Cognitive Assessment of Classrooms in Childhood and Early and Late Adulthood

Abstract

We investigated cognitive environmental assessment, focusing on typicality and likability judgments about photographed classrooms. Independent variables for material were (a) complexity of furnishings and (b) spatial arrangement of desks and chairs (row-and-column, horseshoe, group centered, and dining table). Independent variables for subjects were age (6, 8, 20, and 60 years old) and experience (for children, whether they attended traditional or nontraditional school; for adults, whether they were administrative staff or teachers). Results showed that everyday experience with different classroom types favors positive consideration of different spatial arrangements, with a bias toward highly furnished classrooms. On the other hand, limited experience and older age restrict preference to the more prototypical instances of the place. The results are interpreted with reference to place schema theory.