The Role of Visitor’s Positive Emotions on Satisfaction and Loyalty with the Perception of Perceived Restorative Environment of Healing Garden

Abstract

Background and objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of visitors’positive emotions on satisfaction and loyalty with the perception of restorative environment of a healing garden created in an urban agriculture expo.Methods: The psychological indicators to the images of the healing garden were analyzed by the visitors’ demographic variables and the three factors of plant cultivation activity level: plant cultivation experience, plant preference, and plant-related event.Results: Between age groups and occupational groups, significant differences were found statistically. The Perceived Restorativeness Scale(PRS) showed significantly differences between age groups in repose, fascination and legibility. The Positive Affect & Negative Affect Schedule(PANAS) showed statistically significant differences between age groups in positive emotions. In addition, we investigated the correlation between the PANAS and the three factors of plant cultivation experience level, the four factors of the PRS, satisfaction and loyalty. The three factors of plant cultivation experience level, the four factors of the PRS, satisfaction and loyalty showed a positive correlation with positive emotions and were inversely correlated with negative emotions significantly. Multiple regression analysis with dummy variables was conducted to examine the effects of plant cultivation activity level, attention restoration, and the PANAS on healing garden visitors’ satisfaction and loyalty. As a result, among the four factors of the PRS, fascination and positive affectivity were significant variables that affect healing garden visitors’ satisfaction and loyalty.Conclusion: The results indicated that the higher the attention restoration of visitors due to the fascination of the healing garden and the higher their positive affectivity and the more they have plant-related memories, the higher their impact on healing garden visitors’ satisfaction and loyalty. Therefore, fascinating natural environments or greenery landscapes like healing gardens where people can contact plants would reduce negative emotions such as anger and sadness but to increase positive emotions such as pleasure, joy and satisfaction.Key words: fascination, legibility, PANAS, plant cultivation activity level, PRS