A CROSS-CULTURAL EXAMINATION OF FAVORITE PLACES

Subjects from Senegal, Ireland, and the United States were asked (a) t o identify their favorite place and (b) to give the reason it was chos en. The purpose was to see whether people from different cultures shar e a preference for certain environmental forms or features, built or n atural, that could indicate the existence of cultural universals. The study found far more similarity in place preferences among the differe nt cultures than differences between them, with each country generatin g almost identical categories of favorite places. Overall, 38% of the subjects identified their own place, belongings, or family home, and 6 1% identified some part of the natural environment. As favorite places , built environments-particularly those offering social interaction, s uch as sports centers and places of entertainment-were more often ment ioned by those from Senegal. The reasons given for the choice of favor ite place fell into place-centered, person-centered, and interactive p erspectives.