The theoretical approach offers hypotheses to explain phenomena of scenic quality. Neither approach, however, offers the landscape architect a precise tool for landscape assessment. The aesthetic approach neglects a theoretical basis concerning psychological aspects of perception and the observer, while the theoretical approach does not consider the design related elements of aesthetics. The purpose of this thesis is to integrate these approaches using the design related elements of aesthetics to operationally define four theoretical landscape dimensions from the research of Stephen Kaplan. These dimensions are complexity, mystery, coherence, and identifiability.
Complexity is the quantity of environmental information present in a landscape.
Mystery is an arrangement of landscape elements which suggests information but conceals it from view. Coherence is an arrangement of landscape elements which create a culturally unified composition. Identifiability is the presence of landscape elements or characteristics which make a landscape more easily read and understood. Ninety-six photographic slides were taken of the prairie region, varying the presence of each dimension in each landscape scene. These slides were rated on each dimension by a panel of experts made up of students in landscape architecture.