The Mere Exposure Effect

There is a widely recognized phenomenon in psychology that humans simply seem to like the familiar (also known as the mere exposure effect) and that this is the reason why so many pets and owners have a striking resemblance. In much the same way I am sure that people create gardens that are a reflection of themselves. Whilst this might not always be totally reliable assertion, it is very likely to have an element of validity for a large proportion of us.

This then prompted me to wonder what my garden says about me, or if I do not exactly like the conclusions, what our garden says about us!

Consequently, I have asked a number of close friends what key words they think would best describe the of the garden. Each participant was asked to summarize the style of the garden in no more than 5 words, an attempt to get to the kernel of the matter. Of course, this is not exactly a scientific approach. For a start, the population being surveyed are all friends and are therefore unlikely to use descriptors which are too disparaging (if nothing else out of fear they will not be offered a G&T or ice cold beer next time they might visit). However, curiosity drove me to collate the results and see what might be inferred. After all the garden does consume a significant proportion of my time now that I am retired and it has had literally decades of refinements and modifications to create something that is perhaps an expression of who I am?

The Results:

The most frequently used word was tranquil/ serene, while steep and tiered were the next most popular descriptors.

Does this mean that my personality, as reflected in the garden is someone who is calm and serene? (Or given that there are several tiers is there an underlying split personality defect?). What is for certain others do not see my outdoor space in the same way that I do, and that in itself is rather interesting. I can appreciate why tranquility might be an impression that visitors might take away with them. After all whenever we have company, there is much more sitting, chatting and generally relaxing. This is diametrically apposed to the building, digging, weeding, pruning, planting and general maintenance that engages me for the vast majority of the time. (Although I do concede that when no-one is looking there is a goodly proportion of sitting down going on too!)

Interestingly, there was very little reference to the key words I would have chosen, naturalistic/ disheveled (always being a work in progress) and wildlife friendly. Although one respondent did reveal that she was very tempted to put "like owner unkempt......." but my word restriction did inhibit her from penning this more realistic response.

In summary, I would like to thank the friends who felt able to supply the feedback and I will reflect and feel heartened by the results. I would recommend the exercise.

But survey population beware........ "I can tell a lot about a person by what they choose to see in me" anon.

But please tell me I do not look like him!