Psychology of the visual landscape
Downloads
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7480/rius.2.206Abstract
While environmental psychology is a leading discipline in the study of human responses to the visual landscape, various other disciplines contribute to our understanding of the psychological reception of landscape as well, such as human geography, leisure sciences and sociology. Despite the disciplinary differences, all approaches share two core assumptions: (1) the way people experience landscape is influenced but not determined by physical landscape attributes, a complex mental process of information reception and processing mediates between the physical landscape and the mental landscape, and (2) various factors can exercise influence on this mental process, to be divided into biological, cultural and individual factors.
This article presents an overview of the various disciplinary approaches to psychological responses to landscape, with a focus on the predominant psychological phenomena under study, the theoretical perspectives, and the factors that are stressed to explain psychological dispositions related to landscape. Within this overview, also the Dutch contributions to the study of landscape perception and experience will be emphasized. The article concludes with a discussion that stresses how knowledge produced within these approaches may be useful within various stages of planning and design processes in general, and which approaches are most promising to inform GIS that support landscape policy and planning in particular.
How to Cite
Jacobs, M. (2011). Psychology of the visual landscape. Research in Urbanism Series, 2, 41–54. https://doi.org/10.7480/rius.2.206
Published
2011-09-01
Issue
Section
Articles
License
Copyright (c) 2011 Maarten Jacobs
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Ajzen, I. (2001) Nature and operation of attitudes. Annual Review of Psychology 52(1); 27-58
Altman, I., and Low, S. (1992) Place attachment. New York, Plenum Press.
Appleton, J. (1975) The experience of landscape. London, Wiley.
Appleton, J. (1984) Prospects and refuges revisited. Landscape Journal 8; 91-103
Appleton, J. (1996) The experience of Landscape. Chichester etc., Wiley.
Assche, K. van (2004) Signs in time. Wageningen, Wageningen University.
Berg, A. E. van den, and Winsum-Westra, M. (2010) Manicured, romantic or wild? The relation between need for structure and preference for garden styles. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, in press.
Berlyne, D. E. (1971) Aesthetics and psychology. New York, Appleton Century Crofts.
Berlyne, D. E. (1973) The vicissitudes of aplopathematic and thelematoscopic pneumatology (or the hydrography of hedonism). In: Berlyne, D. E., and Madsen, K. B. (eds.), Pleasure, reward, preference: their nature, determinants, and role in behavior. New York/London, Academic Press.
Berlyne, D. E. (1974) Studies in the new experimental aesthetics: steps toward an objective psychology of aesthetic appreciation. New York, Wiley and Sons.
Born, R. J. G. van den, Lenders, R. H. J., Groot, W. T. de, and Huijsman, E. (2001) The new biophilia: an exploration of visions of nature in Western countries. Environmental Conservation 28(1); 65-75
Bourassa, S. C. (1990) A paradigm for landscape aesthetics. Environment and behavior 22(6); 787-812
Bourassa, S. C. (1991) The aesthetics of landscape. London/New York, Belhaven Press.
Buijs, A. E. (2000) Natuurbeelden van de Nederlandse bevolking. Landschap 17(2); 97-112
Buijs, A. E. (2009) Lay people's images of nature: Comprehensive frameworks of values, beliefs and value orientations. Society & Natural Resources 22(5); 417-432
Coeterier, J. F. (2000) Hoe beleven wij onze omgeving? Resultaten van 25 jaar omgevingspsychologisch onderzoek in stad en landschap. Wageningen, Alterra
Corbin, A. (1989) Het verlangen naar de kust. Nijmegen: Sun.
Damasio, A. (2001/1999) Ik voel dus ik ben (the feeling of what happens). Amsterdam, Uitgeverij Wereldbibliotheek.
Darwin, C. (1965/1872) The expression of emotions in man and animals. Chicago, Chicago University Press.
