Mechanism · 23 records
Directed-attention fatigue / restoration
Capacity for effortful attention changes with environmental exposure
family: Attention
ND-0019 · 2011 · Experimental study
Open-plan office noise: Cognitive performance and restoration
Jahncke et al. Journal of Environmental Psychology
Higher office noise impaired word memory and increased tiredness; restorative content after exposure helped recover perceived energy.
ND-0022 · 2020 · Experimental study
Irrelevant speech effect in open-plan offices: A laboratory study
Kostallari et al. Applied Acoustics
Irrelevant speech degraded aspects of cognitive task performance in an office-like context.
ND-0023 · 2021 · Meta-analysis
A synthesis of health benefits of natural sounds and their distribution in national parks
Buxton et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Natural sounds were associated with improved affect and health-related outcomes and reduced stress or annoyance across the synthesized literature.
ND-0025 · 2022 · Review
Classroom acoustics and cognition: review of the effects of noise and reverberation on primary school children
Mealings. Building Acoustics
Noise and reverberation can impair speech perception, memory, attention and learning, with children especially vulnerable.
ND-0027 · 1995 · Foundational theoretical paper
The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework
Kaplan. Journal of Environmental Psychology
Attention Restoration Theory proposes that certain environments support recovery from directed-attention fatigue through characteristics such as fascination and compatibility.
ND-0028 · 2016 · Systematic review
Attention Restoration Theory: A systematic review of the attention restoration potential of exposure to natural environments
Ohly et al. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B
Some measures of attention improved after nature exposure, but findings varied substantially by test and study design.
ND-0029 · 2018 · Systematic review and meta-analysis
Attention Restoration Theory II: systematic review of attention processes affected by exposure to natural environments
Stevenson et al. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B
Nature exposure showed small-to-moderate benefits for several executive-attention outcomes, with stronger signals for some measures and settings.
ND-0031 · 1984 · Comparative hospital study
View through a window may influence recovery from surgery
Roger S. Ulrich. Science
Patients with a tree view had shorter postoperative stays, fewer negative nurse notes and used fewer strong analgesics than matched patients facing a brick wall.
ND-0034 · 2020 · Systematic review
A systematic review and conceptual framework of biophilic design parameters in clinical environments
Authors per journal record. Healthcare / built environment literature
Different user groups appeared to value different biophilic parameters, including daylight, views, natural content, refuge and environmental comfort.
ND-0036 · 2025 · Systematic review / bibliometric review
Biophilic Design in the Built Environment: Trends, Gaps and Future Directions
Authors per journal record. Buildings
Maps a rapidly growing biophilic-design literature and identifies uneven evidence across interventions and outcomes.
ND-0061 · 2021 · Behavioral study
Individual differences in preference for architectural interiors
Authors per journal record. Journal of Environmental Psychology
Coherence predicted preference across groups, while the contribution of fascination and hominess differed by population.
ND-0067 · 2017 · Experimental eye-tracking study
Meaning-based guidance of attention in scenes as revealed by meaning maps
Henderson & Hayes. Nature Human Behaviour
Meaning maps predicted where people looked in scenes beyond low-level image salience.
ND-0068 · 2018 · Experimental eye-tracking study
Meaning guides attention in real-world scene images: Evidence from eye movements and meaning maps
Henderson & Hayes. Journal of Vision
Semantic meaning accounted for gaze behavior in scene viewing beyond image-salience models.
ND-0069 · 2019 · Review
Meaning and Attentional Guidance in Scenes: A Review of the Meaning Map Approach
Authors per journal record. Vision
Reviews evidence that scene meaning is a major determinant of visual attention.
ND-0070 · 2019 · Review
Reading scenes: how scene grammar guides attention and aids perception in real-world environments
Võ et al. Current Opinion in Psychology
Objects are processed faster when they appear in expected semantic and spatial relationships, and violations attract attention.
ND-0084 · 2024 · Experimental study
Multisensory nature exposure in the workplace: Exploring the restorative benefits of smell experiences
Yildirim, Globa, Gocer & Brambilla. Building and Environment
A multisensory biophilic workplace condition improved stress, mood and cognitive outcomes relative to a non-biophilic condition; olfactory pleasantness contributed to restoration.
ND-0089 · 2021 · Review
The Potential of Biophilic Fractal Designs to Promote Health and Performance: A Review of Experiments and Applications
Richard P. Taylor. Sustainability
Reviews evidence that mid-complexity fractals can be processed fluently and may support stress reduction and visual performance.
ND-0110 · 2026 · Systematic review
A review of biophilic architectural design strategies on psychological and physiological health
Authors per journal record. Discover Environment
Synthesizes a large multidisciplinary evidence base spanning empirical studies, theory, cases and meta-analyses.
ND-0115 · 2019 · Experimental study
The role of meaning in attentional guidance during free viewing of real-world scenes
Peacock, Hayes & Henderson. Acta Psychologica
Meaning predicted attention allocation during free viewing, reinforcing semantic guidance beyond low-level salience.
ND-0116 · 2018 · Experimental study
Meaning Guides Attention during Real-World Scene Description
Authors per journal record. Scientific Reports
Meaning remained a strong predictor of gaze when participants actively described scenes.
ND-0121 · 2023 · Systematic review
The effects of activity-based workplaces on contributors to organizational productivity
Authors per journal record. Journal of Environmental Psychology
Activity-based workplaces can support some productivity contributors but focus and task-space fit remain recurring challenges.
ND-0133 · 2026 · Experimental virtual reality study
Associations of soundscape naturalness and natural-element complexity with short-term psychophysiological restoration in campus green spaces: a virtual reality study
Zhang & Guo. Frontiers in Psychology
Responses aligned most consistently with the soundscape dimension rather than the visual one. Under medium and high soundscape naturalness, medium natural-element complexity produced more favorable patterns than either low or high, consistent with an inverted-U rather than a more-is-better relationship.
ND-0136 · 2023 · Experimental study
Does a brief virtual dose of an environment affect subjective wellbeing and judgements of perceived restorativeness? Considering the role of place preference
Wilkie, Platt & Trotter. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology
Tests whether a short virtual exposure shifts wellbeing and perceived restorativeness, and whether an individual's preferred environment type moderates that response, rather than treating nature as restorative for everyone equally.