Green Walls for a Restorative Classroom Environment:A Controlled Evaluation Study

In the present research, we evaluated the restorative impacts of green walls with living plants in classrooms of two elementary schools using a controlled, prospective design with baseline measurements and follow-ups at 2 and 4 months. At each time of measurement, children's (n = 170, age = 7-10) cognitive performance, well-being, and classroom evaluations were measured with attentional tests and self-report questionnaires. Results show that children in the four classrooms where a green wall was placed, as compared with children in control groups, scored better on a test for selective attention; processing speed was not affected by the green wall. The green wall also positively influenced children's classroom evaluations. There were no measurable effects of the green wall on children's self-reported well-being. The green walls were generally evaluated positively during the two follow-ups. These results provide some of the first empirical support for green walls as a means for restorative classroom design.</p

Greening a Geriatric Ward Reduces Functional Decline in Elderly Patients and is Positively Evaluated by Hospital Staff

This research examined whether greening of a geriatric ward may reduce the hospital-induced decline in the independent functioning of elderly patients as measured by changes from admission to discharge in the KATZ-ADL6 and physician assessments at discharge. Using a quasi-experimental design with 4 months of pre- and post-tests, the functional decline in a sample of 54 hospitalized geriatric patients was found to be lower after greening than before greening for both measures. Moreover, an evaluative survey among 15 staff members showed that they appreciated the greening, and believed it to support patient well-being

Stress reducing effects of real and artificial nature in a hospital waiting room

Objectives: This field study investigated the potential stress-reducing effects of exposure to real or artificial nature on patients in a hospital waiting room. Additionally, it was investigated whether perceived attractiveness of the room could explain these effects. Design: In this between-patients experimental design, patients were exposed to one of the following: real plants, posters of plants, or no nature (control). These conditions were alternately applied to two waiting rooms. Location: The location of this study was two waiting rooms at the Radiology Department of a Dutch hospital. Subjects: The subjects comprised 457 patients (60% female and 40% male) who were mostly scheduled for echocardiogram, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography scans, or nuclear research. Results: Patients exposed to real plants, as well as patients exposed to posters of plants, report lower levels of experienced stress compared to the control condition. Further analyses show that these small but significant effects of exposure to nature are partially mediated by the perceived attractiveness of the waiting room. Conclusions: Natural elements in hospital environments have the potential to reduce patients' feelings of stress. By increasing the attractiveness of the waiting room by adding either real plants or posters of plants, hospitals can create a pleasant atmosphere that positively influences patients' well-being

On Store Design and Affective Consumer Experience - Effects of color and store layout as a function of shopping goals

Although a considerable body of literature is available documenting effects of store design, understanding of how and when store design affects consumer responses is limited. In this paper, it is argued that effects of two important design variables (i.e., color and layout) vary with consumers’ shopping goals. After presenting a literature review highlighting the importance of arousal and spatial control in explaining effects of store design, an experimental study is reported in which color and store layout were manipulated in a clothing store. Findings indicate that whereas recreational shoppers are primarily affected by store color, and report positive affect in a high-arousing environment, task-oriented shoppers are mainly affected by store layout and benefit from spacious layout conditions. In terns of practical implications, these findings suggest that an improvement of store atmospherics from recreational shoppers’ point of view does not frustrate task-oriented shoppers. Reversely, a more spacious store layout is likely to reduce irritation, nervousness and distress among task-oriented shoppers, without taking away the fun for recreational shoppers

Mental imagery in dentistry: Phenomenology and role in dental anxiety

publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Mental imagery in dentistry: Phenomenology and role in dental anxiety journaltitle: Journal of Anxiety Disorders articlelink: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2018.06.009 content_type: article copyright: © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved