A neurological examination of gender differences in architectural perception

Abstract

As a significant variable related to individual differences, gender affects people’s attitudes and perceptions. The main concern of this study is to investigate the importance of gender in the architectural design process. To this end, it measures architectural perception using neuroscientific measurement tools such as fMRI and objectively examines how the brains of men and women respond to the built environment. A survey experiment was conducted to determine differences between the measurement of spatial features in men and women. The fMRI results showed a significant gender difference between the neural activation of the brain areas involved in architectural perception. In support of the brain imaging results, the survey experiment indicated that women perceive an architectural setting and its visual elements in greater detail than men. In contrast, men rate three-dimensional perception and mental visualization significantly better and pay more attention to it than women.

KEYWORDS:

• Neuroscience
• architectural stimuli
• brain areas
• brain activation
• gender
• perception
• fMRI

Acknowledgment

I would like to express my undying gratitude to all the volunteer participants who assisted me in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).