Influence of Limitedly Visible Leafy Indoor Plants on the Psychology, Behavior, and Health of Students at a Junior High School in Taiwan

Abstract

There is growing evidence to support the notion that contact with nature is helpful for emotional states, attention, mental fatigue, behavior, and personal health. This study adopts a quasi-experimental approach to investigate the effects of limitedly visible indoor plants on students' psychology, physiology, and behavior and uses a control-series design covering one semester. Two classes of sophomores at a Taiwanese junior high school (eighth grade, N = 76), of which one served as the experimental group and the other as control, were surveyed once every 2 weeks. After six plants were placed at the back of the classroom, the experimental group had immediately and significantly stronger feelings of preference, comfort, and friendliness as compared to the control group. Also, the experimental group had significantly fewer hours of sick leave and punishment records due to misbehavior than the control group. In addition to the visual and psychological mechanisms that contributed to restoration, there may have been other factors at work.