This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Herzog, T. R. Articles by Miller, E. J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The Role of Mystery in Perceived Danger and Environmental Preference

Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan.

Edward J. Miller

Mystery has been implicated as a positive contributor to both environmental preference and perceived danger/fear. We explored the relationships among mystery, danger, and preference as well as between them and two physical features of settings, openness and pathway curvature, in urban alleys and field/forest settings containing pathways. The major finding was that mystery was a positive predictor of both danger and preference even though the latter two variables were negatively related. Mystery, in turn, was positively related to pathway curvature and negatively related to openness. Setting category (alleys versus field/forest) was also a significant predictor of both danger (greater for alleys) and preference (greater for field/forest settings). Free-response data indicated that danger was a more common reaction than mystery for alleys, but the reverse was true for field/forest settings. The results highlight the paradoxical role that variables such as mystery can play in contributing to affective response, depending on the context in which the variables operate.

Environment and Behavior, Vol. 30, No. 4, 429-449 (1998)
DOI: 10.1177/001391659803000401


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. S. Fisher and D. May College Students' Crime-Related Fears on Campus: Are Fear-Provoking Cues Gendered? Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, August 1, 2009; 25(3): 300 - 321. [Abstract] [PDF]

				T. R. Herzog and A. E. Rector Perceived Danger and Judged Likelihood of Restoration Environment and Behavior, May 1, 2009; 41(3): 387 - 401. [Abstract] [PDF]

				T. R. Herzog and A. G. Bryce Mystery and Preference in Within-Forest Settings Environment and Behavior, November 1, 2007; 39(6): 779 - 796. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. E. Stamps III Visual Permeability, Locomotive Permeability, Safety, and Enclosure Environment and Behavior, September 1, 2005; 37(5): 587 - 619. [Abstract] [PDF]

				T. R. Herzog and K. M. Kirk Pathway Curvature and Border Visibility as Predictors of Preference and Danger in Forest Settings Environment and Behavior, September 1, 2005; 37(5): 620 - 639. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. Blobaum and M. Hunecke Perceived Danger in Urban Public Space: The Impacts of Physical Features and Personal Factors Environment and Behavior, July 1, 2005; 37(4): 465 - 486. [Abstract] [PDF]

				T. R. Herzog and L. S. Kropscott Legibility, Mystery, and Visual Access as Predictors of Preference and Perceived Danger in Forest Settings without Pathways Environment and Behavior, September 1, 2004; 36(5): 659 - 677. [Abstract] [PDF]

				T. R. Herzog and O. L. Leverich Searching for Legibility Environment and Behavior, July 1, 2003; 35(4): 459 - 477. [Abstract] [PDF]

				H. Heft and J. L. Nasar Evaluating Environmental Scenes Using Dynamic Versus Static Displays Environment and Behavior, May 1, 2000; 32(3): 301 - 322. [Abstract] [PDF]