Psychological Value of Space - IELTS Reading Answers

The ‘Psychological Value of Space’ Academic Reading passage is a good resource for anyone who is preparing for the IELTS Reading test. This passage will help you understand what kind of reading passages you will encounter and the questions that you will be asked to solve.

By taking the ‘Psychological Value of Space’ IELTS Reading Answer, you can acquaint yourself with the types of questions that you will be asked and the level of difficulty that you can expect.

The question types in this Reading Passage include:

• IELTS Matching Headings (Q. 1-5)
• IELTS Matching Features (Q. 10-13)

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Reading Passage

Psychological Value of Space

A What would a building space look and feel like if it were designed to promote psychological and social well-being? How would it affect the senses, the emotions, and the mind? How would it affect behavioral patterns? For insights, it is useful to look not at buildings, but at zoos. Zoo design has gone through a radical transformation in the past several decades. Cages have been replaced by natural habitats and geographic clustering of animals. In some places, the animals are free-ranging and the visitors are enclosed in buses or trains moving through the habitat. Animals now exist in mixed species exhibits more like their natural landscapes. And, as in nature, the animals have much greater control over their behavior. They can be on view if they want, or out of sight. They forage, play, rest, mate and act like normal animals.

B What brought about this transformation in philosophy and design? A key factor was concern over the animals’ psychological and social well-being. Zoos could keep animals alive, but they couldn’t make them flourish. Caged animals often exhibit neurotic behaviors—pacing, repetitive motions, aggression, and withdrawal. In one famous example, an animal psychologist was hired by the Central Park Zoo to study a polar bear that spent the day swimming in endless figure eights in its small pool. This was not normal polar bear behavior and the zoo was concerned about it. After several days of observation, the animal psychologist offered a diagnosis. The bear was bored. To compensate for this unfortunate situation, the zoo added amenities and toys to the bear’s enclosure to encourage exploration and play.

C Are there lessons that we can apply to building design? Some experts believe so: for example, biologist Stephen Boyden (1971) defines the optimum healthy environment as ‘the conditions which tend to promote or permit an animal optimal physiological, mental, and social performance in its natural or “evolutionary” environment.’ Because humans evolved in a natural landscape, it is reasonable to turn to the natural environment for clues about preference patterns that may be applicable to building design. Drawing on habitat selection theory, ecologist Gordon Orians argues that humans are psychologically adapted to and prefer landscape features that characterized the African plain or savannah, the presumed site of human evolution. Although humans now live in many different habitats, Orians argues that our species’ long history as mobile hunters and gatherers on the African savannahs should have left its mark on our psyche. If the ‘savannah hypothesis’ is true, we would expect to find that humans intrinsically like and find pleasurable environments that contain the key features of the savannah most likely to have aided our ancestors’ survival and well-being.

D Although Boyden distinguishes between survival and well-being needs, they often overlap. For example, people clearly need food for survival and health. However, food often serves as the basis for bonding and relationship development. The ritual of sitting around a fire on the savannah or in a cave telling stories of the day’s events and planning for tomorrow may be an ancient carryover from Homo sapiens’ hunting and gathering days. According to anthropologist Melvin Konner, the sense of safety and intimacy associated with the campfire may have been a factor in the evolution of intellectual progression as well as social bonds. Today’s hearth is the family kitchen at home, and the community places, such as cafes and coffee bars, where people increasingly congregate to eat, talk, read and work.

E A growing body of research shows that building environments that connect people to nature are more supportive of human emotional well-being and cognitive performance than environments lacking these features. For instance, research by Roger Ulrich consistently shows that passive viewing of nature through windows promotes positive moods. Similarly, research by Rachel Kaplan found that workers with window views of trees had a more positive outlook on life than those doing similar work but whose window looked out onto a parking lot. Connection to nature also provides mini mental breaks that may aid the ability to concentrate, according to research by Stephen Kaplan. Terry Hartig and colleagues report similar results in a field experiment. People in their study who went for a walk in a predominantly natural setting achieved better on several office tasks requiring concentration than those who walked in a predominantly built setting or who quietly read a magazine indoors.

F Studies of outdoor landscapes are providing evidence that the effects of nature on human health and well-being extend beyond emotional and cognitive functioning to social behavior and crime reduction. For instance, Francis Kuo found that outdoor nature buffers aggression in urban high- rise settings and enhances ability to deal with demanding circumstances. He also reported that planting trees in urban areas increases sociability by providing comfortable places for residents to talk with one another and develop friendships that promote mutual support.

