Behavioral Aspects

Residential Interior Arrangements

Residences can be arranged and decorated in many ways, but these variations are not random. They are somewhat predictable from cultural, religious, and socioeconomic factors, as well as from the values and personality of the residents. Living rooms are usually the focus of this research because they are the main shrines and showrooms for residents. These central rooms almost always contain objects that are particularly meaningful for residents and are, at some level, meant as messages to visitors about what is important to the people who live there.

Orderliness and organization inside residences also vary. For example, a study of single-family dwellings in California considered aspects of residents (e.g., their family type, income, and lifestyle) that may have led them to organize their interiors as they did. The homes of unmarried parents had greater disorder and functional complexity than traditionally married parents and residents with higher incomes. In Italy, a study identified five major styles of interiors, which vary in terms of their symmetry (or lack of it), conventionality or eccentricity, expensiveness of the furniture and objects, and the use (or lack) of ritual objects. These styles systematically varied with the residents’ ages, inclination toward business or intellectual pursuits, and financial status.

The Spatial Ecology of Home

People do not spend equal amounts of time in all parts of their dwellings. Some research focuses on who spends time where in the residence, including who may rarely or never enter which spaces. For example, children rarely enter parents’ bedrooms, and parents gradually withdraw from entering adolescents’ bedrooms. Marked differences are sometimes found in where men and women spend their time. Older studies [Page 36](1980s) found that women reported engaging in many more domestic activities (e.g., laundry, baking) than men, who more often performed more maintenance-related behaviors at home.

Leisure Behavior at Home

Ethnographic research suggests that less than 20% of working and middle-class parents’ time at home is used for pastime activities. Of this time, behaviors are often passive and noninteractive (e.g., watching television). Men spend more time on passive leisure activities, such as watching television in the living room, than women. Men and women engage in different leisure activities in different parts of the residence, at different times of the day, and for different lengths of time. For example, men and women both engage in leisure activities for short and fragmented periods, but men are more likely to have longer periods of recreation.

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