Lecture 8 Green spaces and health Flashcards
Biophilia Hypothesis
- Love (philos) for nature (bio)
- People feel an innate tendency to seek connections with nature and other forms of life
- People connect to nature they will get happier and healthier
Research done by Jolanda Maas (lecturer)
Results: green space and morbidity
Green space had a positive effect on (some): cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, mental disorders, neurological complaints, respiratory complaints, digestive complaints, miscellaneous diseases.
Attention Restoration Theory (ART)
Two types of attention:
- Directed attention (effortful)
- Involuntary attention (not effortful)
Prolonged use of directed attention diminishes capacity to ward off distractions -> directed attention fatigue -> irritability, difficulty concentrating
Restorative settings in the Attention Restoration Theory (ART)
- Being away: setting is physically or conceptually different from one’s usual environment
- Extent: a setting sufficiently rich and coherent that it engages the mind and promotes exploration
- Fascination (soft & hard): content or mental processes that engage attention effortlessly & allow you to rest your mind
- Compatibility: good fit between your inclinations and the kinds of activities supported by the setting
Conclusion Attention Restoration Theory (ART) in context to vitamine G
- Each of the four components (being away, extent, etc) can be found in any type of environment
- Combination of all four most common in natural environments
- Therefore the research on restorative environments has focused on natural environments
Stress reduction theory (SRT) (Ulrich, 1983)
- Non-harmful and survival promoting natural elements evoke an initial positive affective response (e.g. preference, positive emotions, less anxiety)
- Blocks negative thoughts and mood and helps reduce physiological activation and henceforth stress
What does the stress reduction theory (SRT) suggest?
It suggests that particular characteristics of the environment have an early-warning function for safety and survival:
- A level ground surface
- Considerable spatial openness
- Presence of pattern or structure
- Curving sight-lines
- Presence of water
Perception of these characteristics triggers positive emotional reactions
What are the differences between ART and SRT
Stress reduction theory (SRT) Attention restoration theory (ART)
- Importance of affective processes * Focus on cognitive stressors
- Influence of more affectively charged stressors * Role of attentional depletion
- Affective & psychophysiological measures. * Cognitive measures (e.g. concentration . tasks)
Perceptual Fluency Account (Joye & Van den Berg, 2011)
Natural environments are processed more fluently than urban settings –> difference in restorative potential
- Fractals / self similar patterns are everywhere in nature -> easier to process visual brain more
- Explanation stress-reducing capacity of nature: Fluently organised stimulus are associated with greater safety or familiarity
- Explanation of attention-restoring potential of nature: fluent stimuli are lower on cognitive resource demands-> more place for replenishing attentional resources
What is positive about green space according to the Perceptual Fluency Account?
- Explanation stress-reducing capacity of nature: Fluently organised stimulus are associated with greater safety or familiarity
- Explanation of attention-restoring potential of nature: fluent stimuli are lower on cognitive resource demands-> more place for replenishing attentional resources
Conditioned Restorative Theory (Egner, Sutterlin & Calogiuri, 2020)
Before Conditioning:
- Leisure -> restorative experience (unconditioned stimulus)
- Natural environment -> No restorative experience (unconditioned response)
Restorative conditioning
* Leisure + natural environment -> restorative experience
Conditioned restoration
* Natural environment (conditioned stimulus) -> restorative experience (conditioned response)
Stimulus generalization
* associated environmental cues (generalised conditioned stimulus) -> restorative experience (conditioned response)
Note Eva: In leisure time you go out to a green environment, therefore you associate a green environment with relaxing
Enhanced Immune Functioning (Kuo, 2014)
Time in, around nature -> Active ingredients -> physiological, psychological states / behaviors, conditions / immune function -> Health outcomes
See slide 46
Old Friends Hypothesis (Rook, 2014)
Humans must be exposed to symbiotic microbes during childhood in order for adaptive immunity to properly develop
??
Phytoncides and NK (natural killer) cells (Li, 2009)
NK cells are lymphocytes that are part of the innate immune system
Use of nature in mental health care
Psychiatric ward design
Add stress reducing design features:
- Reduction of crowding stress (e.g. single patient rooms)
- Reduction of environmental stress (e.g. noise reduction)
- Stress reducing positive distractions (e.g. garden, nature window, nature art, daylight exposure)
- Design for observation (e.g. communal spaces)
Leads to:
- Reduced patient stress –> Reduced Aggression
- Improved staff outcomes
