Attention restoration theory

CognitionAttention 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 reflect upon in 'effortless attention', such as clouds moving across the sky, leaves rustling in a breeze or water bubbling over rocks in a stream. The theory was developed by Rachel and Stephen Kaplan in the 1980s in their book The experience of nature: A psychological perspective, 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 directed by cognitive-control processes.' 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 reflect upon in 'effortless attention', such as clouds moving across the sky, leaves rustling in a breeze or water bubbling over rocks in a stream. The theory was developed by Rachel and Stephen Kaplan in the 1980s in their book The experience of nature: A psychological perspective, 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 directed by cognitive-control processes.' Restoration or psychological restoration in the environmental psychology field is the recovery of depleted resources that can be psychological (attention and emotions), physiological (stress) and social, as a result of interaction with a restorative environment, to change negative states to positive ones. Psychological restoration can be described as the capability of perception of restoration, as an observer can perceive the properties of an environment that relieves the mental fatigue and stress in a person. The Kaplans describes a series of characteristics that an environment must have to be restorative. Fascination, as the ability of an environment to generate awe in people; the amount of awe can give the directed attention a rest as it appears the involuntary attention in its place. Being away, a feeling that can be in objective or subjective form, as a person can be far away from a location or let his or her mind let go from everyday life and worries. Extension, referring to the connection between each element found in an environment; the feeling of being able to travel through the environment in order to look for information it provides to the observer. Compatibility, characteristics found in an environment that meet the preferences and goals of a person. The function of directed attention is to inhibit stimulus from the environment. Its effectiveness will diminish over time with constant use. The result is mental fatigue, which increases the difficulty of discriminating environmental stimulus. Attention restoration theory describes a person as being in several states of attention: Tasks that require mental effort draw upon 'directed attention'. People must expend effort to achieve focus, to delay expression of inappropriate emotions or actions, and to inhibit distractions. That is, they must concentrate on the higher task, avoiding distractions. Performing the actual task also requires other knowledge and skills. In Peopleware, a book on office work, Tom DeMarco and Tim Lister report that in an office environment, workers may take 15 minutes to achieve this state of flow in their concentration, and that it will be destroyed in a moment by an interruption such as a telephone call.