Staff and residents of settings for the aged often hold substantially different views of their shared environment, and the literature suggests that these perceptual discrepancies transcend such factors as degree of institutional totality, quality of care, and differences in personal characteristics among staff and residents. Despite the pervasiveness of staff-resident perceptual discrepancies, there has been virtually no effort toward understanding either their theoretical or applied significance. From a review of the literature on staff-resident perceptual discrepancies in long-term care settings several conclusions emerge. First, it appears evident that status as either staff or resident is more predictive of environmental perceptions than are other relevant personal characteristics, except for, perhaps, age of residents. Secondly, staff-resident perceptual discrepancies appear to become more pronounced as one shifts from concrete dimensions, such as the physical or organizational characteristics of environments, to more abstract dimensions such as emotionality or degree of resident control. There is also a dearth of information regarding the consequences and behavioral correlates of staff-resident perceptual discrepancies. Finally, the bulk of the research in this area has been descriptive and atheoretical in nature. Further understanding of the implications of this perceptual incongruence will be restricted until adequate theoretical models are developed. (ABL)