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This article reviews evidence which indicates that the sheer size of an urban center has important social and psychological consequences. The size of an urban milieu tends to be associated with the degree of social role differentiation present in the milieu, with larger cities manifesting more structural differentiation. Available literature suggests the size combined with structural differentiation is related to psychological and behavioral variables such as anonymity, deindividuation, deviance, personality development, and competitive-cooperative social interaction strategies.

Three studies were conducted that explore the relationship between the shape and the perceived size of rectangular and square rooms. In each study, subjects were asked to estimate the size of rooms that varied in their ratio of length to width. The results of all three studies indicated a substantial illusion produced by rectangularity; more rectangular rooms consistently were estimated as larger than less rectangular rooms of equal size. This effect was independent of the viewing position of the observer. The implications of this illusion for room design are discussed.

Four experiments examined the attributional consequences of engaging in conservation-oriented behavior. Based on symbolic interactionist and self-presentational theory, it was hypothesized that behaviors associated with resource conservation would tend to affect the perceived status of the performer and would lead to systematic attributions regarding the performers identity. In the three initial experiments, each manipulating a different conservation behavior, subjects were asked to judge the identity of a target person based on a description of the targets activities. Results indicated that stereotypes regarding the identity of people who engaged in the manipulated conservation-oriented behaviors were widely shared. Further, the performance of these particular energy conservation behaviors was found to stigmatize the target by lowering the target's perceived status and by negatively influencing other dimensions of identity. A final study explored the perceived appropriateness of engaging in particular conservationist activities given specific self-presentational concerns. The data revealed considerable inter subject agreement as to the appropriateness of such behavior in situations in which the goal is to convey a specific image of the self to a social audience. The research suggests that the self-presentational connotations of conservation-oriented activities may be important determinants of their performance.

The symbolic significance of building materials was used as a vehicle to explore theoretical issues pertaining to environmental symbolism. Four studies assessed the meaning and social symbolism inherent in six construction materials: brick, concrete block, weathered wood, stucco, flagstone, and wooden shingles. Data from the first two studies supported a symbolic interactionist analysis of material symbolism. The presence of different materials on the exterior of homes conveyed information about the social identity of the homeowner on three orthogonal dimensions: creative expression, interpersonal style, and social class. The final two studies explored cognitive mechanisms underpinning such symbolism. Results indicated that each building material was associated with a unique character or "personality" that became attributed to the homeowner only when the homeowner actively chose the material. Building materials may be regarded as having both intrinsic meanings and culturally relative meanings that homeowners employ in the process of defining social identity.

Memory forturns of varying angularity encountered during pathway traversal was examined in a within-subjects design. Subjects walked eleven 8.3 m pathways, each containing one turn ranging in size from 150 to 1650 from the direction of forward motion. After each pathway traversalubjects were required to estimate the angle traversed, point to the original direction of travel, and point to the start of the pathway. Results indicated that paths containing angles near 00, 900, and 1800 from the direction of forward motion were the least disorienting and were most accurately remembered. Errors increased as angles diverged from these orthogonal coordinates. The data also revealed a pervasive tendency to estimate all angles as more like 900 than they actually were. Results were discussed in terms of hypothesized orthogonal reference axes that move through space with the observer.

An experiment was performed to evaluate the utility of an information storage model of distance cognition. Subjects walked matched routes segmented with either easily memorable or difficult-to-remember proper names. In accord with the information storage model, the route with more remembered attributes was consistently estimated as longer than an equivalent route with difficult-to-remember attributes.

Two experiments were performed to assess the effects of intersections on distance cognition in the urban environment. A laboratory study examined estimated traversed distance as a function of the number of intersections along linear pathways. A field study investigated the distance estimates of individuals contacted in a shopping mall in Scottsdale, Arizona, to two points located in opposite directions along a major street adjacent to the mall. Data from the laboratory study revealed a strong positive relationship between the number of intersections along a traversed linear pathway and the estimated length of that path. Significant differences in estimated distance as a function of the number of intersections were also observed in the results of the field study. The findings are discussed in relation to information processing/storage and pathway segmentation models.

Three studies were conducted to explore the effect of path structure on the perception of traversed distance. Based upon anecdotal reports, it was hypothesized that the estimated length of a route would be positively related to the perceived number of turns on that route. Obtained data strongly supported this angularity hypothesis; increasing the number of right angle turns distributed along a pathway consistently increased the estimated length of the pathway. Controls used in these studies indicated that this effect was not due to actual or perceived travel time, to any particular path structure, or to the straight line distance between origin and goal. Three explanations of this finding were discussed: a storage size model, a scaling model, and an effort interpretation.

Semantic associates of the concept of "urban tempo" were examined through the use of multidimensional scaling and hierarchical clustering techniques. Results revealed a diverse set of categories that were associated with fast-and slow-paced environments. Subjects' ratings of 25 cities on these categories revealed substantial correlations between tempo categories and city size. Multidimensional scaling analysis indicated that three general dimensions underlie tempo categories: (1) arousal-activity, (2) affect-evaluation, and (3) overhead, or cost of living. The data suggest that "tempo" and "pace" are terms that are used as metaphors to describe experiences produced by both temporal and nontemporal attributes of urban environments.

Upper-middle-class homeowners were asked to rate themselves on an extensive set of bipolar personality and identity dimensions. Photographs were taken of the interior and exterior of each homeowner's dwelling and were developed into color slides. These slides were subsequently presented to subjects who were asked to rate the homeowner on the same set of personality and identity dimensions. Subjects were assigned to one of three conditions, interior, exterior, or combined, depending upon the type of information to which they were exposed. Subjects in all conditions were able to infer the homeowner's selfconcept to a significant degree, with subjects in the interior condition displaying the most accuracy. Results were interpreted in terms of a self-presentational model of housing choice.

A trade-off paradigm was used to examine priorities in residential water use. A total of 426 participants allocated either a small or large budget to various household water uses.  A comparison of allocations across budget conditions revealed which water uses were regarded as most important, as well as the amount of water regarded as sufficient for each use. Further analyses focused on the perceived importance of outdoor water use, which accounts for the majority of the water used in residences. Data indicated that indoor uses, especially those related to health and sanitation, were consistently higher priorities for participants in this study.   The finding that residents are more willing to curtail outdoor water use than indoor water use has important implications for behavior change campaigns. Individual difference variables of environmental orientation and duration of residence in the desert accounted for some of the variance in water choices.