Attention restoration theory

Attention restoration theory (ART) asserts that people
can concentrate better after spending time in nature, or
even looking at scenes of nature. Natural environments
abound with soft fascinations which a person can re-
ect upon in eortless attention, such as clouds mov-
ing across the sky, leaves rustling in a breeze or water
bubbling over rocks in a stream. The theory was devel-
oped by Rachel and Stephen Kaplan in the 1980s in their
book The experience of nature: A psychological perspec-
tive,[1][2][3] and has since been found by others to hold true
in medical outcomes as well as intellectual task attention,
as described below. Berman et al. discuss the foundation
of the attention restoration theory (ART). ART is based
on past research showing the separation of attention into
two components: involuntary attention, where attention
is captured by inherently intriguing or important stimuli,
and voluntary or directed attention, where attention is di-
rected by cognitive-control processes. [4]
of directed attention, people begin to suer directed at-
tention fatigue. They become distracted, irritable, im-
patient. They become less eective in performing their
tasks.
Attention may be restored by changing to a dierent
kind of task that uses dierent parts of the brain,[2][6] as
in the familiar idiom a change is as good as a rest. Alter-
natively, exposure to natural environments and wilderness
has psychological benets including attention restoration.
Nature has an abundance of fascinating objects. Soft
fascinations such as clouds in the sky or leaves rustling
in a breeze, gain our attention relatively eortlessly and
are compatible with our wants and needs. This is by com-
parison to snakes and spiders, which gain our attention out
of fear.[7] The biophilia hypothesis argues that people are
instinctively enthusiastic about nature and both Fuller et
al.[8] and Irvine et al.[9] Suggest that the positive psycho-
logical eect increases as the perceived biodiversity of
the landscape increases.

1 Directed attention After spending some time of eortless attention to soft

fascinations removed from their day to day tasks, people
may have a chance to reect. This brings a restorative
Attention restoration theory describes a person as being benet which allows further attention.
in several states of attention:

Directed attention
2 Stress reduction
Directed attention fatigue
After medical surgery, patients resting in rooms over-
Eortless attention
looking trees recovered better than those in rooms with
only a view of a brick wall.[10] They experienced fewer
Restored attention
complications from the surgery, recovered faster, and
asked for weaker painkiller drugs. Similarly, natural
Tasks that require mental eort draw upon directed at- scenes can reduce stress before an event.[11]
tention. People must expend eort to achieve focus, Women with breast cancer who walked in a park, watched
to delay expression of inappropriate emotions or actions, birds, or tended owers, achieved better attention after
and to inhibit distractions. That is, they must concentrate surgery.[6] Merely keeping sight of natural features im-
on the higher task, avoiding distractions. Performing the proves self-discipline in inner-city girls.[12] Children in
actual task also requires other knowledge and skills. New York State were less stressed by adversity when they
In Peopleware, a book on oce work, Tom DeMarco and lived in rural areas.[13] Stress in college examinations was
Tim Lister[5] report that in an oce environment, workers similarly reduced by viewing natural scenes.[14] Viewing
may take 15 minutes to achieve this state of ow in their scenes of urban streets and artifacts excluding nature did
concentration, and that it will be destroyed in a moment not achieve any stress reduction, in a similar study upon
by an interruption such as a telephone call. workers viewing a lm about industrial accidents.
The task may be fascinating so that it allows eortless Taking breaks outside in settings that contained some na-
attention, or may have sucient scope to sustain inter- ture has been shown to reduce stress,[15] leaving nurses
action without boredom, or may simply be more compat- feeling refreshed, relaxed, and energized upon return to
ible with a persons interests. However, after a period work.

1
2 4 REFERENCES

3 See also [14] Ulrich R. 1979

[15] Irvine, K.N. Work breaks & well-being: The eect of

Attention span nature on hospital nurses, Conference proceedings of
Attentional retraining the 131st Annual Meeting (November 1519, 2003) of
APHA
Environmental psychology
Green exercise
Nature decit disorder
Outdoor education

4 References
[1] Kaplan, R.; Kaplan, S. (1989). The Experience of Nature:
A Psychological Perspective. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-34139-6.

[2] The restorative benets of nature: Toward an integrative

framework. By Kaplan S. in Journal of Environmental
Psychology 1995, v.15, pp169-182.

[3] Bell, P.A.; Greene, T.C.; Fisher, J.D. (2001).

Environmental Psychology, Fifth Edition. Harcourt
College Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8058-6088-7.

[4] Berman, Mare G et al. The Cognitive Benets of Inter-

acting with Nature, Psychological Science, Vol 19. Num
12. Michigan, 28 May 2008. Retrieved on 2012-09-16.

[5] DeMarco, Tom; Lister, Tim (1988). Peopleware: Pro-

ductive Projects and Teams. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN
978-0-396-08808-0.

[6] Attention Restoration Theory: Empirical Work and Prac-

tical Applications, by Cimprich B. (2007)

[7] Ulrich, R.S.; Simons, R.F.; Losito, B.D.; Fiorito, E.;

Miles, M.A.; Zelson, M. Stress recovery during exposure
to natural and urban environments. J. Environ. Psychol.
1991, 11, 201-230.

[8] Fuller, R. A., Irvine, K. N., Devine-Wright, P., Warren, P.

H., & Gaston, K. J. Psychological benets of greenspace
increase with biodiversity., Biology letters, 3(4), 390-394.

[9] Irvine, K. N., Warber, S. L., Devine-Wright, P., & Gas-

ton, K. J. (2013) Understanding urban green space as a
health resource: A qualitative comparison of visit moti-
vation and derived eects among park users in Sheeld
International journal of environmental research and pub-
lic health, 10(1), 417-442.

[10] Ulrich R. 1984

[11] Ulrich R. 1986

[12] Taylor A.F., Kuo F.E., Sullivan W.C. (2001). Views of

Nature and Self Discipline: Evidence from Inner City
Children in Journal of Environmental Psychology (2001),
vol. 21.

[13] Wells, Nancy M.; Evans, G.W. (2003). Nearby Nature:

A Buer of Life Stress Among Rural Children (PDF).
Environment and Behavior (35.3): 311330.
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