Environmental Psychology Research Research Articles

Harnessing the therapeutic effects of nature for chronic Pain: A role for immersive virtual reality? A narrative review.

There is a growing interest in the relationship between nature and pain relief. Evidence from environmental psychology, neuroscience and physiology-based studies point towards analgesic effects of nature being mediated through various cognitive, affective and/or autonomic factors. Being able to harness these therapeutic effects using immersive virtual reality (VR) could help to optimize and improve accessibility of nature-based environments as part of chronic pain management plans. In this narrative review, we present evidence supporting a new theoretical framework for nature-based analgesia and suggest ways for applying this through immersive VR. We provide an overview of the evidence on (1) the therapeutic effects of nature on pain, (2) environmental psychology theory that underpins the health benefits of nature, (3) key mechanistic evidence from nature neuroimaging and physiology-based studies, (4) previous studies that have used VR-based nature in pain research and (5) how to design effective VR interventions that can be used to integrate nature into immersive 360 environments. We have demonstrated how environmental psychology, neuroscience and physiology-based research can be used to form a novel theoretical framework for nature-based analgesia. Using this framework, we identify how key aspects of nature can act as analgesic and how this can be harnessed using immersive VR. Through developing this theoretical framework, we have provided a foundation on which to guide future experimental and clinical studies as well as helping to improve the accessibility of nature for chronic pain patients through immersive VR technologies. This review article summarizes key multidisciplinary evidence to help understand how nature exerts beneficial effects on pain processing. The use of this theoretical framework alongside advances in immersive VR technologies provides a springboard for future research and can be used to help develop new nature-based therapeutics using VR.

Ecotourism design affordances, identity, and intelligence: how does it influence tourist pro-environmental behaviour?

ABSTRACT This study explores the link between perceived ecotourism design affordances, environmental identity, sustainable intelligence, and pro-environmental behaviour among ecotourists. Through quantitative research design with purposive sampling, the study analysed 239 responses using Partial-least Square-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The study found that dimensions of functional/aesthetic and social/symbolic affordance significantly influence environmental identity. The social/symbolic construct is subsequently found to contribute significantly to sustainable intelligence and later shapes pro-environmental behaviour. The study also validates that environmental identity mediates the functional/aesthetic and social/symbolic relationship with sustainable intelligence. These results contribute to refining theoretical models and provide a more robust foundation for future research in environmental psychology and sustainable behaviour. The study’s originality lies in its multifaceted exploration of ecotourism affordance dimensions and their interconnectedness, shedding light on the dynamics that underlie the formation of environmental identity, sustainable intelligence, and subsequent pro-environmental behaviour.

Leveraging and exercising caution with ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence tools in environmental psychology research.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) is an emerging and disruptive technology that has attracted considerable interest from researchers and educators across various disciplines. We discuss the relevance and concerns of ChatGPT and other GAI tools in environmental psychology research. We propose three use categories for GAI tools: integrated and contextualized understanding, practical and flexible implementation, and two-way external communication. These categories are exemplified by topics such as the health benefits of green space, theory building, visual simulation, and identifying practical relevance. However, we also highlight the balance of productivity with ethical issues, as well as the need for ethical guidelines, professional training, and changes in the academic performance evaluation systems. We hope this perspective can foster constructive dialogue and responsible practice of GAI tools.

Reducing the cognitive abstractness of climate change through an “engineering fiction” learning experience: A natural language processing study

The lackluster societal response to the climate crisis is partially attributed to the abstractness of people's mental construals of climate change given its vast spatial and temporal dimensions, which fail to evoke urgency to act. Prior efforts to measure mental construal levels of climate change are inconsistent, insufficient, and labor-intensive. This study developed and implemented learning experiences for integrating engineering design and climate fiction writing to engage 48 high school students in concrete climate change thinking. A novel measure of cognitive abstractness overcomes previous methodological shortcomings by automatically quantifying the linguistic abstractness of participant-authored stories using natural language processing. Comparing participant stories written at the beginning and end of the intervention reveals a significant decrease in linguistic abstractness (Cohen's d = 1.01, p = 0.03). This study contributes to the nascent movement for greater use of narratives as data sources in environmental psychology research, which may uncover new insights into human behavior and decision making.

