A practitioner's field guide to the behaviour settings method.

Area of Science:

• Ecological psychology
• Environmental psychology
• Behavioral science

Background:

• Roger Barker's behavior settings theory, established in the 1950s, offers a robust methodology for studying human behavior within its ecological context.
• While influential, Barker's methodological details for identifying, describing, and measuring behavior settings are primarily found in two seminal, but less accessible, books.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a contemporary, practical field guide for implementing Barker's behavior settings methodology.
• To offer researchers the tools and best practices to systematically describe and measure behavior in its ecological context.
• To illustrate the application of the behavior settings method with a recent observational study of an art gallery.

Main Methods:

• Systematic observation and data collection based on Roger Barker's original behavior settings theory.
• Defining the boundaries and characteristics of specific behavior settings.
• Contemporary application of the methodology in an art gallery setting.

Main Results:

• The article presents a replicable framework for applying behavior settings theory in twenty-first-century research.
• A case study demonstrates the practical identification and definition of a behavior setting within an art gallery environment.
• Best practices for implementing Barker's methodology are suggested for researchers.

Conclusions:

• The behavior settings method offers a valuable, yet underutilized, approach for ecological psychology research.
• This guide empowers researchers to apply Barker's methodology effectively for studying behavior in naturalistic settings.
• The expansion of behavior settings theory is crucial for understanding people, places, things, and communities.