How People's Environments Affect Their Behavior

Source: giphy.com

The economic principle I’m exploring is that people generally respond to incentives in predictable ways as well as Institutions are the "rules of the game" that influence choices.

 My research question to help me study the economic principle is “How do people's minds and environments affect their behavior?”

 The article published in ProQuest as well as Sage Journals titled “Environmental Aesthetics” demonstrates this economic principle because it shows that the environment that surrounds a person affects their behavior.  

First, the article explains that the appearance of the environment (city, town, neighborhood) “affects [a person’s] daily activities. For example, if a person lives within a community that appears clean and put-together, the person will be more motivated to be efficient and hard-working.  This is very similar to our own towns surrounding Hinsdale Central.  The towns are very well kept and generally modern, and that plays a role in why the people in this area are motivated to work hard.

Second, the environments aesthetic “[evokes] feeling and emotions such as pleasure, relaxation, excitement, and fear.” For example, when someone from the Hinsdale Central area enters a town closer to inner-city Chicago, they tend to be a bit apprehensive and fearful.  However, when someone enters a town within Hawaii, they will feel relaxed and at peace.

Third, these “emotional responses” to the environment can affect “spatial behaviors,” or a person’s reactions to their surroundings.   Going back to the inner-city Chicago example, someone from the Hinsdale area would probably act very cautiously, and try to keep to themselves.  This is because the person senses  danger from the unfamiliar area due to its appearance, and thus they will act in a way that makes them feel safer.

In my next blog post I will research:
What kind of environments affect people’s minds positively and negatively?