Useful Level of Explanation: Understanding Connections between the Brain, Behavior, and the Built Environment

The researchers suggest that an approach to understanding the relationship between the brain, behavior, and environment is to use a level of explanation that is appropriate, useful, and predictive for the specific phenomenon at hand. The researchers are interested in practical approaches to applying scientific knowledge among the design professions. They review the historical development of environment-behavior research and the neuroscience for architecture movement. They discuss why and how neuroscience and psychology can contribute to the understanding of people’s interaction with their everyday built environment. And, they urge researchers to collaborate with design professionals to identify key research directions.