Symbolic Inferences and Typicality in Five Taste Cultures (houses)

Junmo Kang

Dissertation Abstract

For comfort, house design not only must support user activities but also serve as a medium of communication. Individuals use their houses as a medium to symbolize their identity--such things as social and socio-economic status, personality traits, and taste. To meet occupant aspiration, urban decision-makers can set policy based on symbolic meaning seen in design. This research examines these meanings. Research indicates both commonalities and individual differences in public responses to the environment in general and to house style meaning in particular. The differences may relate to culture, education, and/or experience. There is a reason to expect other differences. Few studies have compared the responses of various groups among the public. Gans (1974) has postulated five tastes groups--High culture, Upper-Middle culture, Lower-Middle culture, Lower culture, and Quasi-Folk Low culture--each with distinct socio-economic characteristics. He argues that these taste cultures have distinct values, attitudes, and preferences in objects. This study tested his theory in relation to design preferences. I investigated public inferences in relation to various styles of detached single-family houses in America. First, I derived ten perceptibly-relevant style categories. Then I tested (1) whether the public had shared meaning in relation to house-styles; (2) whether 'taste' groups exhibited differences in meaning attributed to styles; (3) what physical elements of various styles related to inferences; and (4) the relationships between goodness of an example and affective response. To derive styles, I had thirty students Q-sort 45 houses. Cluster analysis yielded ten styles. I then interviewed 150 people (thirty from each of five taste culture publics. Among other things, they were asked questions aimed to uncover the perceived desirability of the houses and the perceived status and friendliness of the residents.