G A natural perspective also contributes important insights into comfort maintenance. Because people differ from one another in many ways (genetics, cultures, lifestyles) their ambient preferences vary. Furthermore, a given person varies over time depending upon his or her state of health, activities, clothing levels, and so forth. For most of human history, people have actively managed their surroundings as well as their behaviors to achieve comfort. Yet buildings continue to be designed with a “one size fits all” approach. Very few buildings or workstations enable occupants to control lighting, temperature, ventilation rates, or noise conditions. Although the technology is largely available to do this, the personal comfort systems have not sold well in the marketplace, even though research by Walter Kroner and colleagues at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute shows that personal control leads to significant increases in comfort and morale.

Questions 14-20

List of Headings

i The influence of the seasons on productivity

ii A natural way to anger management

iii Natural building materials promote health

iv Learning from experience in another field

v Stimulating the brain through internal design features

vi Current effects on the species of ancient experiences

vii Uniformity is not the answer

viii The negative effects of restricted spaces

ix Improving occupational performance

x The modern continuation of ancient customs

14 Paragraph A

15 Paragraph B

16 Paragraph C

17 Paragraph D

18 Paragraph E

19 Paragraph F

20 Paragraph G

Questions 21-26

21 Gordon Orians

22 Melvin Konner

23 Roger Ulrich

24 Stephen Kaplan

25 Francis Kuo

26 Walter Kroner

List of Theories

A Creating a green area can stimulate a sense of community.

B People need adequate living space in order to be healthy.

C Natural landscape can both relax and sharpen the mind.

D Cooking together is an important element in human bonding.

E People feel more at ease if they can adjust their environment.

F Looking at a green environment improves people’s spirits.

G Physical exercise improves creative thinking at work.

H Man’s brain developed partly through regular association with peers.

I We are drawn to places similar to the area where our species originated.

Answer For Psychological Value of Space IELTS Reading Answers with Location and Explanations

Don’t miss the answer key for the Psychological Value of Space IELTS Reading passage, complete with detailed explanations, and prepare to score a high IELTS Reading band score.

14 Answer: Ⅳ

Question type: Matching headings
Answer location: Paragraph A, lines 3-8
Answer explanation: “For insights, it is useful to look not at buildings, but at zoos. Zoo design has gone through a radical transformation in the past several decades. Cages have been replaced by natural habitats and geographic clustering of animals. In some places, the animals are free-ranging and the visitors are enclosed in buses or trains moving through the habitat. Animals now exist in mixed species exhibits more like their natural landscapes. And, as in nature, the animals have much greater control over their behavior.” This clearly explains that we can make significant inferences by observing animal behavior in zoos and how environment and ambience affect the living conditions. Hence, the answer is iv.

15 Answer: Ⅷ
Question type: Matching headings
Answer location: Paragraph B, lines 1-7
Answer explanation: “A key factor was concern over the animals’ psychological and social well-being. Zoos could keep animals alive, but they couldn’t make them flourish. Caged animals often exhibit neurotic behaviors—pacing, repetitive motions, aggression, and withdrawal. In one famous example, an animal psychologist was hired by the Central Park Zoo to study a polar bear that spent the day swimming in endless figure eights in its small pool. This was not normal polar bear behavior and the zoo was concerned about it.” This suggests how a restricted environment can deleteriously affect the psychology and behavior of living organisms. Here, the situation of the bear and the erratic behavior exhibited by it has been depicted to explain the effect of restriction and putting a constraint. Hence, the answer is viii.

16 Answer: Ⅵ
Question type: Matching headings
Answer location: Paragraph C, lines 4-9
Answer explanation: “Because humans evolved in a natural landscape, it is reasonable to turn to the natural environment for clues about preference patterns that may be applicable to building design. Drawing on habitat selection theory, ecologist Gordon Orians argues that humans are psychologically adapted to and prefer landscape features that characterized the African plain or savannah, the presumed site of human evolution.” Here the point of belonging to nature has been well-depicted. It suggests that in the course of evolution, organisms don’t shed their old habits and preferences away. As a result, humans have an inclination towards the landscape that prevailed long ago in evolutionary history and hence, the effect of ancient experiences continue affecting the current species of organisms. Hence, the answer is vi.

17 Answer: Ⅹ

Question type: Matching headings
Answer location: Paragraph D, lines 3-9
Answer explanation: “The ritual of sitting around a fire on the savannah or in a cave telling stories of the day’s events and planning for tomorrow may be an ancient carryover from Homo sapiens’ hunting and gathering days. According to anthropologist Melvin Konner, the sense of safety and intimacy associated with the campfire may have been a factor in the evolution of intellectual progression as well as social bonds. Today’s hearth is the family kitchen at home, and the community places, such as cafes and coffee bars, where people increasingly congregate to eat, talk, read and work.” These lines clearly suggest that the ancient customs such as campfire/bonfire continue to prevail in different forms now. The trends that we see today are somehow relevant to the situations in the past. What was the necessity in the yesteryears have now been turned to customs and rituals. Hence, the answer is x.

