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PSYC 400 Course website

Psychology (PSYC) 432
Psychology and the Built Environment (Revision 2)

Revision 2 closed, replaced by current version.

View previous syllabus

Delivery mode: Individualized study or grouped study.
Online-enhanced.

Credits: 3 - Social Science

Prerequisite: PSYC 289, PSYC 290, and a senior-level psychology or social sciences course are recommended.

Centre: Centre for Psychology

PSYC 432 has a Challenge for Credit option.

Course website

Overview

This course examines the transactions between people and their everyday physical environment. Topics include environmental perception and cognition, environmental stressors such as noise, spatial behaviour such as personal space and territoriality, physical settings where we live, work, and learn, and designing for more fitting environments.

Outline

Unit 1: Introduction

Unit 2: Environmental Perception and Cognition

Unit 3: Ambient Environments

Unit 4: Personal Space and Territoriality

Unit 5: Privacy and Crowding

Unit 6: Our Residences

Unit 7: Our Communities

Unit 8: Our Schools

Unit 9: Our Workplaces

Unit 10: Designing More Fitting Environments

Evaluation

To receive credit for PSYC 432, you must achieve a composite course grade of at least “D” (50 percent) and a grade of at least 50 percent on the final examination. The weighting of assignments is as follows:

Written Exercise Two Quizzes Course Project Final Exam Total
10% 15% 35% 40% 100%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbooks

Gifford, R. (2002). Environmental psychology: Principles and practice (3rd ed.). Colville, WA: Optimal Books.

Krupat, W. (1985). People in cities: The urban environment and its effects. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Other Materials

The course materials include study guide, student manual, and a reading file.