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Questions and Answers
Roger Ulrich laid the foundations for ______ in the 1983 article Aesthetic and Affective Response to Natural Environment.
SRT
According to Zajonc (1980), people's initial response towards an environment is one of generalized ______ (i.e. like, dislike).
affect
Initial positive affective responses come about when specific environmental features or ______ are present in the environment.
preferenda
Stress and/or mental fatigue are measured at (at least) three points in time: at the start of the experiment (Time 1), after the stress‐induction (Time 2), and after exposure to the natural or built environment (Time ______).
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Changes from Time 2 to Time 3 indicate the ______ effect of the environment.
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Affective measures investigate how individuals feel at a particular ______.
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Physiological measures in restorative environments research include ______ rate and blood pressure.
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Stressed individuals exposed to scenes dominated by natural content display more pronounced changes characteristic of ______ stress recovery.
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The Experimental Paradigm in Restorative Environments Research is discussed in BOX ______.
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According to Attention Restoration Theory, restoration involves slower, ______ mechanisms.
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Study Notes
Stress Recovery Theory (SRT)
- SRT was founded by Roger Ulrich in 1983, based on the work of Zajonc (1980).
- People's initial response to an environment is a generalized affect (like or dislike), occurring without conscious recognition or processing.
- Initial positive affective responses are triggered by specific environmental features or preferenda, such as:
- Natural content (e.g. vegetation)
- Structural features (e.g. complexity, symmetry)
- Depth/spatiality cues
- Even ground surface texture
- Deflected vista (e.g. a path bending away)
- Absence of threats
- These features provide a breather from stress, accompanied by liking and reduced levels of arousal and negative feelings.
Experimental Paradigm in Restorative Environments Research
- Healthy volunteers undergo a stress or fatigue induction treatment (e.g. watching a scary movie, performing mentally fatiguing tasks).
- They are then randomly exposed to real or simulated natural versus built environments.
- Stress and/or mental fatigue are measured at three points in time:
- Time 1: at the start of the experiment
- Time 2: after the stress induction
- Time 3: after exposure to the natural or built environment
- Changes from Time 1 to Time 2 indicate the effectiveness of the stress induction, while changes from Time 2 to Time 3 indicate the restorative effect of the environment.
Dependent Measures in Restorative Environments Research
- Three main categories of dependent measures are used:
- Affective measures (e.g. how happy/sad/stressed do you feel at this moment?)
- Cognitive measures (e.g. attention and memory tasks)
- Physiological measures (e.g. heart rate, blood pressure, skin conductance, cortisol levels)
Restorative Effects
- Exposure to natural environments has been found to have restorative effects, including:
- More positive mood changes
- Improved performance on attention tasks
- Pronounced changes characteristic of physiological stress recovery
- These effects have been found for various natural environments, including forests, rural scenery, waves on the beach, and golf courses.
Attention Restoration Theory (ART)
- ART emphasizes the importance of slower, cognitive mechanisms in restoration.
- ART was fully described by Rachel and Stephen Kaplan in 1989 in the book "The Experience of Nature".
- ART differs from SRT in that it considers restoration to be a slower, more cognitive process.
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Description
Explore the concept of Stress Recovery Theory, introduced by Roger Ulrich in 1983, and its relation to aesthetic and affective responses to natural environments. Learn how initial positive affective responses are influenced by specific environmental features. Discover the role of generalized affect and conscious recognition in shaping our responses.
