Analysis of Theories in Environmental Psychology

Analysis of Theories in Environmental Psychology 1. Place theory Place is used as a manner of examining the environment and breaking the environment down into conceptual components. It is difficult to examine space and environment as they are too general. To understand the concept of environmental psychology, one would firstly have to establish the meaning of place theory as peoples interaction with their physical environment is a principal in environmental psychology. The place theory has three aspects that are interlinked with each other (see figure 1). These three aspects are physical attributes, conceptions and human activities. According to Canter (1997) a place is a state of harmony created by the dialogue between human activities, conceptions and the physical attributes of the environment viewed from a historical perspective. However, Castello (2006) states that place is a unit where human experiences and physical form are fused together, creating a unitary context. The physical attributes of the place theory demonstrates the surroundings or environment in which a person finds himself, such as a bedroom, an office etc. A geographer, Edward Relph (1976), has a similar notion of place but replaced Canters (1997) aspect of conceptions with experiences. Thus, allowing more information to be gathered about the place as experiences are a result of an individuals history and everyday life. The types of human activities and the way in which it is carried out are contingent on factors such as knowledge, cultural background, values, as well as formal and informal controls (Ndubisi, 2002). As a result, the place theory suggests that places are viewed as holistic units of activities, physical form and meaning shaped by the goals and purposes of individuals. The place theory also works in concurrence with place identity and place attachment. Many researchers explore this dynamic relationship between people and place. Place identity and place attachment are concepts that demonstrate the significant relations between a person and place. Moreover, when individuals interact with their environment, they create bonds and links and their environment develops meaning. 1.1 Place identity There are many factors that shape human identity, and identity is (among other things) a product of the psychical environment (Hauge, 2007). Dixon and Durrheim (2000) state that a key moment in environmental psychologys critique of a disembodied notion of identity was the publication of Proshansky, Fabian, and Kaminoffs paper on place identity. Place identity, according to Proshansky (1987), can be defined as: a sub-structure of the self-identity of the person consisting of broadly conceived cognitions about the physical world in which individuals live. Pretty et al (2003) state that place identity is a cognitive structure which contributes to global self-categorisation and social identity processes. According to Knez (2005): Breakwell (1986, 1992, 1993), Twigger-Ross and Uzzell (1996), Twigger-Ross et al (2003), and Vignoles (2000) has suggested four processes related to place identity: place-related distinctiveness (e.g. I am a South African) place-referent continuity (e.g. I am living there because it reminds me of my past) place-related self-esteem (e.g. I am proud to live in this town) place-related self-efficacy (e.g. The town satisfies my needs and wants) Consequently, these processes encourage our self-esteem and identity as individuals. Hence the questions of who we are are often intimately related to questions of where we are (Dixon Durrheim 2000; Pretty et al 2003). The places people belong to does not just encourage their self-esteem but also their environmental preferences, and how they see themselves. Place identity could also lead to place attachment because when an individual identifies himself with the environment, individuals tend to feel attached to the same environment. 1.2 Place attachment Every single one of us has developed an unconscious bond towards some place over a period of time. It is suggested by Inalhan and Finch (2004) that the concept of place attachment is complex and multi-faceted, as place attachment has been studied by scholars from several disciplines such as; anthropology, architecture, family and consumer studies, folklore, gerontology, landscape architecture, psychology and urban planning. Place attachment can vary from place to place and can change easily depending on the degree of belonging of the person (Knez 2005). Thus, the degree of attachment a person has towards a place may determine the perceptions and satisfaction of the person in the specific place. Our attachment to a place grows with length of time living in a place and age, but mostly through positive interaction with a community. According to Milligan (1998) place attachment could be defined as: place attachment occurs when a particular interaction was accompanied by significant meaning However place attachment, according to Knez (2005), can be defined as: the affective positive bond between a person and a place; more specifically, a strong tendency of that person to maintain closeness to such a place. Many studies and researchers show that there is no single accepted definition of place attachment. The definition offered by Milligan (1998) serves a better purpose for this study. From this definition it is clear that place attachment is an emotional bond formed by an individual to a physical setting due to the meaning given to the location through processes of person-environment interactions (Casakin Kreitler, 2008). According to Halpenny (2005), one of the factors that could play a role in the formation of place attachment is satisfaction with a place. Moreover, if individuals are satisfied with their environments they tend to protect that place more and return to it. Payton (2003) and Warzecha et al (2000) state that place attachment has two main concepts that have been prevalent in literature: functional place attachment and emotional place attachment. Functional place attachment refers to the functionality or the ability of the resources to meet the needs or goals of individuals. Furthermore, functional place attachment is also closely linked to the kind of activities users pursue. This is because some activities are more complex and require specific aspects while other activities are more general. Shumaker and Taylor (1983) suggest that functional attachment is also referred to as place dependence. The concept is affected by two factors (Shumaker Taylor, 1983): The quality of place is determined by the individuals satisfaction and, The quality of the place depends on how it compares to other available places. Emotional place attachment refers to the emotional attributes of a person-place relationship and how place contributes to an individuals identity. Shumaker and Taylor (1983) declare that emotional attachment is also referred to as symbolic attachment. Moreover, emotional place attachment can be based on emotional ties to a specific place and is formed over a certain period through many encounters with the environment. According to Warzecha et al (2000), emotional place attachment may also be expressed as an identity with a symbolic meaning or idea. Place theory and all its aspects mentioned above form a fundamental starting point for any study in environmental psychology. 2. Introduction to Environmental psychology There are numerous people who do not know what environmental psychology is and what it consists of. Traditionally, environmental psychology has focused on the interrelationship between environments and human behaviour (De Young, 1999; Garling Golledge, 1993). According to Gifford (1997) individuals change the environment and their behaviour and experiences are changed by the environment. Furthermore, each individuals behaviour and experience is unique and differs from the person standing next to him/her in the same environment. These environments could be natural environments, social settings, built environments, learning environments and informational environments (Veith Arkkelin, 1995). Environmental psychology also consists of environmental psychological-processes in terms of a clear social-psychological perspective (Bonnes, 2003). These processes are individual processes such as perception, cognition and personality, and social processes such as territoriality, personal space, crowding and privacy. In addition, environmental psychology has continual elements that help to define this relatively unknown field. According to Garling and Golledge (1993), Kaplan and Kaplan (1982) these elements are: Attention Understanding an individuals behaviour begins with understanding how he/she notices and perceives the environment. This includes two types of stimuli: those that unwillingly, even distractingly, demand human notice, as well as those places, things or ideas to which humans must willingly, and with endeavour direct their awareness. Re-establishing and enhancing the individuals competence to willingly express his/her attention is a major factor in maintaining human effectiveness in an environment. Perception and cognitive maps How people perceive the natural and built environment has been an important aspect of environmental psychology. Information is memorised in the brain as spatial networks which is known a cognitive maps. This information links experiences with an individuals perception of current actions, ideas and emotions. It is through these spatial networks that individuals recognize and perceive the environment, plan and conduct these plans. Ideal environments – People have a tendency to look for places where they feel self-assured and competent, where they can familiarise themselves with the environment whilst also being engaged with it. Research has extended the concept of environmental psychology to embrace unity (a sense that things in the environment work together) and legibility (the assumption that an individual can walk around in an environment without being lost) as contributors to environmental understanding. To investigate an environment and to engage in it requires that the environment has complexity (that it has enough information and diversity to make it worth learning about) and mystery (the expectation of acquiring more information about an environment). Maintaining, re-establishing and developing an ideal environment enhances an individuals sense of well being and behavioural effectiveness in a person. Environmental stress and managing Research has recognized various behavioural and cognitive results including poor physical health, reduced selflessness and weaknesses, as well as paying no attention to the environment. Individuals can adjust their physical or social surroundings to create a more supportive environment (e.g. smaller scaled settings, territories, privacy, personal space) where they can supervise the course of information or stress inducing stimuli. Individuals can also seek to understand or make sense of circumstances as a way to resolve its stressful effects, often sharing these interpretations with other individuals as a part of their culture. Involvement – Environmental psychology is dedicated to improve an individuals participation in environmental design. It is focused not only on promoting an individuals understanding of environmental issues but on ensuring their early and actual participation