Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/05/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Sounds like a great T shirt "Cognitive homeostasisitist". Lawrence Zeitlin wrote: > > On May 18, 2006, at 3:13 PM, George wrote: > >> Nope. Ken nailed it with "codes of privacy" when folks live close and/ >> or with paper walls or no walls at all. The public bath/nudity/shower/ >> urinal mode came from elsewhere. However each of these also carries >> codes of privacy. But I think psychologically different than the >> codes used in clothed situations. > > > There is a concept called "cognitive homeostasis" in Environmental > Psychology which suggests that people try to optimize their > information input and output to stay within a comfort zone. In the > high density environments of urban societies people develop behaviors > which restrict and control information flow to avoid information > overload. The seemingly unsociable behavior of New York, London, and > Tokyo exists to permit people to be in close proximity without the > necessity of acknowledging the existence of the "other." In an office, > on the sidewalk, and in school, a simple nod may be all the greeting > that is necessary when passing by casual friends. No acknowledgment is > necessary for strangers. In a low density environment, the cognitive > homeostasis theory predicts that one will amplify even casual > interactions to raise the information flow. I.e., when some asks "How > are you feeling?", you tell them at great length. Anyone who has > watched two Iowa farmers stop their pickups in the middle of a lonely > country road, roll down their windows, and carry on a conversation > knows this to be a fact. > > Larry Z > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > >