The Effect of the Spatial Environment on the Conditionability and Transfer of Verbalizations.

Because spatial environment plays an important role in regulating human behavior, the environmental conditions of room size, furniture arrangement and interpersonal distance were systematically varied and studied with 54 male undergraduates for their ability to influence the verbal operant conditioning of positive affective self-reference statements. Two separate studies conducted in disparate geographical locations provided evidence confirming the importance of environmental features in the conditioning process. Findings suggest that room size is of prime consideration, with larger rooms enhancing the conditioning process while smaller rooms tend to inhibit it. Evidence was also found for the transfer of conditioning to certain paralinguistic features of the subjects' behavior. (Author/CJ)