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Psychological mechanisms in outdoor place and weather assessment: towards a conceptual model

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Abstract

The general aim has been to illuminate the psychological mechanisms involved in outdoor place and weather assessment. This reasoning was conceptualized in a model, tentatively proposing direct and indirect links of influence in an outdoor place–human relationship. The model was subsequently tested by an empirical study, performed in a Nordic city, on the impact of weather and personal factors on participants’ perceptual and emotional estimations of outdoor urban places. In line with our predictions, we report significant influences of weather parameters (air temperature, wind, and cloudlessness) and personal factors (environmental attitude and age) on participants’ perceptual and emotional estimations of outdoor urban places. All this is a modest, yet significant, step towards an understanding of the psychology of outdoor place and weather assessment.

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Acknowledgment

This study was financially supported by Formas (the Swedish research council for environment, agricultural sciences and spatial planning) within its strategic action area of “urban public spaces”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education and Psychology, University of Gävle, 801 76, Gävle, Sweden

    Igor Knez

  2. Urban Climate Group, Physical Geography, Earth Sciences Centre, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden

    Sofia Thorsson, Ingegärd Eliasson & Fredrik Lindberg

Authors
  1. Igor Knez
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  2. Sofia Thorsson
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  3. Ingegärd Eliasson
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  4. Fredrik Lindberg
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Correspondence to Igor Knez.

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Knez, I., Thorsson, S., Eliasson, I. et al. Psychological mechanisms in outdoor place and weather assessment: towards a conceptual model. Int J Biometeorol 53, 101–111 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-008-0194-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-008-0194-z

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