Davenport, M. A., and Anderson, D. H. (2005) Getting from sense of place to place-based management: An interpretive investigation of place meanings and perceptions of landscape change. Society & Natural Resources 18(7); 625 - 641
Duineveld, M. (2006) Van oude dingen, de mensen, die voorbij gaan. Amsterdam, Eburon.
Ekman, P. (1992) An argument for basic emotions. Cognition and Emotion 6; 169-200
Ekman, P. (1999) Basic emotions. In: Dalgleish, T., and Power, M. (eds.), Handbook of cognition and emotion. Sussex, John Wiley & Sons, pp 45-60
Gieryn, T. F. (2000) A space for place in sociology. Annual Review of Sociology 26; 463-496
Groot, W. T. de (1999) Van vriend naar vijand naar verslagene en verder. Nijmegen, Nijmegen University Press.
Hay, R. (1998) Sense of place in developmental context. Journal of Environmental Psychology 18(1); 5-29
Herzog, T. R. (1992) A cognitive analysis of preference for urban nature. Journal of Environmental Psychology 9; 27-43
Herzog, T. R. (1992) A cognitive analysis of preference for urban spaces. Journal of Environmental Psychology 12; 237-248
Hirsch, E., and O' Hanlon, M. (1996) The anthropology of landscape. Oxford, University Press.
Jacobs, M. H. (2006) The production of mindscapes. Wageningen, Wageningen University.
Jacobs, M. H. (2009) Why do we like or dislike animals? Human Dimensions of Wildlife 14(1); 1-11
Jacobs, M. H., Berg, A. E. van den, Langers, F., Kralingen, R. B. A. S., and Vries, S. de (2002) Waterbeelden. Een studie naar de beelden van waternatuur onder medewerkers van Rijkswaterstaat. Wageningen, Alterra.
Jacobs, M. H., and Buijs, A. E. (2010) Understanding stakeholders' toward water management interventions: the role of place meanings. Water Resources Research, in press.
Jorgensen, B. S., and Stedman, R. C. (2001) Sense of place as an attitude: lakeshore owners' attitudes toward their properties. Journal of Environmental Psychology 21(3); 233-248
Jorgensen, B. S., and Stedman, R. C. (2006) A comparative analysis of predictors of sense of place dimensions: Attachment to, dependence on, and identification with lakeshore properties. Journal of Environmental Management 79(3); 316-327
Kandel, E. R. (2001) The Molecular Biology of Memory Storage: A Dialogue Between Genes and Synapses. Science 294(5544); 1030-1038
Kaplan, R., and Kaplan, S. (1989) The Experience of Nature. A Psychological Perspective. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Kaplan, S. (1987) Aesthetics, affect, and cognition: environmental preferences from an evolutionary perspective. Environment and Behavior 19(1); 3-32
Kaplan, S., and Kaplan, R. (1983) A model of person-environment compatibility. Environment and Behavior 15; 311-332
Keulartz, J., Swart, S., and Windt, H. van de (2000) Natuurbeelden en natuurbeleid: Theoretische en empirische verkenningen. Den Haag, NWO.
Keulartz, J., Windt, H. van de, and Swart, S. (2004) Concepts of nature as communicative devices: the case of Dutch nature policy. Environmental Values 13; 81-99
LeDoux, J. (1996) The emotional brain: The mysterious underpinnings of emotional life. New York, Touchstone.
LeDoux, J. (2000) Emotion circuits in the brain. Annual Review of Neuroscience 23; 155-184
Lehman, D. R., Chiu, C.Y., and Challer, M. (2004) Psychology and culture. Annual Review of Psychology 55; 689-714
Lemaire, T. (1970) Filosofie van het landschap. Amsterdam, Boom.
Manzo, L. C. (2005) For better or worse: Exploring multiple dimensions of place meaning. Journal of Environmental Psychology 25(1); 67-86
Orians, G. (1986) An ecological and evolutionary approach to landscape aesthetics. In: Penning-Rowsell, E. C., and Lowenthal, D. (eds.), Landscape meanings and values. Londen etc., Allen and Unwin.
