The existing body of literature suggests that evoking emotions through design provides rich interactions. The authors tested Pleasure and Approach reactions of 111 participants toward two curvilinear and two rectilinear simulated interior settings. The curvilinear forms resulted in significantly stronger Pleasure ratings than the rectilinear forms. The circumplexes of emotions indicated that the curvilinear settings elicited higher amounts of pleasant-unarousing emotions (such as feeling relaxed, peaceful, and calm) than the rectilinear settings. The respondents desired to approach those settings more compared with the settings with only rectilinear lines. This research extends the empirical findings for study of emotions and forms by focusing specifically on furniture forms in the interior environment.

Design elements within child care facilities are thought to have important effects on children’s behavior. Empirical studies that examine features of the physical environment, such as color, wall surfaces, and vertical space, and how they affect development are sparse. Using Gibson’s Ecological Theory of Visual Perception, this study investigated the impact that differentiated space, including changes in ceiling height and wall color, has on children’s cooperative behavior. Thirty preschool children experienced four different spatial conditions in small groups. Multivariate repeated-measures analyses of variance indicated that differentiation in ceiling height or wall color were related to higher levels of cooperative behavior among preschool children. As well, developmental level and gender were significant predictors of children’s cooperative behavior between spatial conditions. Findings from this study can benefit preschool administrators and designers concerned with developing children’s environments that encourage cooperative behavior in preschool children.

This study focuses on children's color preferences in the interior environment. Previous studies highlight young children's preferences for the colors red and blue. The methods of this study used a rank ordering technique and a semi-structured interview process with 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children. Findings reveal that children prefer the color red in the interior environment. The color purple was preferred by girls. Cool colors were favored over warm colors. Recommendations are made for application of color in the child development environment.

AESTRACTThird and fourth year undergraduate interior design students in Colleges of Architecture or Human Sciences at three different research universities were surveyed to compare their: (1 ) perceived value of research in interior design practice, (2) perceptions of who should conduct research, ( 3 ) attitudes toward research in interior design education, and (4) definitions of research. A survey instrument was developed that consisted of one openended question and 29 questions using a Likert scale. Questions were adapted from the Chenoweth and Chidister (1 983) scale that measured landscape architecture attitudes toward research, and from the Dickson and White ( 1 993) scale administered to interior design practicing professionals. A total of 89 undergraduate students were surveyed from the three universities. The majority of the students were Caucasian (n = 79) and female (n = 84). The results indicated that, overall, students valued research for the profession regardless of their college or university off iliation. However, their definitions of research were pragmatic in nature, and they often regarded research as the gathering of information rather than the generation of new knowledge. The students were also unclear about who should be conducting interior design research. College affiliation revealed that students who were in an architecturally-based program put a higher value on research at the undergraduate level than those students housed in a College of Human Sciences; similarly, College of Architecture students had a better understanding that research advanced a profession.Although much has been written about practicing professionals' perceptions of research (e.g., Dickson and White, 1993; White and Dickson, 1994), to date, no JOURNAL OF INTERIOR DESIGN 1 8 Copyright 2007, Interior Design Educators Council, Journal of Intm'or Design 32(2) EMPIRICAL DESIGN RESEARCH DICKINSON, MARSDEN, AND READ Although educators are producing the research, practitioners do not rely on this body of knowledge during the design process.

The exterior design of existing preschool environments is evaluated in the context of contemporary writings by architects focusing on creating designs that nurture childrenÕs emotions. Sense of place research is discussed in relation to young childrenÕs experiences. Findings reveal that the majority of sites included in the study incorporated many physical design elements that create a sense of place for children in preschool environments, including small-scale structures, windows, landscaping, natural wall materials, and thresholds. Recommendations for administrators and directors planning and designing a new or remodeled preschool environment include incorporating features that reflect home-like environments with windows, thresholds, and landscaping.