When the going gets tough, will nature get you going? : the effect of water, natural and urban landscapes on cognitive control

Abstract

According to attention restoration theory (ART), nature provides soft fascination that attracts indirect attention. This allows direct attention, referred to as cognitive control, to rest and be restored. The theory has empirical support, but the field has not come far in untangling the effects of different restorative elements in nature and the effect on cognitive control in particular. The main objective in this study is as follows (1): What are the effects on cognitive control of viewing photos of natural landscapes with water, natural landscapes without water and urban landscapes? The secondary objective in this study is as follows (2): To what degree are the tested landscapes preferred and how does this relate to the effect on cognitive control? The study is a controlled, randomized experiment carried out by the author as an independent research project with 90 participants doing the ANT (pretest) followed by viewing photosets of natural landscapes with water, natural landscapes without water or urban landscapes, and then the ANT as the posttest followed by a questionnaire with questions, among others, of preference. By utilizing preference research in the design of a study of restorative effects, the study contributes to untangling different potentially restorative elements in natural landscapes in a new way. The study challenges the dominant dichotomy by showing that with a fairer comparison between urban and nature than has been done earlier, with balanced weather, photo quality, contrast, brightness and the amount of sunlight between the photo series of natural and urban environments, there are no significant differences between the groups in terms of the effect on cognitive control. Hence, the study does not support ART. The study confirms previous findings of higher preference for natural landscapes but showed no clear relationship between this preference and cognitive control.