The impact of urban environments and nature relatedness on directed attention restoration

Abstract

Research has identified that exposure to natural environments can improve cognitive performance through restoring fatigued directed attention. Although restoration likelihood has been mainly linked to natural environments, recent research has indicated that urban environments may have restorative potential. Restoration may also be influenced by individual factors such as nature relatedness. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a virtual environmental exposure intervention on the directed attention of participants with different levels of nature relatedness. Using a 2x2 factorial between within design, the present study measured the directed attention performance of participants using the Backward Digit Span task (BDS) before and after exposure to a six-minute natural outdoor environment video or urban café environment video. Nature relatedness was investigated using the Nature Relatedness Scale (NR-6). In contrast to previous research, the directed attention of participants who viewed the urban environment video was significantly improved compared to those who viewed the nature video, regardless of nature relatedness. The findings of this study suggest that, brief virtual exposure to an urban environment is effective in restoring fatigued directed attention. Additional studies are required to further investigate the potential benefits of virtual urban environment interventions in reducing negative affect.</p