TY - JOUR
T1 - The association between walkability and personality
T2 - Evidence from a large socioecological study in Japan
AU - Götz, Friedrich M.
AU - Yoshino, Shinya
AU - Oshio, Atsushi
N1 - Funding Information:
This study used data from the Data-Sharing for Psychology in Japan (DSPJ) project, conducted by Atsushi Oshio (Waseda University), Asako Miura (Osaka University), Yuki Ueno (The University of Tokyo), and Tetsuya Kawamoto (The University of Tokyo). This project was supported by JPSP KAKENHI 25380893, Kwansei Gakuin University Joint Research Grant(B), JSPS KAKENHI 16J00972, JSPS KAKENHI 16J07940. Friedrich M. Götz was supported by doctoral scholarships of the Cambridge Trust and the Economic and Social Research Council.
Funding Information:
This study used data from the Data-Sharing for Psychology in Japan (DSPJ) project, conducted by Atsushi Oshio (Waseda University), Asako Miura (Osaka University), Yuki Ueno (The University of Tokyo), and Tetsuya Kawamoto (The University of Tokyo). This project was supported by JPSP KAKENHI 25380893, Kwansei Gakuin University Joint Research Grant(B), JSPS KAKENHI 16J00972, JSPS KAKENHI 16J07940. Friedrich M. Götz was supported by doctoral scholarships of the Cambridge Trust and the Economic and Social Research Council .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2020/6
Y1 - 2020/6
N2 - Geographical personality differences robustly predict diverse consequential outcomes. However, comparatively little is known about the factors that create such differences, in particular the role of the built environment. To bridge the gap, the present study used a socioecological approach to examine the relationship between walkability and personality. Walkability reflects the degree to which urban areas are easily walkable and accessible for pedestrians. As such it is considered a defining feature of people's living environments. We utilized a large sample from the Data Sharing for Psychology in Japan (DSPJ) project, which assessed the Big Five personality traits of 5141 Japanese residents. Walkability estimates were extracted from Walk Score, an established online platform, based on individuals' place of living. Building on prior research, we hypothesized that walkability would be positively linked to Agreeableness and Extraversion due to increased opportunities for social interactions and selective migration. Multiple regression analyses showed that walkability was positively related to Extraversion (B = 0.033; 95%CI [0.019, 0.047]; β = 0.066), but not to Agreeableness. This pattern persisted in the presence of a conservative set of individual and socioecological controls. Taken together, our research suggests that walkable urban environments may be conducive to a more animated and lively social climate which is reflected in heightened extraversion among residents of such areas. As such it advances psych-geographical theory and our understanding of the role of the built environment in the emergence of geographical personality differences.
AB - Geographical personality differences robustly predict diverse consequential outcomes. However, comparatively little is known about the factors that create such differences, in particular the role of the built environment. To bridge the gap, the present study used a socioecological approach to examine the relationship between walkability and personality. Walkability reflects the degree to which urban areas are easily walkable and accessible for pedestrians. As such it is considered a defining feature of people's living environments. We utilized a large sample from the Data Sharing for Psychology in Japan (DSPJ) project, which assessed the Big Five personality traits of 5141 Japanese residents. Walkability estimates were extracted from Walk Score, an established online platform, based on individuals' place of living. Building on prior research, we hypothesized that walkability would be positively linked to Agreeableness and Extraversion due to increased opportunities for social interactions and selective migration. Multiple regression analyses showed that walkability was positively related to Extraversion (B = 0.033; 95%CI [0.019, 0.047]; β = 0.066), but not to Agreeableness. This pattern persisted in the presence of a conservative set of individual and socioecological controls. Taken together, our research suggests that walkable urban environments may be conducive to a more animated and lively social climate which is reflected in heightened extraversion among residents of such areas. As such it advances psych-geographical theory and our understanding of the role of the built environment in the emergence of geographical personality differences.
KW - Big five personality
KW - City design
KW - Environmental studies
KW - Geographical psychology
KW - Japan
KW - Socioecological psychology
KW - Urban planning
KW - Walkability
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101438
DO - 10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101438
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85085012102
VL - 69
JO - Journal of Environmental Psychology
JF - Journal of Environmental Psychology
SN - 0272-4944
M1 - 101438
ER -