in the design, adjustment and organisation of environments. Protective behaviour – Environmental psychology has also played a key role in conveying psychological awareness to abide by the matter of developing an ecologically protracting society. The field also investigates environmental attitudes, perceptions and principles as well as planned involvement techniques for promoting environmentally appropriate behaviour. These continual elements form an essential part in an individuals perception of their environment as well as what to expect in that environment. Gifford (1997) states that environmental psychology is also studied at three levels of analysis. The first level of analysis sorts and arranges each individuals occurrence of the environment according to perceptions, cognition and personality. The next level of analysis is the collective organisation of space, which consists of four aspects namely; personal space, territory, crowding and privacy. The last level of analysis is the physical settings in which individuals find themselves every day. 2.1 Level of analysis 2.1.1 Perceptions, cognition and personality As previously mentioned, individuals form certain perceptions of their environment and surroundings. According to Veith and Arkkelin (1995), perception is one of the most basic and fundamental psychological processes in which humans engage. In addition Veitch and Arkkelin (1995) also state that perceptions are highly cognitive, which means that all environments carry a set of meanings acquired through their specific attributes. Consequently, these meanings are established from the environment by the perceiver with reference to his or her personal beliefs, values and attitudes. Furthermore, Bechtel et al (2002) point out that the forming of perceptions of a physical setting is associated with a molecular approach to the spatial-physical environment. This means that it places specific attention on the discrete sensory-perceptual features of the environment. According to Bell et al (2005) the term sensory-perceptions has been applied to relatively straightforward activity of human senso ry systems in reacting to a simple stimuli and forming a perception of the particular environment. According to Bonnes et al (1995) the term environmental perception is also often used interchangeably with environmental image, mental map and cognitive map. However, according to Bell et al (2005) cognitive maps refer to a mental framework that holds some representation for the spatial arrangement of the physical environment. Furthermore, Salmi (2002) states that wayfinding and cognitive mapping are inseparable, and most humans carry many cognitive maps in their heads. Therefore, cognitive maps assist individuals with another aspect of environmental psychology namely; wayfinding. Wayfinding according to Prestopnik and Roskos-Ewoldsen (2000) can be defined as the ability to navigate successfully through the environment. However, wayfinding according to Passini (1984) can be defined as the ability to identify ones location and arrive at destinations in the environment, both cognitively and behaviourally. Prestopnik and Roskos-Ewoldsen (2000) suggests that wayfinding can not be predicted in humans as different factors; internal and external, come into play. Internal factors include aspects of each individual, such as, gender, familiarity with the environment and the types of strategies the person uses to navigate through the environment (HÃ ¶lscher et al 2006 and Spiers Maguire 2008). External factors include aspects of the physical setting, such as, the density of the built environment, the availability of meaningful landmarks, and the pattern of the streets and intersections as well as staffed information booths (Salmi 2002). HÃ ¶lscher et al (2006; 2009) identified three wayfinding strategies that are used to support route choice decisions in three dimensional multi-level buildings. Firstly, the central point strategy as sticking oneself, as much as possible, to main hallways and main places in the building, especially if the individual is unfamiliar with the building. Secondly, the direction strategy of deciding on routes that leads towards the horizontal position of the goal as directly as possible, irrespective of changes in different levels. Thirdly, the hierarchically organised navigation plan strategy. This strategy is based on cognitively sectioning the building into areas which guide navigation decisions. However, Spiers and Maguire (2008) identified their own wayfinding strategies that assist individuals with their wayfinding experience. Least-angle strategy suggests that paths are chosen that minimise deviation from the angle pointing directly to the goal. Fine-to-coarse strategy proposes that routes are planned in fine detail in the currently occupied region, but only coarsely when planning navigation between regions. Least-decision-load strategy implies that individuals will often choose the path with the least number of possible decision points. As stated above, environmental psychology and the physical environment are influenced through wayfinding in a building, cognitive maps as well as perceptions of the environment. Another aspect that influences environmental psychology is personality of an individual. Gifford (1997) pointed out that there are five reasons why personality is an important part in environmental psychology. These five reasons are: Personality is strongly linked to the physical environment; Information of a persons personality helps us to comprehend and foretell environmentally relevant behaviour; Individuals have dispositions that are particularly related to person-environment transactions; Personal dispositions are an essential aspect to one of environmental psychologys most important concepts – environmental compatibility; The notion of personality can be applied to places instead of people. Bonnes et al (1995) agree with Gifford (1997) on the third reason. They suggest that personality and the environment are related to the disposition of individuals. 2.1.2 Collective organisation of space Spatial organisation or organisation of space is considered the first major component in wayfinding design because it not only defines the wayfinding problems of future users, but also affects the ease or difficulty users will experience in comprehending and cognitively mapping the setting (Passini, 1984). According to Prestopnik and Roskos-Ewoldsen (2000) spatial orientation tasks are influenced by the familiarity of the environment. Furthermore, Iachini et al (2009) state that unfamiliar participants learn the environment through a map, whereas familiar participants rely on their long term experiences with the environment. According to Salmi (2002) there are key points to look out for in organisation of space. These points include: Architectural features in the building define different areas such as hallways, staircases etc. which assist the user with orientation in the building and increase the cognitive experience; Make sure that large-scale buildings have destination zones, such as an atrium, since it would assist the user to retrace his/her own path; Establish spatial overview opportunities so that a visitor can visualise a buildings design from different vantage points as it helps individuals to build a improved cognitive map; Consider the design of the building as a whole, the layout should not be confusing or allow visitors to get lost easily. 2.1.3 Physical settings According to Salmi (2002) physical settings must accommodate an increasingly, diverse population as it is critical that the setting be designed to be as inclusive and universally accessible as possible, addressing the requirements of a wide range of physical, sensory and cognitive abilities and needs. Veitch and Arkkelin (1995) state that any number of behaviours can occur within any physical setting. Moreover, Bell et al (2005) declare that physical settings both facilitate and constrains or limits the behaviour that occurs in it. Veitch and Arkkelin (1995) added that attitude towards an environment will influence a persons behaviours such as littering and attachment to the place. With environmental psychology being such a diverse field with many different aspects, the interactions between the four phenomenons (privacy, crowding, territoriality and personal space) help to address problems associated with environmental psychology. Gifford (1997) also states that environmental psychology is aimed at making buildings more humane and improving our relationship with the natural environment. 3. Privacy Privacy is an important phenomenon that each individual wants to achieve on a daily basis. There are many laws that have been established regarding individuals privacy, such as the right to privacy. Thus allowing individuals to have their own level of privacy. The level of privacy is measured in relation to the other social processes of environmental psychology namely; personal space, territoriality and crowding (Gifford 1997; Veitch and Arkkelin 1995, Bonnes et al 1995). In addition, according to Harris et al (1995) and Altman (1975) people use complex combinations of verbal, paraverbal, nonverbal and spatial mechanisms to attain a desired level of contact and degree of privacy. Faulkner et al (1994) state that the level of privacy is physical (sleeping, dressing) and psychological (for development and renewal). According to Demirbas and Demirkan (2000), the definition of privacy varies for each individual due to the different personal characteristics, cultural backgrounds, sex, age, economical, educational and social backgrounds. Ding (2008) defines privacy as the personal control over interactions and/or communications with others. However, Gritzalis et al (2009) state that privacy can generally be defined as the right to be left alone, meaning that it represents a sphere where it is possible to remain separate from others, anonymous and unobserved. Therefore, it is evident that privacy refers to the manner in which individuals control or regulate other individuals access to themselves. However privacy does not necessary mean withdrawing from people (Pederson, 1999; Marshall, 1972), instead it involves controlling the amount and type of contact one has with others. Gifford (1997) further declares that it is not easy to assess privacy because of its complex nature; as it has been measured in terms of preference, behaviour, need and expectation of each individual. Bonnes et al (1995) also state that the major interest of empirical research has been to study and measure the more strictly motivational and evaluative aspects such as; needs, expectations and values that individuals variously associate with privacy. Harris et al (1995) state that the universal aspects of privacy regulations are suggested by the apparent relationship between privacy, place attachment and quality of life. Cassidy (1997) pointed out that not everyone will react in the same way with regard to privacy. According to Altman (1975) and Westin (1970) there are certain characteristics that influence privacy such as: Individuals need for privacy is a continuing dynamic of changing internal and external conditions External and internal conditions are affected by privacy achieved Individuals effort to control privacy may be unsuccessful at some times Privacy can take different forms as it has many dimensions. 