Robert Sommer
American psychologist (1929–2021)
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ToursExplore Lably’s 3D tours"[Man] will adapt to hydrocarbons in the air, detergents in the water, crime in the streets, and crowded recreational areas. Good design becomes a meaningless tautology if we consider that man will be reshaped to fit whatever environment he creates. The long-range question is not so much what sort of environment we want, but what sort of man we want." ~ Robert Sommer
Life and career
Robert Sommer was born in New York City. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in 1956 and after teaching in Sweden and the University of Alberta, he arrived at the University of California, Davis in 1963. At Davis, he chaired four departments: Psychology (1964–70); Environmental Design (1991-1994), Rhetoric & Communication (1994–95), and Art (1997-2000) and was a Distinguished Professor of Psychology Emeritus (since 2003). Though he may be best known for his book Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design, first published in 1969, he has written 14 other books and more than 600 publications on a variety of subjects. His writings on environmental psychology include research in mental hospitals, libraries, classrooms, and living spaces. Sommer also has written a number of articles and a book on mushrooms, and other nontechnical subjects and his work has appeared in the journal Worm Runner's Digest, which publishes scientific papers alongside satirical articles.
Sommer's consulting work included the design of bicycle paths, residence halls, geriatric housing, airports, offices, prisons, farmers' markets, and other facilities. He designed the board game Blacks & Whites in 1970 together with Judy Tart, as part of a project commissioned by Psychology Today. He also received a number of awards including: City-University Research Award, City of Davis; Research Award, California Alliance for the Mentally Ill; Career Research Award, Environmental Design Research Association; Kurt Lewin Award, Division 9 APA; Fulbright Award to Estonia, USSR; President-Elect 1998–1999, President 1999–2000, APA Div. 34, Doctorem Honoris Causa, Tallinn Pedagogical University.
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Thought
Sommer was influenced by his studies on environmental psychology with Dr. Humphry Osmond, a psychiatrist who researched hallucinogens. Osmond coined the term psychedelic and also worked in mental hospitals researching social environments and how they affect recovery.
Some scholars see Environmental Psychology as strictly a sub-discipline of Psychology or Social Psychology; others see it as an entirely interdisciplinary study. Sommer viewed Environmental Psychology as both a sub-discipline within the behavioral sciences as well as an interdisciplinary study that involves a variety of disciplines and professions. His view of the discipline is reflected in his writing style; he communicates his ideas without technical, psychological jargon. Though his book, Personal Space, was not specifically written for people outside the field of Environmental Psychology, it is highly readable and thus, accessible to those designers or architects who may actually have the ability to influence building design.