| The purpose of this study was to test cultural differences in preferences for and familiarity with selected American and Taiwanese landscapes. In addition, subjects were asked to rate their acceptance of various levels of human development in the natural environment. There were 189 American students in USA and 287 Taiwanese students in Taiwan who served as subjects. The psychophysical model of landscape quality assessment was employed in this study. Using color slides as stimuli, significant differences in landscape preferences were observed between these two groups for selected mountainscapes and waterscapes. The comparison of acceptable levels of development in natural settings suggested differences as well. Familiarity scores showed a modest but significant positive relationship with landscape preference ratings. This study corroborated the previous research results suggesting that different landscape perceptions are occurred with different cultural backgrounds. Moreover, subtle perception differences in landscape perceptions provide useful information for landscape design, planning and development. |
