Deakin University PHd Candidate Isabella (Bella) Bower recently chatted with Jemimah Clegg, Property Editor for Domain about how important physical spaces – such your childhood home, can shape lives and memories.
In conjunction with Deakin University psychology professor Peter Enticott, the article unpacks how memories are connected to the physical environment we inhabit particularly in childhood, and the potential of that built environment to impact and shape an individuals personality.
Ms Bower, who is currently researching how physical spaces influence emotions, reflects in the article;
‘The environment definitely shapes our lives. There’s a type of memory called episodic memory and that’s linked to space, so when you form those memories, you’re forming them about the space as well.’
Ms Bowers research, supervised by Professor Peter Enticott aims to find out how spaces affect us, so the knowledge can inform the design of homes, offices and hospitals with mental health in mind.
Read also:
Additional material:
Bower, I., Tucker, R., & Enticott, P. (2019). Impact of built environment design on emotion measured via neurophysiological correlates and subjective indicators: A systematic review. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 66, 101344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2019.101344
