Building Better Than We Know: Maintenance, Eye Movements, and Social Trust

Objective: To determine if remediating images of poorly maintained residential properties increases social trust and identify which aspects of the built environment participants attend to when making social decisions. Methods: Using a within-subject design and a multilevel approach to analysis, participant’s eye movements and attitudinal states were recorded as they were presented with a series of static images of residential properties. These residential properties were chosen from areas which are categorised as being among the most deprived according to the English Index of Multiple Deprivation. The images then had the salient aspects of physical disorder corrected using digital imaging software. The resulting experimental stimuli were presented in both ‘original/unmaintained’ and ‘manipulated/maintained’ conditions to each participant along with a question regarding social trust. Results: Images of residential properties in the maintained condition were associated with higher social trust scores (likelihood ratio test χ² (1) = 548.13, p < .001). Images of residential properties in the unmaintained condition were associated with longer dwell durations (likelihood ratio test χ² (1) = 329.46, p < .001). Conclusions: These findings suggest that the visual component of maintenance interventions may contribute to their effectiveness by shaping initial social trust perceptions.