Evidence for prospect-refuge theory: a meta-analysis of the findings of environmental preference research

What the study found

Prospect received more consistent support than refuge in interior and urban studies; evidence for complexity was mixed but often positive; mystery was less consistently supported.

Limitations

The evidence base mixes venue types and many studies were not designed to test the full theory.

Neurodesign interpretation

Prospect-refuge is useful as a hypothesis generator, not a law. Neurodesign should not import landscape findings into bedrooms or hotels without marking the translation.

Possible design implications

Design sightlines and refuge deliberately but state whether evidence comes from interiors, landscapes or mixed contexts.

Why it stays in the corpus

Retain as a corrective to overconfident prospect-refuge claims.

Study design

Meta-analysis / critical synthesis

Population

Participants across environmental-preference studies

Setting

Natural, urban and interior settings

Field

Environmental preference

Mechanism

Prospect, refuge, complexity, mystery

Spatial variable

Visibility, enclosure, refuge, complexity

Keywords

prospect, refuge, complexity, preference