This study aims to contribute to the literature concerned with the examination of this relationship.Ī wide variety of research findings suggest that exposure to nature may have an impact on psychological functioning. Growing evidence suggests that these two trends may be linked, with decreased exposure to nature causing changes in psychological functioning (Bronzaft, 2002, Hartig et al., 2003, Kaplan, 1995, Kuo and Sullivan, 2001, Lederbogen et al., 2011, Lorenc et al., 2012, Stansfeld et al., 2000, Ulrich et al., 1991 for a review see Bratman, Hamilton, & Daily, 2012).Īs the world urbanizes and people spend less time in regular contact with natural environments, urban planners and other public policy decision-makers are turning to research in environmental psychology to help inform them of the relationship between exposure to nature and mental health (Beil and Hanes, 2013, Bell et al., 2001, Gifford et al., 2011, Hartig et al., 2014, Health Council of the Netherlands, 2004, Keniger et al., 2013, Parsons and Daniel, 2002, Spencer and Woolley, 2000, Taylor and Kuo, 2006, Van Dillen et al., 2012). Coincident with urbanization, there is also evidence of an increase in the worldwide prevalence of mental disorders (Patel et al., 2007, Whiteford et al., 2013). This unprecedented shift from rural to urban living is associated with a significant decrease in exposure to natural environments (Skár and Krogh, 2009, Turner et al., 2004). By 2050 this proportion is expected to exceed 70% (Heilig, 2012). Over half of humanity now lives in urban areas. Urbanization is progressing at a rapid rate around the globe. These findings further our understanding of the influence of relatively brief nature experiences on affect and cognition, and help to lay the foundation for future research on the mechanisms underlying these effects. This study extends previous research by demonstrating additional benefits of nature experience on affect and cognition through assessments of anxiety, rumination, and a complex measure of working memory (operation span task). Compared to the urban walk, the nature walk resulted in affective benefits (decreased anxiety, rumination, and negative affect, and preservation of positive affect) as well as cognitive benefits (increased working memory performance).
#Lpu e connect result 2015 series
Before and after their walk, participants completed a series of psychological assessments of affective and cognitive functioning. We randomly assigned sixty participants to a 50-min walk in either a natural or an urban environment in and around Stanford, California. This study investigated the impact of nature experience on affect and cognition.
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