Is there an effect of natural scenes and built scenes on mood?
Abstract
The kind of environment one is surrounded with is shown to effect a person’s mood and wellbeing. Our physical surroundings not only affect our mood but have a major impact on our coping abilities and psychological health. The effect of natural and built environment on mood was investigated using the PANAS questionnaire. 165 undergraduate psychology students from University of Westminster took part in the study. Participants were randomly allocated to condition. The results suggested that people who view natural scenes and are surrounded with a more natural environment have a higher positive affect score than people living in and viewing built environments.
Introduction
The link between wellbeing and environment is becoming a growing area of interest for psychologists (Mackerron & Mourato ,2013). Researchers have both observational and experimental evidence to show links between mental wellbeing and the surrounding environment (Mackerron & Mourato ,2013). According to University of Minnesota, our environment is always …show more content…
The evidence to prove the fact that natural environment has a positive effect on mental health and mood is continuously increasing (Bosch & Depledge, 2015). A recent brain imaging study showed that exposure to nature decreases rumination which makes a person less susceptible to developing depression (Bratman et al., 2015).
In a first of its kind, a study also suggested that by simply viewing scenes of nature prior to the stressor enhances the Autonomic Nervous System activity poststressor (Brown et al., 2013). A research also claims that even as little as five minutes spent viewing images of nature can boost mood and enhance self-esteem (Barton & Pretty,
Abstract
The kind of environment one is surrounded with is shown to effect a person’s mood and wellbeing. Our physical surroundings not only affect our mood but have a major impact on our coping abilities and psychological health. The effect of natural and built environment on mood was investigated using the PANAS questionnaire. 165 undergraduate psychology students from University of Westminster took part in the study. Participants were randomly allocated to condition. The results suggested that people who view natural scenes and are surrounded with a more natural environment have a higher positive affect score than people living in and viewing built environments.
Introduction
The link between wellbeing and environment is becoming a growing area of interest for psychologists (Mackerron & Mourato ,2013). Researchers have both observational and experimental evidence to show links between mental wellbeing and the surrounding environment (Mackerron & Mourato ,2013). According to University of Minnesota, our environment is always …show more content…
The evidence to prove the fact that natural environment has a positive effect on mental health and mood is continuously increasing (Bosch & Depledge, 2015). A recent brain imaging study showed that exposure to nature decreases rumination which makes a person less susceptible to developing depression (Bratman et al., 2015).
In a first of its kind, a study also suggested that by simply viewing scenes of nature prior to the stressor enhances the Autonomic Nervous System activity poststressor (Brown et al., 2013). A research also claims that even as little as five minutes spent viewing images of nature can boost mood and enhance self-esteem (Barton & Pretty,