User:SarahRW/sandbox

Feedback

--Djjr (talk) 16:12, 31 October 2011 (UTC) For the peer reviewed articles, let's see if we can find any that are ABOUT his work -- there might at least be some reviews of his books out there. Or maybe even a retrospective review article at some point. Perhaps look at Annual Review of Sociology to see if there's ever been an article on environmental sociology or related field that might have a section on his work. Might also be cataloged under social psychology. --Djjr (talk) 18:25, 30 October 2011 (UTC) If library does not have Personal Space book, I do.
Thanks, that would be very helpful; the library does not have it.

--Djjr (talk) 18:20, 28 October 2011 (UTC) Any progress on subtopics, etc.?
--Djjr (talk) 15:25, 6 November 2011 (UTC) A few cites I came across in JSTOR

This is my sandbox

My page: Robert Sommer

Possible Talk Page Note

My contributions to this page have been somewhat limited by the tertiary sources available to me. Another editor who has access to additional resources could expand the works section with additional topics or add to the topics I have already started. In addition, someone could add more on Sommer's personal life... marriage, family, hobbies? How about adding a photo too!

Sommer also played an important part in the planning of the Davis Bike paths. Though resources seem to be sparse, this would be an interesting subject to add to the page as well.

Notes/References Assignment 11/7

1. Environmental psychology in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology - "The Mutual relationship between people and the physical environment." Environmental psychology research encompasses a large variety of topics that are studied in relationship to the built/designed environment (homes, buildings, neighborhoods, cities) and in relationship to the natural environment (wilderness, parks, seashore...) Sommer's view of Environmental Psychology is that it is a sub-discipline within the behavioral sciences, but also a field that involves people from a variety of disciplines and professions. This view differs from some who see Environmental Psychology as a straight sub-discipline of Psychology or Social Psychology, or those who see it as strictly interdisciplinary.
2. Tight Spaces: Hard Architecture and How to Humanize It. by Robert Sommer Review by: Whitney H. Gordon - Gordon writes "Tight Spaces could have been a true gem. Instead, this book gives every appearance of being a paste-up job." He contends that Sommer's assessments are out of date and that he passes up the opportunity to open up engaging discussions on the subtler issues mentioned in his writing.
3. Two Books Speculate on How Environment Affects Learning Tight Spaces: Hard Architecture and How to Humanize It by Robert Sommer; Beyond Customs: An Educator's Journey by Charity James Review by: Nicholas Polites - The author points out that though the 1960s and 70s were a time of innovating educational curricula, teaching methods, and classrooms, "no one seems to be talking much about how the physical environment relates to the educational programs of these newer schools". Though much of Tight Spaces discusses the built environment of prisons,as probably the most representative of staril and uninviting architecture, Polites uses the chapter on educational spaces. He writes that Sommer's basic point is that though "open classrooms","more informally arranged and less rigidly structured spaces", cannot increase participation without an environment of "open education" , a loosening of the social hierarchy where teachers are strictly the sources of knowledge, and students only the learners, without the relaxing of learning conditions, no change in the social structure is likely.
4. Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design. by Robert Sommer Review by: Glenn C. McCann - McCann says "The book is well organized and the absence of technical jargon makes it highly readable".According to McCann, Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design is about how man's environment affects his activities. Sommer argues that buildings should be built first for function, and it's usefulness to those who will be using it and that too often, buildings are built for form, not function. McCann observes that the book is divided into two sections: the first section is theoretical, and the second part concerns methods and their applications.
5. Davis Biography and publication list: Sommer attained his PH.D. from the University of Kansas in 1956. After teaching in Sweden and the University of Albert, he arrived at the University of California, Davis, where he chaired thee departments: the Department of Environmental Design(1991-1994), the Department of Rhetoric & Communication(1994-95), the Department of Art(1997-2000), and, since 2003, has been a Distinguished Professor of Psychology Emeritus. Consultation work has included Design of bicycle paths, residence halls, geriatric housing, airports, offices, prisons, farmers markets, and other types of facilities. Sommer was instrumental in the development of the famous Davis Bicycle paths. Robert Sommer has achieved a number of awards including: City-University Research Award, City of Davis; Research Award, California Alliance for the Mentally Ill; Career Research Award; Environmental Design Research Association; Kurt Lewin Award, Division 9 APA; Fulbright Award to Estonia, USSR. President-Elect 1998-9, President 1999-2000, APA Div. 34 Doctorem Honoris Causa, and Tallinn Pedagogical University.Sommer may be best known for his book Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design first published in 1969. However, he has written 14 other books as well as more than 600 journal publications on a variety of subjects. His writings on environmental psychology include research in mental hospitals, libraries, classrooms, and livings space. Sommer also has a fun side, having written a number of articles on mushrooms and for a journal called Worm Runner's Digest which publishes scientific papers alongside satirical articles.
6. Born April 26, 1929, in New York City.
7. In his review of Sommer's book Personal Space Watson answers the question "why worry about designing

buildings and rooms with human needs in mind?" with Sommer's own words."[Man] will adapt to hydrocarbons in the air, detergents in the water, crime in the streets, and crowded recreational areas. Good design becomes a meaningless tautology if we consider that man will be reshaped to fit whatever environment he creates. The long-range question is not so much what sort of environment we want, but what sort of man we want [p. 172]. Similarly to McCann, Watson gives a favorable review of the book and notes the readability, adding that this book, though not written for architects and designers, would have the best impact if read by those in these professions.

References

1. Environmental psychology in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology
2. Tight Spaces: Hard Architecture and How to Humanize It. by Robert Sommer Review by: Whitney H. Gordon Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 4, No. 3 (May, 1975), pp. 321-322 Published by: American Sociological Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2063255 .Accessed: 06/11/2011
3. Two Books Speculate on How Environment Affects Learning Tight Spaces: Hard Architecture and How to Humanize It by Robert Sommer; Beyond Customs: An Educator's Journey by Charity James Review by: Nicholas Polites The Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 56, No. 5, Special Issue on the Unrecognized Environmental Curriculum (Jan., 1975), pp. 369-370 Published by: Phi Delta Kappa International Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20297931 .Accessed: 06/11/2011
4. Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design. by Robert Sommer Review by: Glenn C. McCann American Sociological Review, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Feb., 1970), pp. 164-165 Published by: American Sociological Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2093905 .Accessed: 06/11/2011
5. Davis Biography and publication list:(http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/SommerR/)
6. "Sommer, Robert (1929-)." Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. 2001. Retrieved November 06, 2011 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3403804207.
7. Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design by Robert Sommer. Review by: O. Michael Watson. American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 72, No. 3 (Jun., 1970), pp. 625-626. Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the American Anthropological Association. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/673017. Accessed: 06/11/2011

Fill in the Blank Assignment

0. Five main issues you think you can/should deal with on your page. These may be subject to change. They should take into account the problems identified by others but need not be the same as these. The main thing is that they should be well thought out and provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your skills and knowledge.

This page is pretty sparse, should I be adding information about his life like in other biographies, or should I leave that to someone else and just completely focus on his contributions to environmental psychology?

I have not yet read many articles by Sommer, but some of the titles of his articles that sounded particularly interesting to me so far have been about college study spaces, libraries, and classrooms and how their architecture and design affect participation and learning.

1. Expand section on his life
2. Overview of his career
3. Create section on his work on good environments for college learning
4. Expand reference section
5. Criticism of Sommer

1. Five references that are not web pages. Full citation information. You are encouraged to take out at least 3 books from the Mills library! You should look for PEER REVIEWED articles (I suggest you use Sociological Abstracts as a starting point). Consult Encyclopedias of Sociology/Social Science/Social Theory.

Environmental psychology in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology - "The Mutual relationship between people and the physical environment." Environmental psychology research encompasses a large variety of topics that are studied in relationship to the built/designed environment (homes, buildings, neighborhoods, cities) and in relationship to the natural environment (wilderness, parks, seashore...)

1. Tight Spaces: Hard Architecture and How to Humanize It. by Robert Sommer. Review by: Whitney H. Gordon Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 4, No. 3 (May, 1975), pp. 321-322 Published by: American Sociological Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2063255 .Accessed: 06/11/2011
2. Two Books Speculate on How Environment Affects Learning. Tight Spaces: Hard Architecture and How to Humanize It by Robert Sommer; Beyond Customs: An Educator's Journey by Charity James. Review by: Nicholas Polites The Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 56, No. 5, Special Issue on the Unrecognized Environmental Curriculum (Jan., 1975), pp. 369-370 Published by: Phi Delta Kappa International Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20297931 .Accessed: 06/11/2011
3. Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design. by Robert Sommer. Review by: Glenn C. McCann. American Sociological Review, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Feb., 1970), pp. 164-165 Published by: American Sociological Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2093905 .Accessed: 06/11/2011
4. Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design by Robert Sommer. Review by: O. Michael Watson American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 72, No. 3 (Jun., 1970), pp. 625-626Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the American Anthropological Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/673017 .Accessed: 06/11/2011
5. A Tale of Two Classrooms Nancy Van Note Chism
6. In The Handbook of Environmental Psychology, there are many references to, and brief discussions of, Sommer's work.

Works By Sommer

1. 1969 Sommer, R. Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
2. 1967 Todd, T. W. and R. Sommer. Effects of environment on the learning process: Geology S119, A case study. Journal of Geological Education 4:145-150.
3. 1968 Sommer, R. Going outdoors for study space. Landscape Architecture April:196-198.
4. 1969 Sommer, R. Classrooms are for students. American Education June-July:18-21
5. 1968 Gifford, R. and R. Sommer. The desk or the bed? Personnel and Guidance Journal May:876-878.
6. 1968 Sommer, R. Reading areas in college libraries. Library Quarterly 38:249-260.
7. 1968 Sommer, R. The social psychology of cramming. Personnel and Guidance Journal October:104-109.
8. 1969 Sommer, R. Study conditions in student residences. Journal of College Student Personnel July:270-274.

2. Identify the citation format currently being used in your article. Note that there are several options and that if an article is already using, for example, one type of citation template, then it is customary to stick with that until all the editors working on a page agree to change it.

I'm not sure...

3. Ten things in the existing article that are in need of references. Again, read the page about citing sources to remind yourself of what kinds of things SHOULD be referenced.

The current article is so limited, I only found one... The statement that Robert Sommer got his interest in Environmental Psychology from Humphry Osmond.

4. Five most important biographical facts about this thinker. What have you learned so far. The assignment here is to gather information, of course, but more importantly to show that you can use what you have learned to prioritize.

• Distinguished Professor of Psychology Emeritus at University of California, Davis
• Born April 26, 1929, in New York City
• His view of Environmental Psychology is that it is a sub-discipline within the behavioral sciences, but also a field that involves people from a variety of disciplines and professions. This view differs from some who see Environmental Psychology as a straight sub-discipline of Psychology or Social Psychology, or those who see it as strictly interdisciplinary.
• Sommer believes that the field of Environmental Psychology should be shared with people who have a firs hand impact on the creation of that environment ie. Architects, planners and builders. (Maybe this is why his writing style is so accessible...?)

5. List of MAJOR works and separate list of MINOR but not obscure works. Lots of articles contain long laundry lists. Is there some order you can bring to such things?

Major Works:

• 1969 Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design, Englewood Cliffs, N.J, ISBN 0-13-657577-3
• 1974 Tight spaces : hard architecture and how to humanize it, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall
• 1975 Street art, New York , Links
• 1976 The end of imprisonment, New York : Oxford University Press
• 1978 The mind's eye : imagery in everyday life, Palo Alto, California, Dale Seymour Publications
• 1980 A Practical Guide to Behavioral Research, further editions in 1986, 1991, 1997 and 2002 (5th Ed.)

Minor Works:

• The Soft Classroom
• Dream Reality and the Future of Environmental Psychology
• Gas Station Psychology
• Favorite Places for Estonian Adolescents

6. Five most important secondary sources about this figure/topic. NOTE that this will eventually not simply be the first five things you came across. You want to pay attention to what gets cited by people writing about this person or topic. What seem, empirically, to be the go-to sources?

I'm not sure how to find these in an efficient manner. Many articles do not have their references available to review, so it is hard to do manually, and I do not currently have access to a citation index.

First Assignment: Article Assessment and Assembling Sources

Existing Commentary on Page

This stub-class page is part of the WikiProjects: Psychology and Biography. There are no other comments.