3.1 Types of privacy Demirbas and Demirkan (2000) also state that there are four types of privacy namely; solitude, reserve, anonymity and intimacy. Solitude refers to being alone and unobserved by others, which is either a neutral or desirable condition. Reserve, in turn, means that individuals form barriers between themselves and their environments which regulate intrusion. Anonymity is a type of privacy that gives individuals a chance to move around in a public environment without other people recognising them. Intimacy refers to an individuals aspiration to encourage close personal relationships with only preferred individuals. Additionally, Pederson (1999) identifies two more types of privacy; intimacy with family (being alone with family) and intimacy with friends (being alone with friends). According to Harris et al (1995) social functions of privacy and privacy regulation are central to psychological well-being. Privacy regulation refers to selective control over access to the self or to ones group (Altman 1975). Thus, making it clear that regulation of the types of privacy, mentioned above, is a function of both personal and situational factors. Personal factors refer to the individuals need for privacy, personal attractiveness, interpersonal skills, personality variables and ability to utilise privacy control mechanisms (Pederson, 1999). Situational factors may be social or physical. Social factors are presence, willingness and personal characteristics of others who have the potential for social interaction. Physical factors entail aspects such as barriers, location, layout and distances (Pederson, 1999). 3.2 Benefits and functions of privacy The psychological benefits of privacy reflect the function of privacy. Privacy supports social interaction which, in turn, affects our competence to deal with our world, which affects our self-definition (Altman, 1975). Therefore, the benefits of privacy arise from achieving its functions. According to Margulis (2005) the benefits of privacy are: Privacy is a basis for the development of identity, Privacy protects personal autonomy, Privacy supports healthy functioning by providing needed opportunities to relax, to ones self, to emotionally vent, to escape from the stresses of daily life, to manage bodily and sexual functions and to cope with loss, shock, and sorrow. However Keenan (2005) identifies other categories that capture the kinds of benefits privacy holds for people: Natural and psychological benefits: privacy provides physical, psychological and spiritual benefits to individuals. Individuals have certain needs, such as security and connectedness, that they want to satisfy, but invasion of privacy destroys ones sense of connectedness; Creative benefits: many people see privacy as conductive to creativity. Individuals have the need to have their own rooms where they are away from other people and regulate their privacy; Protective benefits: this refers to physical invasion of individuals sense of being safe and secure such as, the protection of ones home from burglary; Social benefits: individuals have the ability to regulate their own invasion of privacy and allow people they know or do not know to invade that privacy on a social basis; Democratic benefits: privacy is self-determining – each individual has the right to be left alone. According to Veitch snd Arkkelin (1995) the functions of privacy are: the achievement of a self-identity and the management of interactions between oneself and the social environment. According to Margulis (2005), privacy is important because it provides us with experiences that support normal psychological functioning, stable interpersonal relationships, and personal development. 3.3 Achieving privacy in design Individuals have a definite desire to a certain level of privacy in their homes. Privacy, in an architectural manner, can be defined as; the ability of individuals and families to lead their own lives without either interfering – or being interfered by the lives of others (Goodchild 1997). According to Faulkner et al (1994) a home provides privacy from outsiders with walls that protect the individual from physical, visual and various degrees of acoustical intrusion. Furthermore, Goodchild (1997) identifies three types of privacy in designing a house, whether in the house or outside the house: Firstly, privacy means circumventing problems with neighbours. Problems could arise when the layout of the resident and the type of housing is not correct such as; the walls of the enclosed area of each persons house are not high enough, which influences privacy. Secondly, privacy means a sense of seclusion. It means freedom from overlooking and freedom form invasive noise. This could be achieved by using noise insulation techniques and higher walls to increase space between neighbours. Thirdly, privacy means freedom from disturbance from other people, either guests or members of the same family, within the home. The level of privacy inside the home is determined by the number of different rooms in relation to the family size. Faulkner et al (1994) also states that the floor plan sets the privacy levels at which the home functions such as; open floor plan or closed floor plan. 3.4 Mechanisms of privacy Four aspects of privacy regulation mechanisms have been identified through data by Westin (1970) and Kent (1993). Firstly, privacy controls provide standards of behaviour for individuals and groups. Secondly, privacy creates an option between isolation and interaction, and can create the perception of being by yourself. Thirdly, individuals, groups, and societies tend to enter the privacy of others; curiosity is an example of this aspects. Fourthly, as society moves form primeval to contemporary, the physical and psychological opportunities for privacy increase. According to Bonnes et al (1995) and Altman (1975) personal space and territorial behaviour are used by individuals primarily to regulate privacy and to maintain their openness/closedness towards others at optimal levels. Additionally, Harris et al (1996) suggest that when individuals are confronted with negative privacy experiences, they will use a variety of privacy regulation mechanisms including verbal and nonverbal behaviours, cognitive, environmental, temporal and cultural mechanisms. Altman (1975) further suggests that the effectiveness and ease of implementing privacy regulation mechanisms may vary considerably across individuals and across social, physical and temporal context. Consequently, by combining these mechanisms individuals can efficiently express their needed level of privacy to others in order to attain the optimal level of privacy. Altman (1975) developed a framework for understanding the mechanisms of privacy regulation. This framework can be used as a summary of all of the above mentioned aspects of privacy (see figure 2). This figure indicates that privacy is a central concept that links the different phenomenons of environmental psychology (personal space, territoriality and crowding) with privacy regulation mechanisms. 4. Territoriality The phenomenon territoriality is extremely widespread in the field of environmental psychology since it consists of many different definitions. According to Gifford (1997) there are different variables that influence territoriality such as; dominance, conflict, security, claim staking, arousal, vigilance, behaviour and cognition to place. Gifford (1997) also states that a formal definition for territoriality is: is a pattern of behaviour and attitudes held by an individual or group that is based on perceived, attempted, or actual control of a definable physical space, object or idea that may involve habitual occupation, defense, personalisation and marking of it. However territoriality, according to Veitch and Arkkelin (1995) can be defined as: behaviour by which an organism characteristically lays claim to an area and defend it against intrusion by members of his or her own species. According to Altman (1975) territories exist to meet both physical and social needs, while being temporarily or permanently owned, controlled, marked or personalised and potentially defended by occupants or owners. On the other hand, territoriality comprises a specific set of affective, cognitive and behavioural tendencies expressed towards the territory (Altman 1975). Faulkner et al (1994) agrees with Altman (1975), however sug Analysis of Theories in Environmental Psychology Analysis of Theories in Environmental Psychology 1. Place theory Place is used as a manner of examining the environment and breaking the environment down into conceptual components. It is difficult to examine space and environment as they are too general. To understand the concept of environmental psychology, one would firstly have to establish the meaning of place theory as peoples interaction with their physical environment is a principal in environmental psychology. The place theory has three aspects that are interlinked with each other (see figure 1). These three aspects are physical attributes, conceptions and human activities. According to Canter (1997) a place is a state of harmony created by the dialogue between human activities, conceptions and the physical attributes of the environment viewed from a historical perspective. However, Castello (2006) states that place is a unit where human experiences and physical form are fused together, creating a unitary context. The physical attributes of the place theory demonstrates the surroundings or environment in which a person finds himself, such as a bedroom, an office etc. A geographer, Edward Relph (1976), has a similar notion of place but replaced Canters (1997) aspect of conceptions with experiences. Thus, allowing more information to be gathered about the place as experiences are a result of an individuals history and everyday life. The types of human activities and the way in which it is carried out are contingent on factors such as knowledge, cultural background, values, as well as formal and informal controls (Ndubisi, 2002). As a result, the place theory suggests that places are viewed as holistic units of activities, physical form and meaning shaped by the goals and purposes of individuals. The place theory also works in concurrence with place identity and place attachment. Many researchers explore this dynamic relationship between people and place. Place identity and place attachment are concepts that demonstrate the significant relations between a person and place. Moreover, when individuals interact with their environment, they create bonds and links and their environment develops meaning. 