Determinants of Physiological Responses to Symbolic Stimuli: The Role of the Social Environment

Abstract

Recent studies indicate the importance of settings or environmental variables in accounting for individual behavior. Measurement of the perceived social climate is a particularly promising way of investigating the psychosocial characteristics of diverse environments. Three types of dimensions characterize and discriminate among environmental subunits: relationship dimensions, personal development dimensions, and system maintenance and system change dimensions. There is evidence that dimensions within each of these three categories have important effects on psychological processes. Individual and social environmental variables can interact, leading to differential physiological responses. Measurement of perceived social climate could provide a bridge between “objective” environmental stimuli and individual physiological responses, which are mediated by differences in perception, coping, and defense. Measurement might enable us to make environments healthier in general, or improve person-environment fit for specific groups of individuals.