New Book Offers Science-Based Solutions for Creating Places that Help People Thrive in Tough Times
Dr. Sally Augustin shares practical uses for place science research.
Holland, Mich. (PRWEB) May 20, 2009 -- Losing sleep over your job woes? Wash your sheets with jasmine-scented detergent for a better night's sleep. Want to improve your relationship with co-workers or the boss? Switch the fluorescent bulbs in your office to warm white light and soon everybody will be more agreeable. Worried about your dwindling nest egg? Replace the geometric wallpaper in your home office with paper that has curved shapes.
You may think these suggestions sound a bit like New Age piffle, but they're actually rooted in scientific fact. According to the new book "Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture" (John Wiley & Sons, Available Now), introducing smells, switching light bulbs and repapering walls are just some of the inexpensive ways that the principles of environmental or place science can be used to create spaces in which people thrive.
The book's author, Dr. Sally Augustin, is a practicing applied environmental psychologist who studies how people interact with their environments. In "Place Advantage," she decodes decades of research about how elements of the physical environment - colors, patterns, textures, scents, furniture arrangements, a room's spatial composition - can positively influence human attitudes and behaviors.
"Everyone perceives the world around them in a slightly different way," says Dr. Augustin, "but there are fundamental laws explaining how people experience their physical environment that can be used to create places that serve real human needs."
For example, in the chapter on senses and moods, Dr. Augustin discusses scientific studies on the different ways that smells influence how we as humans perform and perceive situations. Proving the point: The scent of jasmine promotes deeper, more restful sleep. Smelling lavender helps us fall asleep faster. Lemon sharpens our cognitive performance, and peppermint boosts our physical abilities.
The same chapter explains how light color affects the way we respond to the world around us. As an instance, warm white light puts us in a positive mood and makes us more interested in resolving disagreements through discussion.
Pattern also has a big impact on our mood. Research shows that angular shapes make us feel more aggressive, while curvy shapes relax us. Other chapters explore the influence of spatial elements, personality and national culture on place design; the special concerns related to designing healthcare facilities, schools, stores, offices and houses; as well as the universal features of good spaces.
Building a bridge between scientific research and design practice, "Place Advantage" gives people designing and using spaces science-based information and psychological insight to create environments that help people to work effectively, learn better, be healthy, and live happy.
In these anxious times, that your home and workplace can nurture your best self is a scientific fact whose time has definitely come.
About the author
Sally Augustin, PhD, is a practicing applied environmental psychologist as well as the Editor of Research Design Connections. She has worked with multi-national companies to integrate important psychological considerations into the design of places and products and has presented her work at international psychology and design-related conferences. As the editor of Research Design Connections, Dr. Augustin has written widely on this topic for a broad audience of design professionals. She is also regularly invited to speak at schools and research institutions and on National Public Radio and VoiceAmerica radio programs. Dr. Augustin is a graduate of Wellesley College, Northwestern University (MBA), and Claremont Graduate University (PhD). Learn more about using environmental psychology at her web site, www.placeadvantage.com.
Note to editors: If you would like to interview Dr. Augustin, please contact Beth A. Parenteau at: 847 425 9812, b.parenteau (at) comcast.net to make arrangements.
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