Control Theory

James Averill's control theory states that humans have three types of control over their environment. These control types are cognitive, behavioral, and decisional control. The field of environmental psychology studies these theories in relation to human behavior. Knowing how people interact with their environment allows Interior Designers to design a space that is best suited for their client. The next few paragraphs will explore these control theories and discover how they relate to design and everyday life.  

Image 1: Head with gears

First up is cognitive control. Cognitive control is the ability to change the way in which we conceive of an environment. In other words, it means that we can change our mindset toward an environment by bringing attention to something else. For example, imagine that you are at an outdoor music festival. You are having a great time singing along with your favorite band when it starts to rain. You notice that people are starting to leave. What are you going to do? Are you going to let the rain ruin your day? Or go and enjoy other parts of the festival like the food and games? By choosing to enjoy these parts of the festival, you have exercised your cognitive control by changing your mindset toward the situation. Using your cognitive control is something that happens every day, even without you realizing it.  

Image 2: Should I stay or should I go?

Next is behavioral control. Behavioral control is the ability to physically change the environment around you. Every person reacts to situations and environments differently. Personally, I prefer study rooms that are not very crowded, so when I walk into a crowded study room in the library, I immediately turn around and leave. This is an example of me exercising my behavioral control because I decided to seek out a less crowded area to work. This is only one of many ways people can use behavioral control in their daily lives. 

Image 3: Crowded room sketched by me

Last is decisional control. Decisional control is the ability to choose your response to a situation. One example of decisional control in action is choosing where to sit in a café. When you enter a café where do you like to sit? Do you sit close to the door? Near the counter? Are you facing the door or facing away from it? Many factors can influence your decision on where you sit like personality and mood. How you are feeling that day may determine if you want to be left alone or seek out company.  

Image 4: Pictures taken by me at a café

Design can directly influence our cognitive, behavioral, and decisional control. For example, a space that is interesting will influence us more than a boring space. When you walk into a space that has something architecturally interesting, you are more likely to notice it and walk over to it. Now that you know what control theory is and how it relates to design, do you think you can spot it out in the real world?  

Source: (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2018, from https://www.iep.utm.edu/emotion/#SH4a