1.1 Place identity There are many factors that shape human identity, and identity is (among other things) a product of the psychical environment (Hauge, 2007). Dixon and Durrheim (2000) state that a key moment in environmental psychologys critique of a disembodied notion of identity was the publication of Proshansky, Fabian, and Kaminoffs paper on place identity. Place identity, according to Proshansky (1987), can be defined as: a sub-structure of the self-identity of the person consisting of broadly conceived cognitions about the physical world in which individuals live. Pretty et al (2003) state that place identity is a cognitive structure which contributes to global self-categorisation and social identity processes. According to Knez (2005): Breakwell (1986, 1992, 1993), Twigger-Ross and Uzzell (1996), Twigger-Ross et al (2003), and Vignoles (2000) has suggested four processes related to place identity: place-related distinctiveness (e.g. I am a South African) place-referent continuity (e.g. I am living there because it reminds me of my past) place-related self-esteem (e.g. I am proud to live in this town) place-related self-efficacy (e.g. The town satisfies my needs and wants) Consequently, these processes encourage our self-esteem and identity as individuals. Hence the questions of who we are are often intimately related to questions of where we are (Dixon Durrheim 2000; Pretty et al 2003). The places people belong to does not just encourage their self-esteem but also their environmental preferences, and how they see themselves. Place identity could also lead to place attachment because when an individual identifies himself with the environment, individuals tend to feel attached to the same environment. 1.2 Place attachment Every single one of us has developed an unconscious bond towards some place over a period of time. It is suggested by Inalhan and Finch (2004) that the concept of place attachment is complex and multi-faceted, as place attachment has been studied by scholars from several disciplines such as; anthropology, architecture, family and consumer studies, folklore, gerontology, landscape architecture, psychology and urban planning. Place attachment can vary from place to place and can change easily depending on the degree of belonging of the person (Knez 2005). Thus, the degree of attachment a person has towards a place may determine the perceptions and satisfaction of the person in the specific place. Our attachment to a place grows with length of time living in a place and age, but mostly through positive interaction with a community. According to Milligan (1998) place attachment could be defined as: place attachment occurs when a particular interaction was accompanied by significant meaning However place attachment, according to Knez (2005), can be defined as: the affective positive bond between a person and a place; more specifically, a strong tendency of that person to maintain closeness to such a place. Many studies and researchers show that there is no single accepted definition of place attachment. The definition offered by Milligan (1998) serves a better purpose for this study. From this definition it is clear that place attachment is an emotional bond formed by an individual to a physical setting due to the meaning given to the location through processes of person-environment interactions (Casakin Kreitler, 2008). According to Halpenny (2005), one of the factors that could play a role in the formation of place attachment is satisfaction with a place. Moreover, if individuals are satisfied with their environments they tend to protect that place more and return to it. Payton (2003) and Warzecha et al (2000) state that place attachment has two main concepts that have been prevalent in literature: functional place attachment and emotional place attachment. Functional place attachment refers to the functionality or the ability of the resources to meet the needs or goals of individuals. Furthermore, functional place attachment is also closely linked to the kind of activities users pursue. This is because some activities are more complex and require specific aspects while other activities are more general. Shumaker and Taylor (1983) suggest that functional attachment is also referred to as place dependence. The concept is affected by two factors (Shumaker Taylor, 1983): The quality of place is determined by the individuals satisfaction and, The quality of the place depends on how it compares to other available places. Emotional place attachment refers to the emotional attributes of a person-place relationship and how place contributes to an individuals identity. Shumaker and Taylor (1983) declare that emotional attachment is also referred to as symbolic attachment. Moreover, emotional place attachment can be based on emotional ties to a specific place and is formed over a certain period through many encounters with the environment. According to Warzecha et al (2000), emotional place attachment may also be expressed as an identity with a symbolic meaning or idea. Place theory and all its aspects mentioned above form a fundamental starting point for any study in environmental psychology. 2. Introduction to Environmental psychology There are numerous people who do not know what environmental psychology is and what it consists of. Traditionally, environmental psychology has focused on the interrelationship between environments and human behaviour (De Young, 1999; Garling Golledge, 1993). According to Gifford (1997) individuals change the environment and their behaviour and experiences are changed by the environment. Furthermore, each individuals behaviour and experience is unique and differs from the person standing next to him/her in the same environment. These environments could be natural environments, social settings, built environments, learning environments and informational environments (Veith Arkkelin, 1995). Environmental psychology also consists of environmental psychological-processes in terms of a clear social-psychological perspective (Bonnes, 2003). These processes are individual processes such as perception, cognition and personality, and social processes such as territoriality, personal space, crowding and privacy. In addition, environmental psychology has continual elements that help to define this relatively unknown field. According to Garling and Golledge (1993), Kaplan and Kaplan (1982) these elements are: Attention Understanding an individuals behaviour begins with understanding how he/she notices and perceives the environment. This includes two types of stimuli: those that unwillingly, even distractingly, demand human notice, as well as those places, things or ideas to which humans must willingly, and with endeavour direct their awareness. Re-establishing and enhancing the individuals competence to willingly express his/her attention is a major factor in maintaining human effectiveness in an environment. Perception and cognitive maps How people perceive the natural and built environment has been an important aspect of environmental psychology. Information is memorised in the brain as spatial networks which is known a cognitive maps. This information links experiences with an individuals perception of current actions, ideas and emotions. It is through these spatial networks that individuals recognize and perceive the environment, plan and conduct these plans. Ideal environments – People have a tendency to look for places where they feel self-assured and competent, where they can familiarise themselves with the environment whilst also being engaged with it. Research has extended the concept of environmental psychology to embrace unity (a sense that things in the environment work together) and legibility (the assumption that an individual can walk around in an environment without being lost) as contributors to environmental understanding. To investigate an environment and to engage in it requires that the environment has complexity (that it has enough information and diversity to make it worth learning about) and mystery (the expectation of acquiring more information about an environment). Maintaining, re-establishing and developing an ideal environment enhances an individuals sense of well being and behavioural effectiveness in a person. Environmental stress and managing Research has recognized various behavioural and cognitive results including poor physical health, reduced selflessness and weaknesses, as well as paying no attention to the environment. Individuals can adjust their physical or social surroundings to create a more supportive environment (e.g. smaller scaled settings, territories, privacy, personal space) where they can supervise the course of information or stress inducing stimuli. Individuals can also seek to understand or make sense of circumstances as a way to resolve its stressful effects, often sharing these interpretations with other individuals as a part of their culture. Involvement – Environmental psychology is dedicated to improve an individuals participation in environmental design. It is focused not only on promoting an individuals understanding of environmental issues but on ensuring their early and actual participation in the design, adjustment and organisation of environments. Protective behaviour – Environmental psychology has also played a key role in conveying psychological awareness to abide by the matter of developing an ecologically protracting society. The field also investigates environmental attitudes, perceptions and principles as well as planned involvement techniques for promoting environmentally appropriate behaviour. These continual elements form an essential part in an individuals perception of their environment as well as what to expect in that environment. Gifford (1997) states that environmental psychology is also studied at three levels of analysis. The first level of analysis sorts and arranges each individuals occurrence of the environment according to perceptions, cognition and personality. The next level of analysis is the collective organisation of space, which consists of four aspects namely; personal space, territory, crowding and privacy. The last level of analysis is the physical settings in which individuals find themselves every day. 2.1 Level of analysis 2.1.1 Perceptions, cognition and personality As previously mentioned, individuals form certain perceptions of their environment and surroundings. According to Veith and Arkkelin (1995), perception is one of the most basic and fundamental psychological processes in which humans engage. In addition Veitch and Arkkelin (1995) also state that perceptions are highly cognitive, which means that all environments carry a set of meanings acquired through their specific attributes. Consequently, these meanings are established from the environment by the perceiver with reference to his or her personal beliefs, values and attitudes. Furthermore, Bechtel et al (2002) point out that the forming of perceptions of a physical setting is associated with a molecular approach to the spatial-physical environment. This means that it places specific attention on the discrete sensory-perceptual features of the environment. According to Bell et al (2005) the term sensory-perceptions has been applied to relatively straightforward activity of human senso ry systems in reacting to a simple stimuli and forming a perception of the particular environment. According to Bonnes et al (1995) the term environmental perception is also often used interchangeably with environmental image, mental map and cognitive map. However, according to Bell et al (2005) cognitive maps refer to a mental framework that holds some representation for the spatial arrangement of the physical environment. Furthermore, Salmi (2002) states that wayfinding and cognitive mapping are inseparable, and most humans carry many cognitive maps in their heads. Therefore, cognitive maps assist individuals with another aspect of environmental psychology namely; wayfinding. Wayfinding according to Prestopnik and Roskos-Ewoldsen (2000) can be defined as the ability to navigate successfully through the environment. However, wayfinding according to Passini (1984) can be defined as the ability to