Outline of Article

Introduction: Definition of Built Environment

1. About Sommers(~47 words)
2. Bibliography
3. See also
4. References
5. External links

Comparison to Other Articles

Other biographical pages contain a variety of subsections including:

• Early years
• Career
• Life and career
• Development of thought
• Thought (influences, methodologies, concepts)
• Influences on
• People influenced by
• Main areas of work
• Concepts
• Contributions
• Criticisms

Notes

Links already listed in the article: ^ University of California, Davis: Sommer biography, retrieved March 14, 2011

To Do List

• Assess quality of current links
• Look at suggested page Nonverbal communication
• Get Sommer's book:1969 Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design, Englewood Cliffs, N.J, ISBN 0-13-657577-3

Reading List

• 1969 Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design, Englewood Cliffs, N.J, ISBN 0-13-657577-3
• Handbook of environmental psychology By Robert B. Bechtel, Arzah Ts'erts'man This book discusses a college classroom designed with the help of Sommers that increased student participation considerably. I think this is really interesting: a great example of how important surroundings are in affecting actions.

The Page

This is where I can experiment with possible changes

Robert Sommer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Sommer is an internationally known Environmental Psychologist and currently holds the position of Distinguished Professor of Psychology Emeritus at the University of California, Davis. Sommer has written 14 books and over 600 journal articles, he may be best known for his book Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design (1969), which discusses the influence of the environment on human activities.

"[Man] will adapt to hydrocarbons in the air, detergents in the water, crime in the streets, and crowded recreational areas. Good design becomes a meaningless tautology if we consider that man will be reshaped to fit whatever environment he creates. The long-range question is not so much what sort of environment we want, but what sort of man we want." ~ Robert Sommer

Life and Career

Robert Sommer was born April 26, 1929, in New York City. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in 1956 and after teaching in Sweden and the University of Alberta, he arrived at the University of California, Davis in 1966. At Davis, he chaired three departments: The Department of Environmental Design (1991-1994), The Department of Rhetoric & Communication (1994-95), and The Department of Art (1997-2000) and is now a Distinguished Professor of Psychology Emeritus (since 2003). Though he may be best known for his book Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design, first published in 1969, he has written 14 other books and more than 600 journal publications on a variety of subjects. His writings on environmental psychology include research in mental hospitals, libraries, classrooms, and living spaces. Sommer also has a fun side: he has written a number of articles on mushrooms, and his work has appeared in the journal Worm Runner's Digest, which publishes scientific papers alongside satirical articles.

Sommer's consulting work includes the design of bicycle paths, residence halls, geriatric housing, airports, offices, prisons, farmers' markets, and other facilities. He has also received a number of awards including: City-University Research Award, City of Davis; Research Award, California Alliance for the Mentally Ill; Career Research Award, Environmental Design Research Association; Kurt Lewin Award, Division 9 APA; Fulbright Award to Estonia, USSR; President-Elect 1998-9, President 1999-2000, APA Div. 34, Doctorem Honoris Causa, Tallinn Pedagogical University.

Thought

(influences, methodologies, concepts)

Sommer was influenced by his studies on environmental psychology with Dr. Humphry Osmond, a psychiatrist who researched hallucinogens. Osmond coined the term psychedelic and also worked in mental hospitals researching social environments and how they affect recovery.

Some scholars see Environmental Psychology as strictly a sub-discipline of Psychology or Social Psychology; others see it as an entirely interdisciplinary study. Sommer views Environmental Psychology as both a sub-discipline within the behavioral sciences as well as an interdisciplinary study that involves a variety of disciplines and professions. His view of the discipline is reflected in his writing style; he communicates his ideas without technical, psychological jargon. Though his book, Personal Space, was not specifically written for people outside the field of Environmental Psychology, it is highly readable and thus, accessible to those designers or architects who may actually have the ability to influence building design.

Works

On Personal Space

Sommer makes the distinction between personal space and territory: "The concepts of 'personal space' can be distinguished from that of 'territory' in several ways. The most important difference is that personal space is carried around while territory is relatively stationary. The animal or man will usually mark the boundaries of his territory so that they are visible to others, but the boundaries of personal space are invisible. Personal space has the body as its center, while territory does not. Often the center of territory is the home of the animal or man. Animals will usually fight to maintain dominion over their territory but will withdraw if others intrude into their personal space."