My home-my castle? Self-reported anxiety varies in relation to the subjective evaluation of home environment.

Although people spend most of the day in their home environment, the focus of research in environmental psychology to date has been on factors outside the home. However, it stands to reason that indoor quality likewise has an impact on psychological well-being. Therefore, the present study addresses the question of whether the subjective evaluation of home environmental parameters are related to self-reported anxiety and whether they can additionally explain variance beyond the usual sociodemographic and general lifestyle variables. Data from the Hamburg City Health Study (first 10,000 participants) was analyzed. A subsample of N = 8,886 with available GAD-7 anxiety data was selected, and hierarchical regression models were computed, with demographic data entered first, followed by variables concerning lifestyle/habits and finally variables of the subjective evaluation of home environment. Using the integrated model, we were able to explain about 13% of the variance in self-reported anxiety scores. This included both the demographic, lifestyle, and subjective evaluation of home environment variables. Protection from disturbing night lights, a greater sense of security, less disturbing noises, brighter accommodations, and a satisfactory window view explained almost 6% of the variance and was significantly associated with lower anxiety scores. The home as a place of refuge plays an increasingly important role as home office hours rise. It is therefore crucial to identify domestic factors contributing to people's mental well-being. The subjective evaluation of one's home environment has proven influential over and above modifiable lifestyle variables.

Uncovering the connection between ceiling height and emotional reactions in art galleries with editable 360-degree VR panoramic scenes.

This study investigates the relationship between ceiling height and emotional responses in art galleries, using editable 360-degree VR panoramic scenes. Prior research has explored the influence of spatial dimensions on general emotions, but the specific impact of ceiling height in art gallery settings, particularly on discrete emotions, remains understudied. The study utilized 360-degree panoramic photo scene modeling to modify ceiling heights within virtual art galleries, assessing emotional responses through self-report measures. Participants were presented with virtual art gallery environments featuring varying ceiling heights. Two studies were conducted: Study 1 involved absolute emotion rating across different ceiling heights, and Study 2 focused on selecting ceiling heights based on assigned emotions. The data revealed that ceiling height significantly impacts specific emotions, notably disgust and joy. Lower ceiling heights generally evoked higher levels of fear and anger, while higher ceiling heights were associated with increased joy. The impact on other emotions like sadness, surprise, and disgust was more nuanced and varied across different ceiling heights. The findings highlight a complex relationship between ceiling height and emotional responses in art galleries. The study demonstrates the efficacy of using editable 360-degree VR panoramic scenes in environmental psychology and architecture research, offering insights into how spatial dimensions influence emotional experiences in architectural settings.

Environmentally specific transformational leadership and employee green attitude and behavior: An affective events theory perspective

PurposeAlthough environmental psychology research acknowledges the strategic role of leadership in shaping employee green outcomes for environmental sustainability, little is known about the role of environmentally specific transformational leadership (ETFL). Drawing on affective events theory (AET) we examined the mediating role of harmonious environmental passion (HEP), and the moderating role of proactive personality (PP), on the relationship between ETFL and employee environmental commitment (ECC) and organizational citizenship behavior towards the environment (OCBE). Design/methodology/approachTime-lagged and multisource survey data were collected from 251 subordinate-supervisor dyads working in manufacturing companies. FindingsThe results indicate that HEP mediates the positive relationship between ETFL and ECC and OCBE. However, the combined effect of ETFL and PP on HEP was not significant. But the indirect effect of ETFL was conditional on levels of PP. Originality/valueOur study provides theoretical and practical insights by investigating the underlying mechanism of HEP in the relationship between ETFL and employee green outcomes. Importantly, our findings illuminate role of proactivity among employees’ personality in these relationships.

