Permeability theory and Palace Athena

Permeability theory suggests that safety in environments depends on how far and how easily one can perceive or move through environments. Parts of environments that limit perception or retard locomotion elicit impressions of being enclosed, so properties of environments that influence perceived enclosure are important in permeability theory. One prediction of permeability theory is that the more permeable the boundary, the less enclosed the region within that boundary will seem to be. Another prediction is that boundary depth will have little influence on perceived enclosure. These predictions were tested in the venue of Greek temples. 30 participants were tested (14 men, 16 women; M age = 40 yr.), who rated perceived enclosure for 18 stimuli. The stimuli were constructed using a virtual scene from the Tholos in Delphi with the positions of the columns forming the boundaries. The boundaries were designed to have different levels of permeability and depth. Data were analyzed in terms of effect sizes and focused comparisons. Results indicated that perceived enclosure was most strongly influenced by the visual permeability of the boundary, while depth of boundary had a much smaller effect on perceived enclosure.