Discussion about Housing Influences on Housing Choice

Question: Discuss about housing Influences on housing choice? Answer: The article "House as a Symbol of Self" by Cooper (1974) explores the Jungian psychology theory for examining people's perspectives and relationships to their homes. In her opinion, every house has two components- the interior and its facade. These two elements reflect the individual's psyche and how the individual wishes to present his symbol to the outside world. The author has shown a definite relationship between inner psychological self and house interiors. I agree with Cooper's article as she considers various housing perspectives such as a free-standing house, high-rise apartments and fortress as a symbol of self. It examines home as an archetypal experience as the expressions are through a language of symbols. The symbolic interpretation of home is presented as separate, private, unique and protected. Cooper states that 70 percent of the people in England, Australia and the United States have single-family houses. It may be argued that the psychic desires in people have a social and cultural pattern over housing. With an increase in income and socio-economic status of an individual, the house becomes a symbol of expressing self (Gieseking, 2013). Conclusively, the article made me think about housing from a differing perspective of sustainability in the attitudes. The houses can be referred as a symbol of stereotyped as people live in houses where they can reflect their socioeconomic status. I agree with Cooper's thinking of threat to self-image and unique personality. I feel that there is a lack of generalizability as the article stresses on sociology, psychology and design because of its readable style (Gieseking, 2013). References Cooper, C. (1974).The house as symbol of self. Stroudsberg, Pa.: Dowden, Hutchinson Ross. Gieseking, J. (2013).People, Place, and Space: A Reader. People, Place, and Space: A Reader: Routledge. Southworth, M., Cranz, G., Lindsay, G., Morhayim, L. (2012). People in the Design of Urban Places.Journal Of Urban Design,17(4), 461-465. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2012.720757