Human need for privacy in environmental psychology

Human Need for Privacy

Environmental psychology is the study of the interaction between the physical world and human behavior. In recent years, the topic of privacy has been a key aspect of this field of study, as research reveals that it directly relates to a sense of well being and control. A supportive physical environment has been proven to contribute to a successful social, private and work life, and privacy is a key factor in creating a positive environmental setting.

Why We Need Privacy

There are many theories as to why people need privacy. Many psychologists believe that people need to maintain personal space between themselves and others to avoid overstimulation. According to Scott (1993), when people are too close to one another, they are bombarded with too many social or physical stimuli.

Some researchers argue that people need to maintain personal space to avoid various stressors associated with very close proximity. This group says that when personal space is inadequate, people have feelings of arousal.

Altman (1975) views personal space as a boundary regulation mechanism needed to meet desired levels of personal and group privacy. According to Altman, privacy is an interpersonal boundary process by which people control interactions with others.

Through variations in the extent of their private space, people make sure that their desired and achieved levels of privacy are consistent. If it is impossible to control and regulate these boundaries so that the desired level of privacy is met, negative effects and coping are the result.

When people purposely invade other people's privacy, the situation often involves negative consequences for both parties. Felipe and Sommer (1966) conducted a field experiment at a 1,500 bed mental institution in which a stranger approached lone patients at a distance of six inches and sat down. If the participant attempted to move away, the stranger moved so as to maintain a close proximity. The majority of the group showed signs of discomfort and many got up and left.

In a separate experiment by Felipe and Sommer (1966), female students were studying at a large table with six chairs on either side of the table, with at least two empty chairs on either side of each subject, and one opposite. There were several experimental conditions, including:

The experimenter sat next to the female participant and moved his chair nearer to hers (close).

Sat two seats away from her, leaving one chair in between them (distant).

Sat three seats away (distant).

Sat directly across from her (control).

The results of this study were:

Left within 10 minutes

Still working after half-hour

Distant

V.Few

Close

Control

V.Few

Privacy Factors

Privacy can be broken down into the following classifications: Kaplan (1982)

Solitude: total visual privacy;

Intimacy: privacy, within a small social unit, such as a family at home alone;

Anonymity: privacy, within a social setting, where one is able to observe without feeling observed; people merging with the environment;

Reserve: a psychological barrier against intrusion, allowing people to be themselves within group situations.

People experience feelings of overcrowdedness for a variety of reasons. There are many physical barriers to privacy, including restricted space, lack of open space, and large buildings. There are also many social factors that prevent privacy, including interpersonal relationships. In addition, many individual factors may cause a lack of privacy, such as age, sex, or socio-cultural background.

Desire for Privacy

Humans have a strong desire for privacy, isolation, and sometimes solitude. Anne LaBastille (1992) explains that, "Solitude and silence are positive, precious life forces which every human needs and has the birthright to enjoy" (p. 6). There are many reasons that people seek privacy and solitude, including the normal pressures of everyday life, stress from work, daily responsibilities, social pressures, weather; and any other kind of stressor that one experiences.

When life becomes too hectic, people need privacy. Privacy is used to normalize the access of others to oneself or to a group (Altman, 1975). When someone experiences a sensory or information overload, his or her immediate reflex is to cut off or regulate that sensory stimulation received. Privacy gives them the space and control they need to feel free.

Freedom is one of the strongest desires in the world. With freedom, one can think and do whatever he or she wants. With privacy, one is isolated from others. This makes it easier to govern oneself and make decisions entirely based on one's own opinions and desires. In turn, the individual has more self-esteem and self-respect.

In addition to the freedom factor, human beings often seek privacy from others in order to experience emotional release. Human beings naturally want to be alone when they feel certain overwhelming emotions coming on. These emotions include crying, laughing, and sulking.

In a private setting, people can freely release their emotions, and are more comfortable doing so. For example, many people who have just received terrible news ask to be left alone for a while. This shows that people need a comfort barrier. In a private setting, people do not have to worry about being watched or judged by others. They can concentrate on their own feelings and emotions.

Environmental psychologist Franklin Becker (1981, pp. 109-110) says, "The essence of privacy is the control of information flow," and is thus both an input problem of distractions and interruptions and an output problem of confidentiality.

When people do not feel the privacy that four doors and a wall provide, they often resort to other means to find the privacy they need. For instance, they may attempt to control their environment by listening to a Walkman. This enables them to block outside noises and create a "private" setting.

People often barricade their personal space to limit the activity that can take place. In an office, they may stack books or files to block them from the rest of the workplace. In addition, they may display put up "do not disturb" signs or hang curtains to create privacy.

Privacy in the Workplace

Recent studies show that many corporations are neglecting the privacy needs of office workers in their quests to facilitate task flow and communication for teamwork. However, this often works against them, decreasing the efficiency of the individual worker, which can slow down the entire team's efficiency.

Team effectiveness is dependent on the successful management of group-organizational boundaries, the corresponding territorial control, and a supportive physical environment (Sundstrom & Altman, 1989; Sundstrom, De Meuse, & Futrell, 1990).

Many offices to increase communication use open-plan cubicles. However, cubicles typically have the opposite effects, as they create privacy problems. Research shows that people communicate less when they have little or no control over communication (Baum, 1981).

Privacy studies reveal that inability to hold confidential conversations, lack of control over accessibility, inability to avoid crowding, and distractions and interruptions all have negative effects on job performance and satisfaction (Braeger, Bauman, Heerwagen, & Ruland, 2000).

According to a recent survey, the majority of people who work in offices say that they need privacy to do their jobs adequately. The majority of these survey participants also stated that they did not have enough privacy in their workplaces.

While the definition of privacy varies from person to person, job to job, and situation to situation, privacy is almost always connected with having private space, which is almost always connected with having four floor-to-ceiling walls and a door.

A recent study revealed that people in offices perceived a direct correlation between the amounts of enclosure an office offered and the amount of privacy it provided. This shows that people feel that enclosure has a positive effect on job performance, ease of communication, and comfort level.

Organizational consultant Fritz Steele (Steele, 1986) believes that status issues are often influenced by perceptions of privacy and private spaces. In an office environment, private offices are often seen as superior to open spaces or cubicles because it is usually those at the top of the company ladder who occupy them.

However, Steele argues, "Closed offices provide visual separation, but they are no guarantee of audial privacy. In fact, they may provide a false sense of security when people should instead be aware that they can easily be overheard (Steele, 1986, p. 9798)."

In many cases, enclosure, or architectural privacy, does not ensure psychological or perceived privacy. According to researcher Ronald Goodrich, "some design solutions may have the unintended effect of reducing perceived privacy by creating more spatial privacy.

When partitions are used for visual privacy, the individual is 'blind' to his or her surroundings. Noises and movements outside are sudden, unanticipated, and surprising. They are more likely to stand out from surrounding sound levels and to be more distracting (Goodrich, 1986, p. 23)."

Conclusion

Privacy is something that all human beings want and need. Humans seek privacy to prevent others from seeing and knowing everything that they do and feel. Whether at home or work, people require some sort of shield of privacy to freely to pursue his or her projects or cultivate intimate social relationships. If this privacy is not provided, the effects are negative and people may become reclusive or unproductive.