The Attributes of Biophilic Design (Educational Buildings Case Study)

Three decades of empirical research have proven that well-being in humans is stimulated by designs that link people to natural elements and landscapes. Environmental psychology research also revealed that these characteristics can lower stress and anxiety while having a positive impact on human productivity. therefore, there were more recent interest from theorists and architects to discover approaches to re-connect the constructed environment with the natural components. One of the most current theories of re-communication and its use in architecture is called "biophilia.". Therefore, the research problem is the lack of knowledge of biophilic architecture and what are the most prominent features affecting the user. the research aims to shed light on the basics of this design theory as well as testing its design patters in the educational environment to find out which attributes are most effective for users in improving productivity and well-being By adopting the quantitative descriptive approach and based on a questionnaire for the purpose of adopting it in design and to aid in the practical application of the Biophilia idea by designers and architects. The research concluded that there are design features that are more important than others for educational buildings, such as (day light, water, air, plants, landscapes, mobility, integrating the parts to create the whole).

Understanding tourists’ eco-paralysis, environmental concern, and pro-environmental behavior: an explanatory sequential mixed methods study

This paper argues that developing practical interventions of responsible behavior requires a deeper understanding of different segments of tourists with different environmental and psychological dispositions. Dwelling on two socio-psychological theories of cognitive dissonance and the focus theory of normative conduct, 724 Chinese tourists are surveyed and segmented. Three segments namely eco-distressed, eco-pragmatic, and eco-calm are identified revealing different dispositions of eco-paralysis, environmental concern, and pro-environmental behaviors. Complemented by 37 interviews, we found that eco-paralysis does not necessarily mean inaction but helplessness and perceptions of feeling “small” in the face of “giant” climate change while overcoming numbness with small actions. This study suggests that the eco-paralysis of Chinese tourists is manifested at the cognitive-emotional level rather than at the behavioral level. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the varying degrees of cognitive dissonance among different tourists with each group displaying unique environmental concerns and behaviors. It, theoretically, highlights how social and injunctive norms such as government environmental advocacy and traditional virtues [“qinjian jieyue”] stimulate progressive actions despite feelings of powerlessness. Thus, it questions the prevalent interpretation in environmental psychological research that helplessness means inaction by revealing that tourists could still be environmentally proactive despite cognitive-emotional challenges from climate change.

Aversion to loss of place: The endowment effect for local facilities

Facility-decline is often met with community responses including protective behaviour. These reactions to place-change are preceded by the conscious and unconscious valuation of public places as communal assets and subsequent negative evaluation of closure. Previous studies show that closure of local facilities can be perceived as a loss to the community. However, a gap in place-based research in geography and environmental psychology is the lack of attention to psychological biases, such the endowment effect, that could influence in the perceived loss of facilities because people attach more value to something they are used to ‘having’. This paper uses insights from prospect theory as a reference point to theorise the socio-psychological process of dealing with place-change caused by the closure of local facilities. Analysis of a survey conducted in the Province of Fryslân, Netherlands, shows that positive subjective valuation of eight local facilities, as well as negative evaluation of closure, is influenced by the current availability and the social function of this facility in the neighbourhood. The results indicate that the endowment effect exists in the context of facility decline. This paper hopes to ignite a discussion, and to stimulate further research into the effect of psychological biases on place-based behaviour. Moreover, since previous studies show that a perceived sense of ownership and emotional and cognitive bonds can lead to endowment effects in other context, this study paves the way for research into the relationship between collective psychological ownership, place attachment, the endowment effect and overall aversion to loss of place.

Re-Thinking Spatial Design in Homes to Include Means and Access Restriction with Material Impacts as Passive Suicide Prevention Methods: A Systematic Review of Design for Australian Homes

This systematic review analyses research that introduces commercial design applications that could be adopted for suicide prevention in homes. Furthermore, this literature review captures social, spatial and biophilic design methods to improve wellness in homes using environmental design psychology. Safety and human wellness frame this spatial design research that examines means and access restriction to improve home safety and prevent suicides. Suicide is a growing phenomenon that deserves specific attention to how environments can impact or restrict events. There is a substantial evidence base to evaluate suicide prevention methods used in high-risk environments of health and healing environments, workplaces and incarceration facilities. This review outlines design methods using spatial arrangement and material choices to improve human wellness in homes. The effects of biochemical reactions, such as those studied in toxicology, and stress are considered in this research to suggest material choices and applications in design to improve mental health in homes. Spatial designs for suicide prevention can guide various prevention measures, such as adopting means and access restriction and environmental design methods for wellness and considering impacts during lockdown periods. Environmental design psychology research supplies evidence for improved spatial arrangements in homes, with evidence showing that design applications can restore and improve mental health. This systematic review shows evidence for planning methods to prevent suicides considering both means and access restriction with considerable biochemical impacts from design. Design methods discovered by this systematic review will be considered for future studies and used within economic modelling to demonstrate design guidelines that improve wellbeing and support existing suicide prevention methods for Australian homes.

Design by nature: The influence of windows on cognitive performance and affect

A body of environmental psychology research has demonstrated that the inclusion of natural elements within the built environment, known as biophilic design, can result in improvements in cognition and affect. The current study used two experimental within-subjects studies and virtual reality to examine the impact of window views of nature on affect and cognitive functioning. The first experiment compared the effect of office environments, with either no window or a window view of nature (i.e., trees, blue sky), on performance in commonly used cognitive tasks measuring tonic alertness (i.e. sustained attention), cognitive flexibility, and creativity. The second experiment extended the range of measures, assessing effects of the window with nature-views on phasic alertness, executive attention (i.e. working memory), and self-reported affect. The second study further introduced an additional condition that contained a window with shutters, which allowed for daylight infiltration, while blocking the view of nature. Paired samples t-test analysis revealed that the nature-view condition had a significant positive effect on creative fluency (i.e. quantity of output) but not on the quality of creative responses. Moreover, a Multivariate Analysis of Variance indicated that nature-views significantly enhanced positive affect and reduced negative affect. In contrast, no significant effect of the environment was observed for tonic and phasic alertness, and executive attention (i.e. working memory). These results indicate that affect, and specific cognitive processes, are restored by incorporating biophilic elements into architectural design.

Linking environmental psychology and critical social psychology: Theoretical considerations toward a comprehensive research agenda.

In order to foster pro-environmental behavior in the midst of a global ecological crisis, current research in environmental psychology is often limited to individual-related factors and theories about conscious processing. However, in recent years, we observe a certain discontentment with the limitations of this approach within the community as well as increasing efforts toward broadening the scope (e.g., promotions of collective and social identity processes). In our work, we aim for a closer investigation of the relations between individuals, societal factors, and pro-environmental actions while considering the role of the unconscious. We hereby draw on the work of critical social psychology (CSP). From a life course perspective, we emphasize the important role of socialization, institutional and cultural contexts for mindsets and related perceptions, decisions and actions. This link between the individual and the society enables us to understand biographical trajectories and related ideologies dominant within a society. We seek to show that the approach of CSP is helpful for understanding why efforts of establishing pro-environmental actions on a large scale are still failing. In this article, we discuss the theoretical links between environmental psychology and CSP as well as possible implications, paving the way for a comprehensive future research agenda.

Measuring pro-environmental orientation: Testing and building scales

A pro-environmental orientation is theorized to be an important predictor of public and private pro-environmental behavior. As such, measuring pro-environmental orientation is an important component in environmental psychology and politics research. In this paper, we assess two well-established scales, the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) and the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS), on how well they measure the underlying construct of pro-environmental orientation. The items of these scales offer strong face validity, but mainly from a politically left tradition, which may reduce validity among political conservatives. Previous attempts at scale validation have mostly focused on predictive validity with pro-environmental behavior and have not tested how the items measure the latent construct itself. Additionally, we present a novel measure of environmental orientation using diverse moral language to avoid ideological framing: the Moral Environmentalism Scale (MES). The MES is validated here using MTurk workers (n = 448), and a more representative sample from Survey Sampling International (n = 499). In these validation studies, the MES moderated the relationship between party identification and behavior while CNS and NEP did not. Item-level analyses of the MES scale using two measurement periods revealed robust item characteristics. Seen together, all three scales offer a more complete picture of pro-environmental orientation measurement validity and inform scale selection for future research. All study materials, data, and analysis code are available at https://osf.io/d4ume/?view_only=05d5cfb5a76a4f11b339290913da96f6.

Exploring the effects of spatial distance on public perception of waste-to-energy incineration projects

The spatial distance of residents from potentially harmful facilities plays a vital role in shaping their perceptions of the facilities. Based on environmental psychology theories, such as the ripple effect, psychological typhoon eye effect, and marginal zone effect, two waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration plants in China’s Zhejiang province are used as case studies to understand peoples’ perceptions. Following a questionnaire survey of local residents, the results of a one-way ANOVA indicate a low acceptance of incinerators and a high level of perceived risk; the impact of spatial distance on the local residents’ level of perceived risk correspond to the marginal zone effect; and the perception of economic benefits, trust, fairness, and acceptance of WTE incinerators have a ripple effect. Furthermore, the impact of spatial distance is effectively eliminated or alleviated by a range of community engagement approvals and various forms of economic compensation. These findings enrich the knowledge system related to environmental psychology research on NIMBY infrastructure projects and contribute toward better understanding of public psychology in order to provide a future reference for more efficient decision-making models.

Towards Developing Criteria to Evaluate the Functional Performance Efficiency of Learning Spaces

The spatial and geometric design of learning spaces plays an important role in transmitting the dynamics of learning. Recently, there has been a major milestone in effective teaching and learning methods (modern pedagogical approaches) that aim to shift students away from the traditional learning process towards collaborative, problem-oriented and independent learning. These changes required a new generation of learning spaces with different strategies and methods to adapt to these changes. This research problem lies in the huge gap between modern pedagogical methods and the spatial and geometric configuration of different learning spaces that do not meet the requirements of these methods. This article examines the impact of designing different learning spaces on learner-centred teaching and learning by understanding the interrelationships between research in architecture, learning sciences, and environmental psychology in order to achieve effective learning. As a result of the research, a set of criteria for evaluating the functional effectiveness of the research areas under consideration was developed.

A meaningful reminder on sustainability: When explicit and implicit packaging cues meet

Sustainable packaging innovations are becoming increasingly available in the marketplace. However, their communication to consumers remains a challenging task, as neither their distinctiveness nor their higher sustainability level is recognized. Contributing to research in environmental psychology, the current work conceptualized and tested the new concept of Meaningful Reminder as a strategy to communicate such distinctiveness and higher sustainability. To understand how a meaningful reminder can be created and used, this research investigated how eco explicit (logos, labels and statements) and implicit packaging design cues (auditory, tactile and visual elements) combine and interact and how such a combination can be used to the advantage of sustainability, to increase sustainability salience, perception and sustainable disposal behavior of the packaging and its content. Across three lab studies and different measures (lexical decision task, thought listing task, self-reported scales and observations of consumers’ disposal behavior), we identify the conditions under which combining explicit and implicit cues can be counterproductive, not leading to any increase or even a decrease in sustainability salience and perception. However, under different conditions, we show how sustainability salience, perception of packaging sustainability and even consumer sustainable disposal behaviour can be positively affected.

Architectural Wayfinding Design as a Means of Communication in Environmental Perception

From prehistoric times, Signage was a means of visual communication helping people reaching out different environments (internal or external). Long before paper’s invention, humans made marks on objects, such as cave walls, in the surrounding environment, for their communication. As cities grew and mobility increased, making the built environment more complex, people requirements for better information concerning spatial perception and navigation, also grew. Thus, the necessity of proactive, systematically planned, visual unified signage and wayfinding programs have been emerged. Wayfinding is how people get from one location to another, including their information-gathering and decision-making processes for orientation and movement through space. Wayfinding design builds on research in cognition and environmental psychology to design built spaces and products that facilitate the movement of people through urban settings and individual buildings. Despite its demonstrated importance to building use, costs, and safety, wayfinding receives less than its due in planning, research and building evaluation. The aim of this study is to provide a “clear” reading of the environmental space and city’s routes to the users, through architectural wayfindig design. Also, architectural wayfinding design addresses built components, including spatial planning, articulation of form-giving features, circulation systems and environmental communication.

11.P. Skills building seminar: Co-design workshop on reducing institutionalisation in mental health facilities by everyday objects

Abstract Psychiatric facilities tend to resemble highly institutional settings in which patients experience a severe loss of control in impersonal and sterile built environments. Design features such as everyday objects offer the potential to be psychosocially beneficial by strengthening patients' internal locus of control and increasing their well-being. Building on material priming and consumer psychology research, this workshop aims at ideating concepts to increase domesticity in psychiatric wards and allow higher levels of control and individualisation in patients. Using co-creation methods, participants will transfer concepts from non-clinical settings to the complex and challenging context of mental health. Three seven-minutes-presentations introduce the topic in a transdisciplinary manner - medical architecture, environmental psychology and design research. Then, during a subsequent role playing co-creation workshop, participants will take either the role of a patient or a member of the hospital management. “Patients” will be asked to leave for a couple of minutes to explore their surroundings and return, bringing with them and presenting to the rest of the participants an object from their domestic surroundings that they find valuable to equip a psychiatric patient room. During their absence, “Members of hospital management” will assume more detailed roles (for example somebody might wish to be the infection control person, some other the clinical director etc) and then through a role playing process, they will be asked to evaluate these objects in terms of safety, therapeutic risks and other aspects that they consider important. Eventually, both parties –the “patients” and the “representatives of the institutions” aim at finding consent on overall criteria and examples for everyday objects that represent valorisation and domesticity and at the same time are appropriate to use in psychiatric facilities. By setting up a list of criteria and ideating useful object categories, we aim at identifying potentials and risks concerning perceptions and connotations of certain objects in relation to mental disorders. The workshop will be a highly interactive session to elaborate the topic of stigma and objects in mental health. Participants will gain knowledge on the state of the art and insights to set up similar co-design consultations in their trusts or - if they are designers - to use the structure for their client consultations. Focussing on co-creation, participants will benefit from both interacting with the researchers and other attendees. This exercise will be highly valuable for the participants to acquire soft skills in participatory design easily applicable in facilities and estates as well as capital projects in mental healthcare providers. Learnings and variations of this exercise could be also applicable in settings of long term care such as care homes, facilities for autisms and even coercive environments. Key messages This workshop aims at understanding how the built environment and daily objects communicate valorisation vs. institutionalisation in psychiatric wards. By taking the role of patients or hospital managers, participants are encouraged to train empathy and experience co-creational elements to foster innovation and need-oriented design concepts.

The Physical Learning Environment of Online Distance Learners in Higher Education - A Conceptual Model.

Online distance learning is offered not only in post-secondary distance education institutions but in traditional universities as well. With advances in mobile and wireless technologies, completing academic studies anywhere anytime should become feasible. Research in distance education and online learning has focused on computer-mediated communication, instructional design, learner characteristics, educational technology, and learning outcomes. However, little attention has been given to where exactly learners do their learning and studying and how the physical and social aspects of the physical environment within which the online learner is physically embedded (e.g., the home) supports and constrains learning activities. In this paper, the author proposes a conceptual model for understanding the role that the physical environment plays in online distance learning in higher education, drawing on theories and research in environmental psychology, online learning, telework and mobile work, and higher education. Several gaps in research are identified, and suggestions for future research are proposed.