Identity Symbolism in Housing

Abstract

Upper-middle-class homeowners were asked to rate themselves on an extensive set of bipolar personality and identity dimensions. Photographs were taken of the interior and exterior of each homeowner's dwelling and were developed into color slides. These slides were subsequently presented to subjects who were asked to rate the homeowner on the same set of personality and identity dimensions. Subjects were assigned to one of three conditions, interior, exterior, or combined, depending upon the type of information to which they were exposed. Subjects in all conditions were able to infer the homeowner's selfconcept to a significant degree, with subjects in the interior condition displaying the most accuracy. Results were interpreted in terms of a self-presentational model of housing choice.