18 Answer: Ⅸ
Question type: Matching headings
Answer location: Paragraph E, lines 1-6
Answer explanation: “A growing body of research shows that building environments that connect people to nature are more supportive of human emotional well-being and cognitive performance than environments lacking these features. For instance, research by Roger Ulrich consistently shows that passive viewing of nature through windows promotes positive moods. Similarly, research by Rachel Kaplan found that workers with window views of trees had a more positive outlook on life than those doing similar work but whose window looked out onto a parking lot.” These lines imply that the soothing effect of nature improves the mental capabilities of human beings and that nature can revitalize our mind’s creativity, thereby improving our occupational efficiency. Hence, the answer is ix.

19 Answer: Ⅱ
Question type: Matching headings
Answer location: Paragraph F, lines 1-4
Answer explanation: “Studies of outdoor landscapes are providing evidence that the effects of nature on human health and well-being extend beyond emotional and cognitive functioning to social behavior and crime reduction. For instance, Francis Kuo found that outdoor nature buffers aggression in urban high- rise settings and enhances ability to deal with demanding circumstances.” This implicates that nature can pacify the built-up anger in one and can palliate the feelings of anger, stress and irritability. Hence, the answer is ii.

20 Answer: Ⅶ
Question type: Matching headings
Answer location: Paragraph G, lines 1-6
Answer explanation: “A natural perspective also contributes important insights into comfort maintenance. Because people differ from one another in many ways (genetics, cultures, lifestyles) their ambient preferences vary. Furthermore, a given person varies over time depending upon his or her state of health, activities, clothing levels, and so forth. For most of human history, people have actively managed their surroundings as well as their behaviors to achieve comfort. Yet buildings continue to be designed with a “one size fits all” approach.” These lines clearly indicate that preferences of people are highly subjective and not absolute. Therefore the way a particular design or structure of a room works for one might not necessarily work for someone else. Hence, uniformity is not an efficient factor in such cases and the answer is vii.

21 Answer: I
Question type: Matching features
Answer location: Paragraph C, lines 6-9
Answer explanation: “Drawing on habitat selection theory, ecologist Gordon Orians argues that humans are psychologically adapted to and prefer landscape features that characterized the African plain or savannah, the presumed site of human evolution.” By these lines it is clear that Orions wanted to suggest the effect of our origin and roots on the current behavioral scenario. He stressed on the inclination of humans towards the natural landscape that was prevalent during the ancient times/ the time where we originated. Hence, the answer is I.

22 Answer: H
Question type: Matching features
Answer location: Paragraph D, lines 5-7

Answer explanation: “According to anthropologist Melvin Konner, the sense of safety and intimacy associated with the campfire may have been a factor in the evolution of intellectual progression as well as social bonds.” This makes it significantly clear that humans have intellectually developed in a course of time and the practice of socializing, bonding and communicating with other people have notably affected this progression. Hence, the answer is H.

23 Answer: F
Question type: Matching features
Answer location: Paragraph E, lines 3-4
Answer explanation: “For instance, research by Roger Ulrich consistently shows that passive viewing of nature through windows promotes positive moods.” This suggests that nature boosts the mood of people and it has a positive impact on overall mental growth of humans. Hence, the answer is F.

24 Answer: C
Question type: Matching features
Answer location: Paragraph E, lines 7-9
Answer explanation: “Connection to nature also provides mini mental breaks that may aid the ability to concentrate, according to research by Stephen Kaplan.” This suggests that nature can enliven the intellect of people and taking a mini hiatus from work or mini-breaks while working to spend time in nature can substantially improve our personality. Hence, the answer is C.

25 Answer: A
Question type: Matching features
Answer location: Paragraph F, lines 3-6
Answer explanation: “For instance, Francis Kuo found that outdoor nature buffers aggression in urban high- rise settings and enhances ability to deal with demanding circumstances. He also reported that planting trees in urban areas increases sociability by providing comfortable places for residents to talk with one another and develop friendships that promote mutual support.” This suggests that creating green areas in townships or urban settings not only helps in rejuvenating and stimulating people’s mood, but also helps boost the sense of community and harmony in people. Hence, the answer is A.

26 Answer: E
Question type: Matching features
Answer location: Paragraph G, lines 8-11
Answer explanation: “Although the technology is largely available to do this, the personal comfort systems have not sold well in the marketplace, even though research by Walter Kroner and colleagues at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute shows that personal control leads to significant increases in comfort and morale.” This explains the effect and advantages of being able to control the environment we are living in. The ability to put our ambience as per our wishes helps us in putting ourselves at ease. Hence, the answer is E.

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