Patterson, M. E., and Williams, D. R. (2005) Maintaining research traditions on place: Diversity of thought and scientific progress. Journal of Environmental Psychology 25(4); 361-380
Porteous, J. D. (1996) Environmental aesthetics: ideas, politics and planning. London, Routledge.
Pyne, S. J. (1998) How the canyon became grand. A short history. New York etc., Penguin group.
Relph, E. (1976) Place and placelessness. London, Pion.
Saegert, S., and Winkel, G. (1990) Environmental psychology. Annual Review of Psychology 41; 441-477
Schama, S. (1995) Landschap en herinnering. Amsterdam, Antwerpen, Uitgeverij Contact.
Schroeder, H. W., and Daniel, T. C. (1981) Progress in predicting the perceived scenic beauty of forest landscapes. Forest Science 27; 71-80
Schroeder, H. W. (1991) Preference and meaning of arboretum landscapes: Combining qualitative and quantitative data. Journal of Environmental Psychology 11; 2231-248
Shamai, S. (1991) Sense of place: an empirical measurement. Geoforum 22(3); 347-358
Tuan, Y.F. (1980) Topophilia. A study of environmental perception, attitudes, and values. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall Inc.
Tunstall, S. M., Penning-Rowsell, E. C., Tapsell, S. M., and Eden, S. E. (2000) River restoration: Public attitudes and expectations. Water and Environment Journal 14(5); 363-370
Ulrich, R. S. (1981) Natural versus urban scenes: some psychophysiological effect. Environment and Behavior 13; 523-556
Ulrich, R. S. (1983) Aesthetic and affective response to natural environment. In: Altman, I., and Wohlwill, J. F. (eds.), Behavior and the natural environment. New York, Plenum Press, pp 85-125
Ulrich, R. S. (1993) Biophilia, biophobia, and natural landscapes. In: Kellert, S. R., and Wilson, E. (eds.), The biophilia hypothesis . Washington DC, Island Press, pp 73-137
Williams, D. R., and Vaske, J. J. (2003) The measurement of place attachment: Validity and generalisability of a psychometric approach. Forest Science 49; 830-840
Wohlwill, J. F. (1976) Environmental aesthetics: the environment as source of effect. In: Altman I., and Wohlwill, J. F. (eds.), Human behaviour and environment. New York, Plenum, pp 37-86
Yang, B. E., and Brown, T. J. (1992) A cross-cultural comparison of preferences for landscape styles and landscape elements. Environment and behavior 24(4); 471-507
Zube, E. H. (1991) Environmental psychology: Global issues, and local landscape research. Journal of Environmental Psychology 11; 321-224
Altman, I., and Low, S. (1992) Place attachment. New York, Plenum Press.
Appleton, J. (1975) The experience of landscape. London, Wiley.
Appleton, J. (1984) Prospects and refuges revisited. Landscape Journal 8; 91-103
Appleton, J. (1996) The experience of Landscape. Chichester etc., Wiley.
Assche, K. van (2004) Signs in time. Wageningen, Wageningen University.
Berg, A. E. van den, and Winsum-Westra, M. (2010) Manicured, romantic or wild? The relation between need for structure and preference for garden styles. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, in press.
Berlyne, D. E. (1971) Aesthetics and psychology. New York, Appleton Century Crofts.
Berlyne, D. E. (1973) The vicissitudes of aplopathematic and thelematoscopic pneumatology (or the hydrography of hedonism). In: Berlyne, D. E., and Madsen, K. B. (eds.), Pleasure, reward, preference: their nature, determinants, and role in behavior. New York/London, Academic Press.
Berlyne, D. E. (1974) Studies in the new experimental aesthetics: steps toward an objective psychology of aesthetic appreciation. New York, Wiley and Sons.
Born, R. J. G. van den, Lenders, R. H. J., Groot, W. T. de, and Huijsman, E. (2001) The new biophilia: an exploration of visions of nature in Western countries. Environmental Conservation 28(1); 65-75
Bourassa, S. C. (1990) A paradigm for landscape aesthetics. Environment and behavior 22(6); 787-812
Bourassa, S. C. (1991) The aesthetics of landscape. London/New York, Belhaven Press.
Buijs, A. E. (2000) Natuurbeelden van de Nederlandse bevolking. Landschap 17(2); 97-112
Buijs, A. E. (2009) Lay people's images of nature: Comprehensive frameworks of values, beliefs and value orientations. Society & Natural Resources 22(5); 417-432
Coeterier, J. F. (2000) Hoe beleven wij onze omgeving? Resultaten van 25 jaar omgevingspsychologisch onderzoek in stad en landschap. Wageningen, Alterra
Corbin, A. (1989) Het verlangen naar de kust. Nijmegen: Sun.
Damasio, A. (2001/1999) Ik voel dus ik ben (the feeling of what happens). Amsterdam, Uitgeverij Wereldbibliotheek.
Darwin, C. (1965/1872) The expression of emotions in man and animals. Chicago, Chicago University Press.
Davenport, M. A., and Anderson, D. H. (2005) Getting from sense of place to place-based management: An interpretive investigation of place meanings and perceptions of landscape change. Society & Natural Resources 18(7); 625 - 641
Duineveld, M. (2006) Van oude dingen, de mensen, die voorbij gaan. Amsterdam, Eburon.
Ekman, P. (1992) An argument for basic emotions. Cognition and Emotion 6; 169-200
Ekman, P. (1999) Basic emotions. In: Dalgleish, T., and Power, M. (eds.), Handbook of cognition and emotion. Sussex, John Wiley & Sons, pp 45-60
Gieryn, T. F. (2000) A space for place in sociology. Annual Review of Sociology 26; 463-496
Groot, W. T. de (1999) Van vriend naar vijand naar verslagene en verder. Nijmegen, Nijmegen University Press.
Hay, R. (1998) Sense of place in developmental context. Journal of Environmental Psychology 18(1); 5-29
Herzog, T. R. (1992) A cognitive analysis of preference for urban nature. Journal of Environmental Psychology 9; 27-43
Herzog, T. R. (1992) A cognitive analysis of preference for urban spaces. Journal of Environmental Psychology 12; 237-248
Hirsch, E., and O' Hanlon, M. (1996) The anthropology of landscape. Oxford, University Press.
Jacobs, M. H. (2006) The production of mindscapes. Wageningen, Wageningen University.
Jacobs, M. H. (2009) Why do we like or dislike animals? Human Dimensions of Wildlife 14(1); 1-11
Jacobs, M. H., Berg, A. E. van den, Langers, F., Kralingen, R. B. A. S., and Vries, S. de (2002) Waterbeelden. Een studie naar de beelden van waternatuur onder medewerkers van Rijkswaterstaat. Wageningen, Alterra.
Jacobs, M. H., and Buijs, A. E. (2010) Understanding stakeholders' toward water management interventions: the role of place meanings. Water Resources Research, in press.
Jorgensen, B. S., and Stedman, R. C. (2001) Sense of place as an attitude: lakeshore owners' attitudes toward their properties. Journal of Environmental Psychology 21(3); 233-248
Jorgensen, B. S., and Stedman, R. C. (2006) A comparative analysis of predictors of sense of place dimensions: Attachment to, dependence on, and identification with lakeshore properties. Journal of Environmental Management 79(3); 316-327
Kandel, E. R. (2001) The Molecular Biology of Memory Storage: A Dialogue Between Genes and Synapses. Science 294(5544); 1030-1038
Kaplan, R., and Kaplan, S. (1989) The Experience of Nature. A Psychological Perspective. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Kaplan, S. (1987) Aesthetics, affect, and cognition: environmental preferences from an evolutionary perspective. Environment and Behavior 19(1); 3-32
Kaplan, S., and Kaplan, R. (1983) A model of person-environment compatibility. Environment and Behavior 15; 311-332
Keulartz, J., Swart, S., and Windt, H. van de (2000) Natuurbeelden en natuurbeleid: Theoretische en empirische verkenningen. Den Haag, NWO.
