Nature’s Contributions to Stress Recovery and Perceived Attention Restoration

Çiğdem Demir Çelebi, Büşra Şirin Ayva

Abstract


Nature and nature images are known for their regenerative properties after stress and disintegration. When the related researches are examined, it is seen that nature has cognitive, emotional, and psycho-physiological effects on stress and attention. However, no research on attention restoration has documented in the participants’ own words how they perceive nature as restorative and related their observations to theories of attention restoration and stress relief. This qualitative study in Turkey investigated the healing power of nature in recovery from stress and in attention restoration. The participants were 16 young adults from Marmara University, recruited by sampling through academic networks. Their comments could be classified under six themes that express the nature's contribution to stress recovery and to the perception of attention restoration. Findings showed that most of the participants preferred to be in the nature due to stressful and careful tiredness. 


Full Text:

PDF

References


Berman, M. G., Jonides, J., & Kaplan, S. (2008). The cognitive benefits of interacting with nature. Psychological Science, 19(12), 1207-1212.

Berto, R. (2014). The role of nature in coping with psycho-physiological stress: A literature review on restorativeness. Behavioral Sciences, 4, 394-409.

Creswell, W. J. (2007). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications Inc.

Daniel, R. (2014). The effects of the natural environment on attention restoration. (Master of Arts Dissertation, Appalachian State University, North Carolina). Received from: https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/asu/f/Daniel,%20Rebecca_2014_Thesis.pdf

Davis, J. (2004). Psychological benefits of nature experiences: an outline of research and theory. Received from http://ival.nl/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/PsychBenefitsofNature.pdf at 1st/10/2015.

Ekiz, D. (2003). Eğitimde araştırma yöntem ve metotlarına giriş. Ankara: Anı.

Felsten, G. (2009). Where to take a study break on the college campus: An attention restoration theory perspective. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29, 160-167.

Felsten, G. (2014). Personality predicts perceived potential for attention restoration of natural and urban scenes. Bilingual Journal of Environmental Psychology, 5(1), 37-57.

Goleman D., & Gurin J. (Eds.) (1989) Mindbody medicine (pp. 259-275). New York: Consumers Reports. Kaplan, R., & Kaplan, S. The experience of nature: A psychological perspective. New York: Cambridge University Press. (Republished by Ann Arbor, MI: Ulrich's, 1995.)

Hartig, T., Kaiser, F. G., & Bowler, P. A. (2001). Psychological restoration in nature as a positive motivation for ecological behavior. Environment and Behavior, 33(4), 590-607.

Hartig, T. (2007). Toward understanding the restorative environment as a health resource. In Open Space: People Space 2 conference. Edinburgh, Scotland.

Herzog, T. R., Black, A., Fountaine, K., & Knotts, D. (1997). Reflection and attentional recovery as distinctive benefits of restorative environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 17(2), 165e170.

Kaplan, S. (1995). The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15, 169-182.

Kaplan, S. (2001). Meditation, restoration and the management of mental fatigue. Journal of Environmental Psychology,15, 169-182.

Kaplan, S. (2004). Some hidden benefits of the urban forest. In C.C. Konijnendijk, J. Schipperijn and K. H. Hoyer (Eds.) Forestry serving urbanised societies. (Selected Papers from conference jointly organized by IUFRO, EFI and the Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning in Copenhagen, 27-30 August 2002).Vienna, Austria: IUFRO (IUFRO World Series Vol. 14). pp. 221-232.

Lester, S. (2009). An Introduction to Phenomenological Research. Taunton: Stan Lester Developments. http://www.sld.demon.co.uk/resmethy.pdf

Liprini, R. M. (2014). Students’ Perceptions of Green Space on a University Campus: An Attention Restoration Theory Perspective. Unpublished Master Thesis, University of Pretoria, Faculty of Humanities, South Africa.

Onur, B. (2008). GeliÅŸim psikolojisi. Ankara: Ä°mge.

Ozfidan, B., & Ugurlu, O. (2015). The Idea of Race and Racial Differences. Electronic International Journal of Education, Arts, and Science, 1(1), 85-98

Punch, K. F. (2005). Sosyal araştırmalara giriş. Ankara: Siyasal.

Ratcliffe, E., Gatersleben, B., & Sowden, P. T. (2013). Bird sounds and their contributions to perceived attention restoration and stress recovery. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 36, 221-228.

Simon, M. K., & Goes, J. (2013). Dissertation and scholarly research: Recipes for success. Lexington, KY: Dissertation Success, LLC.

Stack, K., & Shultis, J. (2013). Implications of Attention Restoration Theory for Leisure Planners and Managers. Leisure/Loisir, 37(1), 1-16.

Ulrich, R. S. (1979). Visual landscapes and psychological well-being. Landscape Research, 4(1), 17-23.

Ulrich, R. S., Simons, R. F., Losito, B. D., Fiorito, E., Miles, M. A., & Zelson, M. (1991). Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 11(3), 201-230.

Ulrich, R. S. and Parsons, R. (1992). Influences of passive experiences with plants on individual well-being and health. In D. Relf (Ed.), The role of horticulture in human well-being and social development (pp. 93-105). Portland, OR: Timber Press.

Yıldırım, A., & Şimşek, H. (2011). Sosyal bilimlerde nitel araştırma yöntemleri. Ankara: Seçkin.

Zhang, Y., & Wildemuth, B. M. (2009). Qualitative analysis of content. In B. Wildemuth (Ed.), Applications of Social Research Methods to Questions in Information and Library Science (pp.308-319). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2017 Electronic International Journal of Education, Arts, and Science (EIJEAS)

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.