identify ones location and arrive at destinations in the environment, both cognitively and behaviourally. Prestopnik and Roskos-Ewoldsen (2000) suggests that wayfinding can not be predicted in humans as different factors; internal and external, come into play. Internal factors include aspects of each individual, such as, gender, familiarity with the environment and the types of strategies the person uses to navigate through the environment (HÃ ¶lscher et al 2006 and Spiers Maguire 2008). External factors include aspects of the physical setting, such as, the density of the built environment, the availability of meaningful landmarks, and the pattern of the streets and intersections as well as staffed information booths (Salmi 2002). HÃ ¶lscher et al (2006; 2009) identified three wayfinding strategies that are used to support route choice decisions in three dimensional multi-level buildings. Firstly, the central point strategy as sticking oneself, as much as possible, to main hallways and main places in the building, especially if the individual is unfamiliar with the building. Secondly, the direction strategy of deciding on routes that leads towards the horizontal position of the goal as directly as possible, irrespective of changes in different levels. Thirdly, the hierarchically organised navigation plan strategy. This strategy is based on cognitively sectioning the building into areas which guide navigation decisions. However, Spiers and Maguire (2008) identified their own wayfinding strategies that assist individuals with their wayfinding experience. Least-angle strategy suggests that paths are chosen that minimise deviation from the angle pointing directly to the goal. Fine-to-coarse strategy proposes that routes are planned in fine detail in the currently occupied region, but only coarsely when planning navigation between regions. Least-decision-load strategy implies that individuals will often choose the path with the least number of possible decision points. As stated above, environmental psychology and the physical environment are influenced through wayfinding in a building, cognitive maps as well as perceptions of the environment. Another aspect that influences environmental psychology is personality of an individual. Gifford (1997) pointed out that there are five reasons why personality is an important part in environmental psychology. These five reasons are: Personality is strongly linked to the physical environment; Information of a persons personality helps us to comprehend and foretell environmentally relevant behaviour; Individuals have dispositions that are particularly related to person-environment transactions; Personal dispositions are an essential aspect to one of environmental psychologys most important concepts – environmental compatibility; The notion of personality can be applied to places instead of people. Bonnes et al (1995) agree with Gifford (1997) on the third reason. They suggest that personality and the environment are related to the disposition of individuals. 2.1.2 Collective organisation of space Spatial organisation or organisation of space is considered the first major component in wayfinding design because it not only defines the wayfinding problems of future users, but also affects the ease or difficulty users will experience in comprehending and cognitively mapping the setting (Passini, 1984). According to Prestopnik and Roskos-Ewoldsen (2000) spatial orientation tasks are influenced by the familiarity of the environment. Furthermore, Iachini et al (2009) state that unfamiliar participants learn the environment through a map, whereas familiar participants rely on their long term experiences with the environment. According to Salmi (2002) there are key points to look out for in organisation of space. These points include: Architectural features in the building define different areas such as hallways, staircases etc. which assist the user with orientation in the building and increase the cognitive experience; Make sure that large-scale buildings have destination zones, such as an atrium, since it would assist the user to retrace his/her own path; Establish spatial overview opportunities so that a visitor can visualise a buildings design from different vantage points as it helps individuals to build a improved cognitive map; Consider the design of the building as a whole, the layout should not be confusing or allow visitors to get lost easily. 2.1.3 Physical settings According to Salmi (2002) physical settings must accommodate an increasingly, diverse population as it is critical that the setting be designed to be as inclusive and universally accessible as possible, addressing the requirements of a wide range of physical, sensory and cognitive abilities and needs. Veitch and Arkkelin (1995) state that any number of behaviours can occur within any physical setting. Moreover, Bell et al (2005) declare that physical settings both facilitate and constrains or limits the behaviour that occurs in it. Veitch and Arkkelin (1995) added that attitude towards an environment will influence a persons behaviours such as littering and attachment to the place. With environmental psychology being such a diverse field with many different aspects, the interactions between the four phenomenons (privacy, crowding, territoriality and personal space) help to address problems associated with environmental psychology. Gifford (1997) also states that environmental psychology is aimed at making buildings more humane and improving our relationship with the natural environment. 3. Privacy Privacy is an important phenomenon that each individual wants to achieve on a daily basis. There are many laws that have been established regarding individuals privacy, such as the right to privacy. Thus allowing individuals to have their own level of privacy. The level of privacy is measured in relation to the other social processes of environmental psychology namely; personal space, territoriality and crowding (Gifford 1997; Veitch and Arkkelin 1995, Bonnes et al 1995). In addition, according to Harris et al (1995) and Altman (1975) people use complex combinations of verbal, paraverbal, nonverbal and spatial mechanisms to attain a desired level of contact and degree of privacy. Faulkner et al (1994) state that the level of privacy is physical (sleeping, dressing) and psychological (for development and renewal). According to Demirbas and Demirkan (2000), the definition of privacy varies for each individual due to the different personal characteristics, cultural backgrounds, sex, age, economical, educational and social backgrounds. Ding (2008) defines privacy as the personal control over interactions and/or communications with others. However, Gritzalis et al (2009) state that privacy can generally be defined as the right to be left alone, meaning that it represents a sphere where it is possible to remain separate from others, anonymous and unobserved. Therefore, it is evident that privacy refers to the manner in which individuals control or regulate other individuals access to themselves. However privacy does not necessary mean withdrawing from people (Pederson, 1999; Marshall, 1972), instead it involves controlling the amount and type of contact one has with others. Gifford (1997) further declares that it is not easy to assess privacy because of its complex nature; as it has been measured in terms of preference, behaviour, need and expectation of each individual. Bonnes et al (1995) also state that the major interest of empirical research has been to study and measure the more strictly motivational and evaluative aspects such as; needs, expectations and values that individuals variously associate with privacy. Harris et al (1995) state that the universal aspects of privacy regulations are suggested by the apparent relationship between privacy, place attachment and quality of life. Cassidy (1997) pointed out that not everyone will react in the same way with regard to privacy. According to Altman (1975) and Westin (1970) there are certain characteristics that influence privacy such as: Individuals need for privacy is a continuing dynamic of changing internal and external conditions External and internal conditions are affected by privacy achieved Individuals effort to control privacy may be unsuccessful at some times Privacy can take different forms as it has many dimensions. 3.1 Types of privacy Demirbas and Demirkan (2000) also state that there are four types of privacy namely; solitude, reserve, anonymity and intimacy. Solitude refers to being alone and unobserved by others, which is either a neutral or desirable condition. Reserve, in turn, means that individuals form barriers between themselves and their environments which regulate intrusion. Anonymity is a type of privacy that gives individuals a chance to move around in a public environment without other people recognising them. Intimacy refers to an individuals aspiration to encourage close personal relationships with only preferred individuals. Additionally, Pederson (1999) identifies two more types of privacy; intimacy with family (being alone with family) and intimacy with friends (being alone with friends). According to Harris et al (1995) social functions of privacy and privacy regulation are central to psychological well-being. Privacy regulation refers to selective control over access to the self or to ones group (Altman 1975). Thus, making it clear that regulation of the types of privacy, mentioned above, is a function of both personal and situational factors. Personal factors refer to the individuals need for privacy, personal attractiveness, interpersonal skills, personality variables and ability to utilise privacy control mechanisms (Pederson, 1999). Situational factors may be social or physical. Social factors are presence, willingness and personal characteristics of others who have the potential for social interaction. Physical factors entail aspects such as barriers, location, layout and distances (Pederson, 1999). 3.2 Benefits and functions of privacy The psychological benefits of privacy reflect the function of privacy. Privacy supports social interaction which, in turn, affects our competence to deal with our world, which affects our self-definition (Altman, 1975). Therefore, the benefits of privacy arise from achieving its functions. According to Margulis (2005) the benefits of privacy are: Privacy is a basis for the development of identity, Privacy protects personal autonomy, Privacy supports healthy functioning by providing needed opportunities to relax, to ones self, to emotionally vent, to escape from the stresses of daily life, to manage bodily and sexual functions and to cope with loss, shock, and sorrow. However Keenan (2005) identifies other categories that capture the kinds of benefits privacy holds for people: Natural and psychological benefits: privacy provides physical, psychological and spiritual benefits to individuals. Individuals have certain needs, such as security and connectedness, that they want to satisfy, but invasion of privacy destroys ones sense of connectedness; Creative benefits: many people see privacy as conductive to creativity. Individuals have the need to have their own rooms where they are away from other people and regulate their privacy; Protective benefits: this refers to physical invasion of individuals sense of being safe and secure such as, the protection of ones home from burglary; Social benefits: individuals have the ability to regulate their own invasion of privacy and allow people they know or do not know to invade that privacy on a social basis; Democratic benefits: privacy is self-determining – each individual has the right to be left alone. According to Veitch snd Arkkelin (1995) the functions of privacy are: the achievement of a self-identity and the management of interactions between oneself and the social environment. According to Margulis (2005), privacy is important because it provides us with experiences that support normal psychological functioning, stable interpersonal relationships, and personal development. 