Keulartz, J., Windt, H. van de, and Swart, S. (2004) Concepts of nature as communicative devices: the case of Dutch nature policy. Environmental Values 13; 81-99
LeDoux, J. (1996) The emotional brain: The mysterious underpinnings of emotional life. New York, Touchstone.
LeDoux, J. (2000) Emotion circuits in the brain. Annual Review of Neuroscience 23; 155-184
Lehman, D. R., Chiu, C.Y., and Challer, M. (2004) Psychology and culture. Annual Review of Psychology 55; 689-714
Lemaire, T. (1970) Filosofie van het landschap. Amsterdam, Boom.
Manzo, L. C. (2005) For better or worse: Exploring multiple dimensions of place meaning. Journal of Environmental Psychology 25(1); 67-86
Orians, G. (1986) An ecological and evolutionary approach to landscape aesthetics. In: Penning-Rowsell, E. C., and Lowenthal, D. (eds.), Landscape meanings and values. Londen etc., Allen and Unwin.
Patterson, M. E., and Williams, D. R. (2005) Maintaining research traditions on place: Diversity of thought and scientific progress. Journal of Environmental Psychology 25(4); 361-380
Porteous, J. D. (1996) Environmental aesthetics: ideas, politics and planning. London, Routledge.
Pyne, S. J. (1998) How the canyon became grand. A short history. New York etc., Penguin group.
Relph, E. (1976) Place and placelessness. London, Pion.
Saegert, S., and Winkel, G. (1990) Environmental psychology. Annual Review of Psychology 41; 441-477
Schama, S. (1995) Landschap en herinnering. Amsterdam, Antwerpen, Uitgeverij Contact.
Schroeder, H. W., and Daniel, T. C. (1981) Progress in predicting the perceived scenic beauty of forest landscapes. Forest Science 27; 71-80
Schroeder, H. W. (1991) Preference and meaning of arboretum landscapes: Combining qualitative and quantitative data. Journal of Environmental Psychology 11; 2231-248
Shamai, S. (1991) Sense of place: an empirical measurement. Geoforum 22(3); 347-358
Tuan, Y.F. (1980) Topophilia. A study of environmental perception, attitudes, and values. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall Inc.
Tunstall, S. M., Penning-Rowsell, E. C., Tapsell, S. M., and Eden, S. E. (2000) River restoration: Public attitudes and expectations. Water and Environment Journal 14(5); 363-370
Ulrich, R. S. (1981) Natural versus urban scenes: some psychophysiological effect. Environment and Behavior 13; 523-556
Ulrich, R. S. (1983) Aesthetic and affective response to natural environment. In: Altman, I., and Wohlwill, J. F. (eds.), Behavior and the natural environment. New York, Plenum Press, pp 85-125
Ulrich, R. S. (1993) Biophilia, biophobia, and natural landscapes. In: Kellert, S. R., and Wilson, E. (eds.), The biophilia hypothesis . Washington DC, Island Press, pp 73-137
Williams, D. R., and Vaske, J. J. (2003) The measurement of place attachment: Validity and generalisability of a psychometric approach. Forest Science 49; 830-840
Wohlwill, J. F. (1976) Environmental aesthetics: the environment as source of effect. In: Altman I., and Wohlwill, J. F. (eds.), Human behaviour and environment. New York, Plenum, pp 37-86
Yang, B. E., and Brown, T. J. (1992) A cross-cultural comparison of preferences for landscape styles and landscape elements. Environment and behavior 24(4); 471-507
Zube, E. H. (1991) Environmental psychology: Global issues, and local landscape research. Journal of Environmental Psychology 11; 321-224
