Quantitative approaches in environmental studies

Psychological scaling methods can be applied and can bring substantial knowledge to bear upon problems within the realm of environmental hygiene. Methodological issues related to the possibility of obtaining calibrated scales of perceptual variables such as discomfort, annoyance, and unpleasant odors are critical when the scale values are to be entered into a physical pollution index or a perceived environmental quality index, both being applied in the form of norms or recommendations. The level of measurement (ordinal, interval, or ratio scale) is related to the question of calibration of scales. From a practical point of view, the effects of observer-environment dependence are important to disguise in the scale values. Problems having to do with calibration of scales and with application of knowledge about perceptual processes to the scales are being explored in ongoing research projects. These include the measurement of temperature discomfort in different climates and the measurement of annoyance in areas with different noise exposures. Attempts have been made to solve an odorous air pollution problem with psychological measurements.