3.3 Achieving privacy in design Individuals have a definite desire to a certain level of privacy in their homes. Privacy, in an architectural manner, can be defined as; the ability of individuals and families to lead their own lives without either interfering – or being interfered by the lives of others (Goodchild 1997). According to Faulkner et al (1994) a home provides privacy from outsiders with walls that protect the individual from physical, visual and various degrees of acoustical intrusion. Furthermore, Goodchild (1997) identifies three types of privacy in designing a house, whether in the house or outside the house: Firstly, privacy means circumventing problems with neighbours. Problems could arise when the layout of the resident and the type of housing is not correct such as; the walls of the enclosed area of each persons house are not high enough, which influences privacy. Secondly, privacy means a sense of seclusion. It means freedom from overlooking and freedom form invasive noise. This could be achieved by using noise insulation techniques and higher walls to increase space between neighbours. Thirdly, privacy means freedom from disturbance from other people, either guests or members of the same family, within the home. The level of privacy inside the home is determined by the number of different rooms in relation to the family size. Faulkner et al (1994) also states that the floor plan sets the privacy levels at which the home functions such as; open floor plan or closed floor plan. 3.4 Mechanisms of privacy Four aspects of privacy regulation mechanisms have been identified through data by Westin (1970) and Kent (1993). Firstly, privacy controls provide standards of behaviour for individuals and groups. Secondly, privacy creates an option between isolation and interaction, and can create the perception of being by yourself. Thirdly, individuals, groups, and societies tend to enter the privacy of others; curiosity is an example of this aspects. Fourthly, as society moves form primeval to contemporary, the physical and psychological opportunities for privacy increase. According to Bonnes et al (1995) and Altman (1975) personal space and territorial behaviour are used by individuals primarily to regulate privacy and to maintain their openness/closedness towards others at optimal levels. Additionally, Harris et al (1996) suggest that when individuals are confronted with negative privacy experiences, they will use a variety of privacy regulation mechanisms including verbal and nonverbal behaviours, cognitive, environmental, temporal and cultural mechanisms. Altman (1975) further suggests that the effectiveness and ease of implementing privacy regulation mechanisms may vary considerably across individuals and across social, physical and temporal context. Consequently, by combining these mechanisms individuals can efficiently express their needed level of privacy to others in order to attain the optimal level of privacy. Altman (1975) developed a framework for understanding the mechanisms of privacy regulation. This framework can be used as a summary of all of the above mentioned aspects of privacy (see figure 2). This figure indicates that privacy is a central concept that links the different phenomenons of environmental psychology (personal space, territoriality and crowding) with privacy regulation mechanisms. 4. Territoriality The phenomenon territoriality is extremely widespread in the field of environmental psychology since it consists of many different definitions. According to Gifford (1997) there are different variables that influence territoriality such as; dominance, conflict, security, claim staking, arousal, vigilance, behaviour and cognition to place. Gifford (1997) also states that a formal definition for territoriality is: is a pattern of behaviour and attitudes held by an individual or group that is based on perceived, attempted, or actual control of a definable physical space, object or idea that may involve habitual occupation, defense, personalisation and marking of it. However territoriality, according to Veitch and Arkkelin (1995) can be defined as: behaviour by which an organism characteristically lays claim to an area and defend it against intrusion by members of his or her own species. According to Altman (1975) territories exist to meet both physical and social needs, while being temporarily or permanently owned, controlled, marked or personalised and potentially defended by occupants or owners. On the other hand, territoriality comprises a specific set of affective, cognitive and behavioural tendencies expressed towards the territory (Altman 1975). Faulkner et al (1994) agrees with Altman (1975), however sug

Personality and Leadership style Essay

1. Personality Over six billion people live on this planet, yet no two of us are alike. Our differences are predominantly reflected in our distinctive actions and our personal appearances. For centuries, people have wondered what makes each of us act the way we do. During this wonderment, people have come to the conclusion that actions reveal our character traits, which in turn reveal our personality. Our personality makes us unique. Furthermore, people distinguish themselves from others by their personal blend of characteristics and the level of emphasis placed on each trait. This distinction reflects our personality and makes us who we are: one in six billion. Personality is defined as a unique blend of traits characterizing individuals, and influencing their interaction with their environment. The terms personality, characteristics and traits are used interchangeably throughout this paper. They refer to those variables judged to be most important and relevant to a variety of human functions, specifically leadership, which further distinguish an individual and influence his/her interaction with his/her environment. In Army for example, the Army’s Leadership manual lists seven values, three attributes, four skills and three actions as the fundamental leadership characteristics for effective leaders. Character is described in terms of an individual’s values and attributes, and is the sum total of an individual’s personal traits. 2. Leadership styles A combination of influencing others and accomplishing the desired goal is essential in defining leadership. A leader is a leader because he or she has followers. One thing that distinguishes the process of leading is the willingness of the followers. People with authority, such as police officers, can force people to do things they do not want to do, but this is not leadership. Leaders inspire, challenge, enable, empower and encourage others to want to follow them to accomplish their shared missions or goals. Leadership is a dynamic process that deserves study. Leadership is a quality  and a skill, which is both admired and needed in our military and our society. As pointed out in the definitions, leadership is a relational process involving personal interactions between leaders and followers. Leaders must continue to expand their understanding of themselves, their role in leadership, and develop their own leadership skills. One way to understand leadership is to review the various leadership theories that have evolved over the past century. Many organizations require from leaders the ability to set and communicate goals, motivate, inspire initiative and empower the followers and facilitate change. Such style of leadership is known as transformational. On the other hand they may require effectively coordinating the subordinates in accordance with procedures and standards; this type of leadership is typically referred as transactional. The attributes of transformational and transactional styles are further explained below. There is a link between an individual’s personality and the leadership style individuals are most comfortable with and more likely to use. The connection between personality and leadership style was noted by several researchers and leadership specialists (e.g. Bass, 2000, 2008; Pillai, Schriesheim, & Williams, 1999; de Charon, 2003). It is important to understand your natural leadership style so you can capitalize on your natural leadership strengths (or be aware of and address your natural weaknesses) for your career development, self-fulfillment and success at the workplace. Jung Typology Profiler for Workplaceâ„ ¢ determines the most likely natural leadership style of an individual based on personality type and the expressiveness of various behavioral qualities such as vision, power, resourcefulness, empathy and other behavioral qualities. Based on your personality assessment, the JTPW Career Development Profile provides practical tips for becoming a more effective leader (or a more content worker if leadership is not your strength) and indicates possible pitfall. 3. Relationship between Personality and Leadership styles The question of personality influences on leadership has been off studied but still presents a source of controversy. The unique blend of traits of a leader’s personality creates his or her leadership style and determines the quality of their leadership ability. Individuals with certain personality traits including integrity and honesty, vision, personal courage, good  judgment, compassion, intelligence and knowledge, self-confidence, perseverance, enthusiasm, and initiative are more likely to become effective leaders. Four personality types are more likely to become effective leaders. ISTJ, ESTJ, ENTJ, and INTJ account for roughly 78 percent of middle grade to flag rank officers in the United States military. All of these personality types include thinking and judging (TJ). These four types, however, make up only 30 percent of the general population. Ninety-five percent of senior military leaders are thinkers, leaving only five percent as compassionate feelers. People who h ave task-oriented personality types tend to have considerable focus on details. They are not comfortable initiating an action-plan until they are satisfied they have all the necessary facts. On the other hand, people who have relations-oriented personality types tend to have considerable focus on the result and are comfortable initiating an action-plan when they have just the essential facts (Blake & Mouton, 1982). Therefore, it is important for a leader to understand personality and accurately adjust leadership style to the management situation. The combination of leadership style and personality type appears to meld into a psychological combination that produces the ethos of a leader. â€Å"Leaders are not just identified by their leadership styles, but also by their personalities, their awareness of themselves and others, and their appreciation of diversity, flexibility, and paradox† (Handbury, 