Influence of Perceptual Range on Perceived Restoration

In daily living environments, an individual’s different state of mind influences their spatial perception. The current study, based on Attention Restoration Theory, aimed to explore differences in the health utility of nature according to individual differences in spatial perception. It focused on Cheonggyecheon stream in Seoul, South Korea. Cognitive mapping and the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS) were used to assess two groups’ different perceived spatial ranges and the restorative effect of the environment. After gathering data, two groups were defined: one describing only the internal area of the research site (composed of green materials), and the other illustrating the external area of the site, including buildings and roads. The former had higher overall PRS, Being Away, Fascination, and Compatibility scores. The latter had higher scores only on the Coherence subscale. These results illustrate that the frequency of nature visits and time spent traveling influence the two groups’ attentional restoration, which has great implications for highly stressful urban environments.