Psychological and Physiological Responses to Various Landscape Types: A Comparison of Cultural Differences
Date Issued
2011
Date
2011
Author(s)
Ho, Yen-Hui
Abstract
People prefer natural environments more than built urban ones, and benefit psychologically and physiologically from contact with nature. Although a human preference for natural settings is well-established across multiple cultures, it is also true that there are variations in landscape preferences between cultures. This variation is often evident as a function of the familiarity that individuals have with particular settings. Thus, we wondered about the extent to which individuals from two different cultures (Taiwan and the United States) would respond to landscape scenes that they were more or less familiar. We measured our 178 participant’s psychological responses including preference, sense of safety and attention restoration, and their physiological responses including the electrical activity on their forehead through electromyogram (EMG) and their heart rates (HR). We used photographic images of different natural landscape types, which were classified in three groups: 1) in the forest, 2) edge of forest, and 3) outside of forest. Two photographs were represented for each of the three landscape groups. We also collected participants’ oral descriptions of their reactions to these photographs. The findings revealed similarities in how Taiwanese (N=101) and Americans (N=77) ranked preferences for nature. Both groups prefer forest setting the most, meadow the second, edge the last. However, there were also significant psychological (preference, sense of safety, attention restoration) and physiological (EMG) differences between these two groups of participants. In addition, this study found that familiarity can be an important factor in cross-cultural psychological responses, especially landscape preferences. Specifically, people more familiar with the natural environment may obtain greater psychological benefits involving preference, safety and attention restoration, while experiencing these environments. Results of this study can be use as a reference for planning outdoor recreation activities that will allow people to obtain greater benefits from nature.
Subjects
cultural difference
landscape preference
familiarity
attention restoration
safety
SDGs
Type
thesis
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