2001, p. 11). In addition, McGregor (1960) states, â€Å"It is quite unlikely that there is a single basic pattern of abilities and personality trait characteristics of all leaders. The personality characteristics of the leader are not unimportant, but those which are e ssential differ considerably depending on the circumstances† | Relationship Between Leadership and Personality 2(p. 180). Therefore, it may indeed, make a difference in ascertaining personality type in order to determine the correct job match between an employee and his or her colleagues. Hogan & Kaiser (2005) define leadership as being about the performance of groups / teams. They argue that measuring personality is a valid predictor of leadership capability, when looked at from two perspectives, firstly how you think about yourself, and secondly, how others think about you, (Reputation). The two aspects of reputation they identify are the bright  side, or when our social performance is at its best (In interview for example), and the dark side, which reflects the impression you make when you are off guard, or at your worst. The behaviors or tendencies you display in the dark side tend to be concealed by well practiced social skills, but over a longer time period, for instance in a work/career scenario, the dark side will negatively impact relationships with others. Many well practiced and refined candidates perform well in interview, using their social skills to mask their true behavior as a leader. The use of a trait model, where certain personality characteristic s are seen as predictors or indicators of good leadership, are able to give a below the surface profile of a potential leader, and provider sign posts to potential problems. Hogan & Kaiser make the important connection between personality and organizational performance through the importance of leadership style (Shaped by personality) shaping employee attitudes and the effective functioning of the team, which subsequently drives, or hinders, organizational effectiveness. Where personality is shaped in are younger years, and therefore less developable during are adult years, the skills approach focuses on the skills and knowledge required by a leader to be successful. The skills approach uses 3 skill areas, technical, human and conceptual and postulates that leadership ability is trainable. That is not to say that the skills model completely excludes the importance of personality as one of the three components of the skills model involves personal attributes which includes personality, cognitive ability and motivation. The style approach to leadership emphasis the importance of behavior, which is different from the personal characteristics approach of personality based models such as the trait approach. A big question of course is can leaders behave in a way that contradicts their natural characteristics or personality? Perhaps in the short term, but on an ongoing basis? Using a tool such as the leadership grid appears to oversimplify the behaviors of leadership and shows little connection between the model of style and business performance. What good is a model, if it lacks predictive capabilities? Likewise who is to say that there is a certain style of  leadership most suited to a specific situation! Situational leadership recognizes that certain leaders are more successful in certain situations and espouses the need for leaders to flex and adapt their style to match the situation. Leadership style within a situational model of leadership focuses on the two spectrums of support and direction, and requires behavior to be adapted across both. When you look at some of the underpinning drivers of leadership approaches such as style, situation, and skill, we would argue that personality plays an important part. Our issue with all these models, including the trait model, is that for all the research and academic debate that has gone on over the last half century, why are we still so poor at predicting leadership success? Perhaps leadership of more of an art than a science and therefore the factors of success are less definable than we may wish for, the trait approach can be a useful tool in identifying who will not be successful in a leadership role. However, using an endless list of traits, based on some theoretical model of leadership. Using the big five however, (Myers 2007, pp618 -620) and being clear regarding the consequences of an individual’s profile on the role you are looking to fill can be a valuable process to undertake. For us, businesses spend too much time looking to select people into a role and not enough focus on selecting people out of a role. In other words, identify those key characteristics, such as emotional instability, low drive, and a lack of conscientiousness, that should exclude a candidate from a process, and then consider their skills, style, and ability to adapt to different situations to inform your choice. A final though on this subject is the different between Abell’s approach to linking leadership with strategy, a forward looking approach, and the immobility of approaches such as the skills approach, which appear more focused on management tasks rather than the leadership of future success. We would argue that this gives more support to the idea of using a personality based approach, such as that proposed by Hogan & Kaiser (2005), looking for that magic ingredient of leader who can transform the organisation, and more importantly transform the hearts and minds of the workforce.

Vikings Art and Culture

The Vikings Art and Culture At first thought of the Vikings, the comic strip â€Å"Hagar the Horrible† comes to mind. As this is probably not a good basis for reference, it still can give slight glimpse, if not a distorted one, of the Viking culture. As for Viking art, a more in depth search must be done, for â€Å"Hagar† was unfortunately not actually made by the Vikings. The Viking culture was a primitive one of agriculture, hunting, and fishing. Families lived on farms together and were a tight knit labor force. During sowing time, the men would all work together from before dawn until after dark to tend to the field, and the women would work on providing the daily necessities, such as food, clothes, and cleaning. The wife would also occasionally help in the fields, and the children would start helping out from a very young age doing their respective duties. There were less than five months of growing season in their northern climate, so the Viking husband of the farm would plant the crops and then look toward the sea. He would head out with his neighbors for a pleasant summer of pillaging in the south. Then, he would return in the fall in time for the harvest. His wife would control all affairs of the household until he returned. If he should not return due to an unfortunate accident, his wife would inherit the land, business, and any other wealth. The eldest son of the family would take over the family farm, and the younger sons would go out to find their own careers as they became of age, possibly Vikings. Family was very important to the Viking people; it was a powerful unit of protection. Much like today, families provided support and assistance, and it was to their family that a person owed their obligation. A close family bond is evident as husbands, wives, and children would erect runes in honor of each other; husbands to their wives, wives to their husbands, and children to their parents. Runes were decorated monuments with inscriptions and verses for their deceased family, much as a tombstone would be now, and were often placed in public places so that they would be seen. They also normally lived as a nucleic family, much like today, with the mother, father, and the children in the household. It was fairly uncommon to have extended family such as grandparents to live with them; most likely, because it was rare to live past the age of forty and most people did not enter the role of grandparent. As much as the Vikings were known as looters and pillagers, they were also formidable merchants. Many of their journeys were commercial and put them in contact with the farthest reaches of the world. Trade became a very important part of their culture. While there are many stereotypes of the Viking people, such as dirty, smelly, illiterate, drunkard savages most are probably misconceptions. While they probably were dirty and smelly after sailing across the sea and maybe did not bathe that often because of the cold weather, one can assume that it was for a purpose rather than just being ignorant. The notion that they were illiterate is wrong; they simply had their own writing system with an alphabet called runic. The letters were mostly made up of vertical and diagonal lines, which made them suitable for carving into wood. As far as the drunkard part, that is most likely the truest stereotype of them all. It is believed that the Vikings were very heavy drinkers. They would drink ale and mead, which is also called honey wine and made from fermented honey. Wine was something that was part of their trade voyages, as grapes did not grow in the cold Scandinavian climate. It is true that the Vikings pillaged many towns and killed many innocent people who came in their path, and while it was terrible, this description is coming from the people who were attacked and showing them in their worst light. In reality, a Viking was only a Viking while at sea, once he returned home there was no more pillaging. It was back to the farm, the family, and normal everyday life. So, were they savages? Yes, to certain people they were, but to others, no. The art of the Vikings was not really art in the sense of the word. There was no art for art sake; it was mostly applied art. Their skills were used to decorate items of daily use. Weapons and ships were intricately decorated, as were drinking vessels, runes, and jewelry. This proved their affinity for showing off their wealth and rank with whatever their possessions were. Most of the art that has survived is made of metal even though most commonly leather, wood, and bone were used. Their art was not naturalistic, but instead abstract. A common theme art was distorted and disfigured animals. Animals were a dominant subject, as they seemed to have an endless devotion to them as a source of inspiration. The gripping beast is one motif that started in the Broa Style; it is a strong, muscular animal that is shown full face with its paws gripping either itself or another nimal. The gripping beast is shown on the Oseberg ship along with two other animal motifs, S-shaped animals with ribbon-like bodies, and semi-naturalistic animals and birds. Being confronted with these images, one could not but be in awe of the energy of the decoration. Many different styles of Viking art have been identified, but no new style can be said to mark the beginning of the Vikin g age in Scandinavia, they grew out of the art styles of earlier centuries, the first being the Broa style, followed by the Borre, then the Jellinge, Mammen, Ringerike, and finally the Urnes. The styles all vary slightly, but still keep with the distorted animal theme. The art of the Viking age influenced many different cultures because of their worldly travels, and they have influenced our culture in a way that we may never comprehend. They have intertwined themselves into the fabric of so many different cultures, that many of us could be part Viking.

