THE RANGE AND THE STRUCTURE OF COGNITION OF THE LIVING ENVIRONMENT CONCEIVED BY LOCAL RESIDENTS

Abstract

The way through which people conceive images of their living condition is scrutinized in this paper in order to develop an evaluation method of the environment. To find the cognitive structure, the authors employ two kinds of association tests. The free association test is employed to show what aspect of the environment is of prime interest of local residents. The frequency of controlled association between words concerning living conditions is examined to uncover the cognitive structure of the environment. Cluster analysis methods and a directed graph representation are utilized for the analyses.