Current models of human spatial behavior including stress, information overload, and micro-macro analysis are critically examined. An alternative functional orientation is developed which suggests that seeking to understand the adaptive value of various proxemic phenomena may provide some insight as to how the various proxemic variables are…

There is a considerable amount of research documenting the effects of noise on children. The effects are largely negative. Chronic exposure to noise has been shown to be harmful to children of various ages. It can have especially detrimental effects on younger children when language and discrimination skills are forming. Sometimes major noise…

Given the explosion in growth of out-of-the-home child care, increasing attention is being focused on the developmental consequences of early childhood environments. The authors show that the ratio of children to the number of activity areas in the classroom is positively correlated with off-task time. There is also a marginal, negative…

This research evaluated the effects of a design modification in an open-plan high school. The addition of several variable height partitions throughout the school reduced classroom interruptions and increased content questions. Hypotheses about specific design mechanisms contributing to environment-behavior congruence in open plan schools were…