The Potential of Subjective Semantic Methods in Exploring the Perception of Architecture

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Abstract

This research focuses on empirical explorations of psychological features and mechanisms of the percep¬tion of urban architecture and on the specifics of the perception of buildings of various architectural styles. The techniques employed included those of personality and architectural semantic differential and the Value Spectrum technique. Four factors were found to have a significant impact on an individual’s percep¬tion and understanding of architectural space: ‘passive-active’, ‘whole-split’, ‘open-closed’, and ‘expressive’. People tend to attribute more semantic features and values to listed buildings or buildings that bear witness of a certain historical period than to those buildings that look alike and represent a typical example of mass housing. No significant sex differences were found in the individuals’ evaluations of buildings. Consistent quantitative differences were revealed between the images of listed buildings and of mass housing. The paper describes the relevance of various research methods in explorations of architectural images.

General Information

Keywords: perception of architecture, subjective semantics, semantic code, semantic differential, value spectrum

Journal rubric: Psychology of Art

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/chp.2015110409

For citation: Vyrva A.Y., Leontiev D.A. The Potential of Subjective Semantic Methods in Exploring the Perception of Architecture. Kul'turno-istoricheskaya psikhologiya = Cultural-Historical Psychology, 2015. Vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 96–111. DOI: 10.17759/chp.2015110409. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

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Information About the Authors

Arina Y. Vyrva, PhD student, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, e-mail: vyrvaarina@gmail.com

Dmitriy A. Leontiev, Doctor of Psychology, Leading Research Fellow, The Laboratory for Comparative Research in Quality of Life, National Research Tomsk State University, Head of International Laboratory of Positive Psychology of Personality and Motivation; Professor of Faculty of Social Sciences, School of Psychology, HSE University, Moscow, Tomsk, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2252-9805, e-mail: dmleont@gmail.com

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