Currently Ongoing Research
The research on how design can impact human emotions is ongoing. We bring you information about some of the most exciting studies currently in process.
Seeking Collaborators and
Financial Support:
Biometric Measures of Stress in Trauma-informed Designed versus Conventional Spaces
​We are actively seeking scientific collaborators and funding that will allow us to engage in an entirely new kind of study to empirically demonstrate the connection between the physical environment and a person’s stress levels. Our plan is to measure participants’ physiological responses as they are immersed in various environments through virtual reality, using biometric measures such as:
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Heart rate variability (HRV);
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Electrodermal activity (EDA); and
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Eye-tracking.
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We expect to see indicators of stress when exposed to conventional medical waiting rooms, classrooms, workplaces, and transitional housing environments that are not present in trauma-informed designed spaces used for the same purposes.
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The current team brings the Trauma-informed Design Framework, architectural research question, environmental-design expertise, VR experience, and a pathway to practice; scientific collaborators could strengthen the experimental methodology, research infrastructure, and eventual validation of the protocol. Implementation will also require funding and/or in-kind institutional support for study development, equipment access, participant recruitment, and data acquisition and analysis. A successful collaboration could establish a rigorous and transferable methodology while creating a foundation for joint funding, large r-sample testing, multi-site validation, and eventual implementation across healthcare, housing, education, community, and other everyday environments.
For more details about the planned study and collaboration opportunities, please click on the image to the right to expand the poster.
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If you are interested in collaborating with us on this groundbreaking study, please contact us at info@tidsociety.com.
Current Projects
Trauma-informed Design Society’s TiDEvalK12
This assessment tool was created through research performed by the Trauma-informed Design Society, with assistance from over 100 participating educators and designers. It can be used to evaluate schools and identify changes in the physical environment that can lower the stress levels of students and staff.
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Next steps include the creation of a tool kit with design ideas that can address areas of concern identified by the TiDEvalK12 and, hopefully, a longitudinal study to show its effectiveness. We are currently seeking architectural and educational partners interested in engaging in this type of study.
Development of a Design Evaluation Tool for Higher Education Campuses
We thrilled to announce an exciting collaboration with Wrexham University (WU) to pioneer the development of a Trauma-informed Design evaluation tool tailored for higher education campuses.
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In extending our research to higher education, the research team, will survey students and staff to identify areas where students and staff are most often dysregulated and potential triggers on WU campuses. This data, combined with a
detailed design assessment, will inform the creation of a tailored Trauma-informed Design Evaluation Tool for Higher Education Campuses.