1. Bringing the Benefits of Nature Indoors; Difficulties with
Attention Restoration Experiments in the Laboratory
Chalise Carlson,
Jason M. Watson

2. Attention Restoration Theory (ART) promotes the concept that attentional resources requiring
focused thoughtfulness are revitalized by the easy or “soft” inherent captivation we experience in
natural surroundings. Oppositely, loud urban settings are considered attentional resource
eradicators. Atchley, Strayer and Atchley (2012) strengthened the ART premise in an
experiment using the Remote Associates Test (RAT), a measure of creative cognition. In their
experiment, the RAT scores gathered from backpackers on the last day of a four day hike sans
technology were significantly higher than those of a separate group of backpackers before
embarking on a similar excursion.
In our experiment, we controlled for extraneous variables by presenting the experiment indoors
utilizing videos of attention depleting (urban) and attention stimulating (nature) environments.
Early trials employing pre-video, post-video RAT scores as the measures of restoration found
comparable results to the outdoor studies with a 12% increase in the nature group’s scores and a
5% increase in the urban group’s scores. However, our attempt to increase the effect by
doubling the video viewing time resulted in a loss of effect, slanting the data toward the urban
group as the most improved. F(1,208)=3.22, p=.07.
Moving forward with Attention Restoration Theory, we feel there is validity in outdoor
experiments. Immersion into the outdoors likely produces a sufficiently powerful influence
which overcomes the RAT’s indirect measure of cognition. Additionally we exert that potential
exists for the indoor studies as well. Indoor experiments, lacking the immersive quality, would
likely benefit from a more sensitive, direct measure of attention. Further, future studies should
also consider utilizing representative stimulus shown to maximally induce restoration, such as
scenes evoking “mystery” or “fascination” (ie. a winding path disappearing into a dense forest.)
Future application of these specific attributes may intensify indoor results.