In his best known book Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design, first published in 1969, Sommer argues that buildings should be built first for function (their usefulness to the user), not form (how they look). The book is divided into two sections: the first section is theoretical, and the second section concerns methods and their applications. In addition to this book, Sommer has written many articles on personal space as well.

On Learning And The Classroom

Another theme in Sommer's research is the structure of the classroom and how it affects learning. As a high school student, Sommer himself experienced the difficulty of learning in a classroom where he was unable to see the blackboard due to the poor design of the room. He writes that he struggled in the class until, later in the semester, it moved to a new room where he got a front row seat. There, he could see the blackboard and his "grades improved markedly". Sommer devotes a chapter to the effect of classroom structure on learning in his book Personal Space, and has also written many journal articles on the topic as well.

Though the 1960s and 70s were a time of innovation in educational curricula, teaching methods, and classrooms, there was not much thought given to the physical environment of the classroom and how it might affect learning. Sommer introduced two important terms in his book Tight Spaces: Hard Architecture and How to Humanize It. First, the "open classroom", which he describes as being a "more informally arranged and less rigidly structured space", and "open education", a loosening of the current social hierarchy in education where teachers are strictly the sources of knowledge and students only learners. Sommer states that though the addition of "open classrooms" cannot increase student participation without there also being an environment of "open education", no shift in hierarchy is likely without a change in the construction or arrangement of the classrooom.

The Soft Classroom is an article written by Sommer and Olsen describing a study they conducted on the impact of classroom design on learning. It describes the difference in student participation observed in two differently arranged classrooms.

Street Art

Sommer's book Street Art (1975) discusses "the urban community mural in the U.S.A." The community mural is created by artists in collaboration with the local community so the art reflects the local culture. "Some of the chapter topics are: The New Mural Movement; definitions of 'street art' forms; the politics of 'street art'; the Emeryville, California, mudflats, a site for group sculpture; a guide for Locating and Photographing Street Art; and a final chapter concerned with less common 'street art' locations and the future of this type of art."

In Street Art Sommer states "the important question is whether painters, writers and poets are obliged to go beyond reflection to interpretation and prescription" and, in comparing street artists to those who display their work in a gallery, even goes so far as to say: "one can tell very little about the issues affecting public consciousness by examining the work of studio artists..." and "she [the new muralist] cannot afford the haughty contempt that the studio painter may feel for purchasers and patrons ...".

Sommer's work has been called "valuable for drawing attention to the proliferation of a noncommercial, popular art form in the U.S.A.", however there are also some criticisms of the book. Wayne Enstice, in his review of Street Art noted "A serious deficiency of his book is the abrasive way he chooses to treat the question"..."Do Social imperatives demand redefinition of the role of artists?" He complains that "Readers are asked to measure the accomplishments of community motivated artists against an antagonistic and oversimplified estimation of studio artists...". Enstice also dislikes Sommer's division between text and art, saying that it is "inappropriate".

Contents

• 1 Life and Career
• 2 Thought
• 3 Bibliography
• 4 See also
• 5 References
• 6 External links

Bibliography

• 1969 Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design, Englewood Cliffs, N.J, ISBN 0-13-657577-3
• 1972 Design Awareness Rinehart
• 1974 Tight Spaces : Hard Architecture and How to Humanize It, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall
• 1975 Street Art, New York, Links Books
• 1975 Sidewalk Fossils, With Harriet Becker Walker
• 1976 The End of Imprisonment, New York : Oxford University Press
• 1978 The Mind's Eye : Imagery In Everyday Life, Palo Alto, California, Dale Seymour Publications
• 1980 A Practical Guide to Behavioral Research, further editions in 1986, 1991, 1997 and 2002 (5th Ed.)
• 1963 Expertland (Doubleday)
• 1980 Farmers' Markets of America (Capra)
• 1983 Social Design (Prentice-Hall)
• 2000,2003 An Authoritative Guide to Self-Help Resources (2nd Edition and later, Revised Edition) with Norcross, Santrock et al. (Guilford)
• 2003 Milieux et modes de vie (Infolio)

See also

• Nonverbal communication

External links

• Sommer biography