Affective judgment in spatial context: How places derive affective meaning from the surroundings

Why do we favor some places over others? Much is known about the intrinsic properties that make places appear good or bad. The present research investigates the complementary question: How places derive affective meaning from the surroundings. In six experiments we showed how the appraisal of target places changed when the surroundings contained a negatively valenced location. In accordance with a model of affective judgment in spatial context that combines the inclusion/exclusion model of assimilation and contrast and range theory, places were either negatively or positively affected. The specific effect depended on the negatively valenced location's gradient of influence and on the size of the chunk of environment people considered for their judgment. The results fill an important gap in the place appraisal literature. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.