Surface location and enclosure

This research addressed the issue of whether impressions of enclosure were more strongly influenced by amount of view covered by vertical boundaries (H1) or the presence of a boundary overhead (H2). There were three studies with totals of 48 stimuli and 142 respondents. Stimuli were balconies, swamps, and space stations. Effect sizes were reported for variables of boundaries below, in front of, and at the observers' sides, as well as amount of view covered by any boundary regardless of location with respect to the observer. Judged enclosure correlated at r =.80 for amount of view covered by vertical boundaries and r =.42 with the presence or absence of boundaries overhead, indicating that enclosure is more strongly related to vertical rather than overhead boundaries (alpha< .001).