The need for and likelihood of psychological restoration as determinants of environmental preferences Terry Hartig Uppsala University Henk Staats Leiden University

A Common Finding Adults commonly express greater liking or preference for scenes dominated by natural features such as trees and water, compared to scenes of urban outdoor public settings.

Some Related Questions What lies behind a global preference judgement? How much of the variation in preference for different environments owes to differing restoration needs and restoration possibilities?

A General Research Question Do adults prefer natural scenes over scenes of urban outdoor public spaces because they show better possibilities for psychological restoration? If this is so, people who have a greater need for restoration should show a greater preference for natural versus urban scenes.

Unpacking Preference We first reframe environmental preference as preference for a behavior-in-the-environment. We then apply the expectancy-value model of attitudes toward behavior. Thus, preference is treated as an attitude toward a behavior in an environment.

Three Experiments: Common Features The participants differed in their need for restoration. They took a simulated ”walk” in a natural and/or an urban environment, using photographic slides. They stated how positive they thought it would be to walk in the environment for one hour. They rated the likelihood that attentional recovery and reflection would be outcomes of such a walk.

Experiments 1 & 2: Distinctive Features Our participants were Dutch university students. We varied the need for attentional restoration using a scenario method. We used scenes of Dutch forest and urban envíronments to simulate the walk. Each of our participants gave ratings for both environments.

Downtown Rotterdam

Dutch Forest Area

The Main Hypotheses The attitude toward walking for one hour in the forest will be more positive than the attitude toward walking for one hour in the city. The difference in attitude toward walking in the forest versus the city will be greater given attentional fatigue.

Experiment 1. Attitude toward walking in the given environment as a function of the level of attentional fatigue A higher score indicates a more positive attitude Staats, H., Kieviet, A., & Hartig, T. (2003). Where to recover from attentional fatigue: An expectancy-value analysis of environmental preference. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 23,

Experiment 1. Expected likelihood of attentional recovery and reflection as a function of the environment available for walking A higher score indicates greater expected likelihood.

Experiment 2. Attitude toward walking in the given environment as a function of the level of attentional fatigue Staats, H., & Hartig, T. (2004). Alone or with a friend: A social context for psychological restoration and environmental preferences. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24,

Experiment 2. Expected likelihood of attentional recovery and reflection as a function of the environment available for walking A higher score indicates greater expected likelihood.

Experiment 3: Distinctive Features Our participants were Swedish university students. We established different restoration needs with a lecture manipulation. We used scenes of Swedish forest and urban envíronments to simulate the walk. Each of our participants gave ratings for only one environment.

Experiment 3. Attitude toward walking in the given environment as a function of the level of attentional fatigue A higher score indicates a more positive attitude

Experiment 3. Expected likelihood of attentional recovery and reflection as a function of the environment available for walking A higher score indicates greater expected likelihood.

Conclusions In each of three experiments, we found a more positive attitude toward walking for one hour in a forest compared to a familiar urban area. This difference was substantially larger among those who had a greater need for restoration. This pattern of attitudes relates to the greater likelihood of restoration in the forest.

Evaluation of restoration motives as a function of antecedent condition A higher score indicates a more positive evaluation.