to ourselves,' says Chris Spencer,
professor of environmental psychology at the University of Sheffield. Spencer
recalls a recent talk he gave in which he called on fellow researchers to make a
greater effort to communicate their findings to architects and planners. 'I was
amazed at the response of many of the senior researchers, who would say: "I'm
doing my research for pure science, the industry can take it or leave it'"' But
there are models of how to apply environmental psychology to real problems, if
you know where to look. Professor Frances Kuo is an example.
B.
Kuo's website provides pictures and plain English summaries of research
conducted by her Human Environment Research Laboratory. Among these is a study
using police records that found inner-city Chicago apartment buildings
surrounded by more vegetation suffered 52 per cent fewer crimes than apartment
blocks with little or no greenery. Frances Kuo and her co-researcher William
Sullivan believe that greenery reduces crime - so long as visibility is
preserved - because it reduces aggression, brings local residents together
outdoors, and the conspicuous presence of people deters criminals.
C. 'Environmental psychologists are increasingly in demand,' says David
Uzzell, professor of environmental psychology. 'We're asked to contribute to the
planning, design and management of many different environments, ranging from
neighbourhoods, offices, schools, health, transport, traffic and leisure
environments for the purpose of improving quality of life and creating a better
people-environment fit.' Uzzell points to the rebuilding of one south London
school as a striking example of how building design can affect human behaviour
positively. Before its redesign, it was ranked as the worst school in the area -
now it is recognised as one of the country's twenty most improved
schools.
D. Uzzell has been involved in a pioneering project
between MSc students in England and Scotland. Architecture students in Scotland
acted as designers while environmental psychology students in England acted as
consultants, as together they worked on a community project in a run-down area
of Glasgow. 'The psychology students encouraged the architecture students to
think about who their client group was, to consider issues of crowding and
social cohesion, and they introduced them to psychological methodologies, for
example observation and interviewing local residents about their needs.' The
collaborative project currently stands as a one-off experiment. 'Hopefully these
trainee architects will now go away with some understanding of the psychological
issues involved in design and will take into account people's needs,' says
Uzzell.
E. Hilary Barker, a recent graduate in psychology, now works for a
design consultancy. She's part of a four- person research team that contributes
to the overall work of the company in helping clients use their office space
more productively. Her team all have backgrounds in psychology or social
science, but the rest of the firm consists mainly of architects and interior
designers. 'What I do is pretty rare to be honest,' Barker says. 'I feel very
privileged to be able to use my degree in such a way.' Barker explains that the
team carries out observational studies on behalf of companies, to identify
exactly how occupants are using their building. The companies are often
surprised by the findings, for example that staff use meeting rooms for quiet,
individual work.
F. One area where the findings from environment- behaviour
research have certainly influenced building is in hospital design. 'The
government has a checklist of criteria that must be met in the design of new
hospitals, and these are derived largely from the work of the behavioura [l
scientist Professor Roger Ulrich,' Chris Spencer says. Ulrich's work has shown,
for example, how the view from a patient's window can affect their recovery.
Even a hospital's layout can impact on people's health, according to Dr John
Zeisel. 'If people get lost in hospitals, they get stressed, which lowers their
immune system and means their medication works less well. You might think that
way-finding round the hospital is the responsibility of the person who puts all
the signs up, but the truth is that the basic layout of a building is what helps
people find their way around,' he says.
G. Zeisel also points
to the need for a better balance between private and shared rooms in hospitals.
'Falls are reduced and fewer medication errors occur' in private rooms, he says.
There's also research showing how important it is that patients have access to
the outdoors and that gardens in hospitals are a major contributor to
well-being. However, more generally, Zeisel shares Chris Spencer's concerns that
the lessons from environmental psychology research are not getting through.
'There is certainly a gap between what we in social science know and the world
of designers and architects,' says Zeisel He believes that most industries, from
sports to film- making, have now recognised the importance of an evidence-based
approach, and that the building trade needs to formulate itself more in that
vein, and to recognise that there is relevant research out there. 'It would be
outrageous, silly, to go ahead with huge building projects without learning the
lessons from the new towns established between 30 and 40 years ago,' he
warns.
Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs,
A-G.
Choose the correct heading for A-G from the list
of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-x, in
boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i——A
comparison between similar buildings
ii——The negative reaction
of local residents
iii——An unusual job for a
psychologist
iv——A type of building benefiting from prescribed
guidelines
v——The need for government action
vi——A failure to use available information in practical ways
vii——Academics with an unhelpful attitude
viii——A refusal by
architects to accept criticism
ix——A unique co-operative
scheme
x——The expanding scope of environmental
psychology