Marijuana and Illness - 1063 Words

Marijuana and Illness One of the major challenges with patient management and care is the alleviation and or reduction of pain. Pain and discomfort accompanies most medical procedures and consequently strenuous efforts are made by medical doctors provide pain relief to their patients. The tools available to doctors are very limited and most have undesirable side effects. Some of the more potent pain relievers have the potential to become addictive. Consequently, there is a need for a pain relief option that relieves pain but it is not addictive. Marijuana provides doctors with a powerful pain relief option with limited negative side effects. The potency of marijuana as a pain reliever makes it a valuable alternative to more potent and addictive pain relievers. The debate surrounding the use of marijuana for medical purposes often descends into the arena of emotion. It is therefore critical to firstly examine some characteristics of marijuana. This ensures that some of the myths surrounding the use of the herb are dispelled. Subsequently consideration will be given to comparing its pain relief benefits to that of some of the more potent drugs in use in hospitals. It should be noted that marijuana has been in use for medicinal purposes for thousands of years (Medical marijuana benefits 2010). Both the Indians and the Chinese have through their literature demonstrated the use of marijuana as late as the 10th century. An interesting note is that in Tibet it is considered asShow MoreRelatedShould Marijuana Be Legalized? Essay1049 Words   |  5 Pagespeople think that marijuana is dangerous should be considered as illegal drug, I firmly believe that marijuana should be legalized medically and recreationally. Marijuana provides its user relaxation and peacefulness which indicates that the drug does not influence bad or criminal actions. However, marijuana is still illegal in some areas where dangerous products like alcohol are legal. In the field of medicine, marijuana is one of the safest drugs among all medications nowadays. Marijuana is a very uniqueRead MoreMarijuana Should Be Legal For Medicinal Purposes924 Words   |  4 PagesMarijuana Sh ould Be Legal for Medicinal Purposes You may be surprised, but there are many benefits to medical marijuana. Marijuana should only be legal for medicinal conditions because of the benefits to treat diseases and symptoms. The medical conditions would be inflammation, brain injury, etc... Marijuana should be legalized as it’s been recommended by the doctor for the dosage because it is good for other medical conditions such as chronic pain, brain injury, inflammation, and other symptomsRead MoreLegalization Of Marijuana For Medical Use1537 Words   |  7 PagesLegalizing Medical Marijuana Elizabeth Vogt ENC 1101 Professor Ruppert Keiser University October 23, 2014 Abstract Many people have different opinions on the delicate topic of the legalization of marijuana for medical use. Although it could help those who suffer from chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), cachexia, spasticity, pain and rheumatoid arthritis, it also has a lot of negative side effects that many doctors and physicians are trying to inform the public. Some of these negativeRead MoreMarijuan Should It Be Legal?867 Words   |  4 PagesEnglish 101 Marijuana: Should it be legal? Many people have their own beliefs about marijuana legalization in the United States. Legalization advocates say that marijuana would help with cancer patients and people with other painful diseases cope with the pain, nausea, etc. Also, it would create more jobs and free up the jails. On the contrary, those against legalization say it would give addicts more opportunity to experiment with other, stronger drugs. The legalization of marijuana would benefitRead MorePros And Cons Of Legalization Of Marijuana784 Words   |  4 Pages According to the English Oxford Living Dictionaries (2017), marijuana is â€Å"Cannabis, especially as smocked or consumed as a psychoactive (mind-altering) drug.† Although marijuana is illegal by the federal law, 29 states have legalized the use of medical marijuana, and in 8 states anyone over the age of 21 can buy marijuana (Nathan, D. L., Clark, H. W., Elders, J, 2017, p. 1746). Many Americans tend to experiment with drugs when put in a certain social event, but rarely abuse drugs or become a drugRead MoreEssay on Up in Smoke: Effects of Maijuana635 Words   |  3 PagesUp In Smoke Marijuana has been around as long as 2700 B.C. There is evidence that the Chinese used the drug for treatment of rheumatism, malaria, and absent-mindedness, among other things. The Spanish brought marijuana to America in the 1500’s, and the English brought it to Jamestown in 1611. After the English bought the crop over, it was considered a principle crop. They primarily started growing the crop for the use of hemp rope. The English were uncertain of the hallucinogenic properties theRead MoreEssay on Marijuana vs. Cigarettes1012 Words   |  5 Pagesthat everyone can smoke them. Marijuana on the other hand is nowhere nearly as harmful as cigarettes but is illegal and looked at as if it were far worse than cigarettes. It is long overdue that society recognizes the fact that marijuana is better for people than cigarettes by a mile. Cigarettes are extremely more addictive than marijuana, the usage patterns for marijuana cannot compare to cigarettes, and dozens of lethal chemic als are put into cigarettes whereas marijuana is a natural plant and doesn’tRead MoreWhy Marijuana Should Be Legal Essay1482 Words   |  6 PagesMedical Marijuana Marijuana is a very controversial and obtrusive issue in our society today. Although politicians and people have made malicious remarks about it in the past, and even still in the present, the historical truth and beneficial facts of marijuana are finally resurfacing. Unfortunately, our society has become a very critical crowd towards the legalization of marijuana due to the stereotypical view of the kind of people who are considered â€Å"pot smokers.† This contorted perception ofRead MoreArgumentative Essay On Smoking Marijuana1001 Words   |  5 Pagesdiscussion was about a tv character smoking marijuana, and I went on talking about the benefits and how it is a natural plant and not a natural plant mixed with many other things. There have been a very few negative issues with marijuana versus cigarettes which has been linked to deaths, illness, and addiction just to name a few things. It seems like marijuana would be the cure to the cancer and a few other illnesses that ci garettes can cause, the smoke from the marijuana plant does not cause as many issuesRead MoreBenefits of Medical Marijuana Essay990 Words   |  4 Pages Legalizing Marijuana Marijuana is a very controversial and obtrusive issue in our society today. Although many have made malicious remarks about it in the past, and even still in the present, the truth and beneficial facts of marijuana are finally resurfacing. Unfortunately, our society has become a very critical crowd towards the legalization of marijuana due to the stereotypical view of the kind of people who are considered â€Å"pot smokers†. This contorted perception of a lazy and unmotivated America