Benefits of nature

An introduction to the research of Stephen and Rachel Kaplan on Attention Restoration Theory.

How does nature help?

From: Kaplan, Rachel & Basu, Avik. (2015). Fostering Reasonableness: Supportive Environments for Bringing Out Our Best. 10.3998/maize.13545970.0001.001.

Acting in a reasonable way often requires a resource that is in short supply (S. Kaplan & Berman, 2010), a resource that arrests an impertinent thought before you speak it, encourages you to hang in there a bit longer in the search for a broadly acceptable solution, allows you to attend to the details at hand, or resists the urge to jump to conclusions. That this resource is often in short supply is evidenced by our all too familiar failures of civility and reasonableness.

This resource is called "directed attention" and "effortless attention" allows you to replenish this resource and recover from mental fatigue.

Note: “Effortless attention” is a more recent replacement for the term “fascination,” so I’ve substituted “effortless attention” for “fascination” in the following excerpts from

Mental fatigue is a useful label for this syndrome, but it is also somewhat misleading. It does allow one to distinguish this area of difficulty from physical fatigue on the one hand and stress on the other. The difficulty, however, is that the name suggests that the mind as a whole has fatigued, and this is not the case.

A useful handle on what is going on here comes from a distinction made by the great American psychologist and philosopher, William James (1892). He distinguished between two kinds of attention, which in modern terms, might be referred to as "directed attention" and "effortless attention." Directed attention is what it takes to get through a difficult or boring task. It is the kind of attention we call upon when working in a distracting surrounding or when trying to make a decision about a complex situation. It takes effort, and it is susceptible to fatigue.

Effortless attention or fascination, by contrast, is effortless. It is the kind of attention that is called forth by exciting events or interesting tasks. Far from being hard work, it is often difficult to tear our attention away from something fascinating.

Thus the basic distinction revolves around three themes. Directed attention is effortful, it is subject to voluntary control, and it is susceptible to fatigue. Effortless attention, by contrast, is at the opposite pole on each of these dimensions. In terms of our analysis of "mental fatigue" then, it is more useful to name the syndrome in terms of what is actually becoming fatigued -- hence we call it Directed Attention Fatigue.

...

WHAT HELPS: RESTORATIVE ENVIRONMENTS

In order to rest directed attention, it is necessary to find an alternative basis for maintaining one's focus. Fortunately there is such a source, and, equally fortunately, it is widely available. Effortless attention, the other form of attention, is itself resistant to fatigue and permits directed attention to rest.

There are many sources of effortless attention. Effortless attention can come from content, and that content can be of various kinds. It can be noisy, like watching auto racing, or quiet, like walking in a natural setting. Effortless attention can also come from process. Recognizing despite uncertainty and difficulty, like birdwatching, is an example of a process that allows one to pay attention without effort. Predicting despite uncertainty, as practiced by gamblers, provides another process example. Quiet effortless attention (often referred to as “soft fascination”), characteristic of certain natural settings, has a special advantage in terms of providing an opportunity for reflection, which can further enhance the benefits of recovering from directed attention fatigue. I will refer to such opportunities for reducing directed attention fatigue as "Restorative experiences" or "Restorative environments."

Effortless attention is thus a central component of a restorative environment. By itself, however, it is not sufficient. Three additional components have been identified (Kaplan and Kaplan 1989).

1. Being away is useful, but by itself does not guarantee a restorative environment. People often use "getting away" as a shorthand for going to a restorative place. Nonetheless, there are many places that are "away" but would not permit the necessary rest of directed attention. A prison cell provides a vivid example.

2. The environment should have extent rich enough and coherent enough so that it constitutes a whole other world. Restorative environments work best when one can settle into them, when they provide enough to see, experience, and think about that they take up the available room in one's head.

3. There should be substantial compatibility of the environment with one's purposes and inclinations. In other words, the setting must fit what one is trying to do and what one would like to do. Compatibility is a two way street. On the one hand, a compatible environment is one where one's purposes fit what the environment demands. At the same time the environment must provide the information needed to meet one's purposes. Thus in a compatible environment one carries out one's activities smoothly and without struggle. There is no need to second guess or to keep a close eye on one's own behavior. What one does comfortably and naturally is what is appropriate to the setting (Kaplan 1983).

What does nature help with? - Consequences of Directed Attention Fatigue (DAF) which is also known as Mental Fatigue

From S. Kaplan. (2004). Some hidden benefits of the urban forest. In C.C. Konijnendijk, J. Schipperijn and K. H. Hoyer (Eds.) Forestry serving urbanised societies. (Selected Papers from conference jointly organized by IUFRO, EFI and the Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning in Copenhagen, 27-30 August 2002).Vienna, Austria: IUFRO (IUFRO World Series Vol. 14). Pp. 221-232.link to the paper

Directed attention fatigue (DAF) can have many consequences. These pervasive costs undermine an individual's competence in many ways. They can be summarized by the following four concepts:

1. Individuals with DAF are readily distracted; maintaining focus on a goal, a line of thought, or a conversation is difficult and unreliable.

2. Individuals with a high level of DAF are planning impaired. They are neither effective at exploring possible futures nor at making plans, furthermore, they have difficulty sticking to plans they were able to formulate (or those provided by others).

3. An inclination to be impulsive is another characteristic of individuals with a high level of DAF. They have little patience or capacity for delay and are inclined to act on the first thing that comes to mind.

4. Another symptom of DAF is the inclination to be irritable. While people are often unaware of their DAF state, unprovoked irritability is perhaps a more easily recognized indicator to recognize. It is also, of course, rather quickly noted by others.

Further reading

An article that my advisor Stephen Kaplan has recommended as an introduction to Attention Restoration Theory and has found to be the most helpful article to share with reporters.

• Kaplan, S. The urban forest as a source of psychological well-being. In Urban Forest Landscapes: Integrating Multidisciplinary Perspectives; Bradley, G.A., Ed.; University of Washington Press: Seattle, WA, USA, 1995; pp. 101–108. link to the paper

An article that my advisor has found to provide good overviews of the issues and findings surrounding directed attention, mental fatigue, and Attention Restoration Theory and that he often directs reporters and other people to:

• S. Kaplan. (2004). Some hidden benefits of the urban forest. In C.C. Konijnendijk, J. Schipperijn and K. H. Hoyer (Eds.) Forestry serving urbanised societies. (Selected Papers from conference jointly organized by IUFRO, EFI and the Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning in Copenhagen, 27-30 August 2002).Vienna, Austria: IUFRO (IUFRO World Series Vol. 14). Pp. 221-232.

https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/150714/2004_Kaplan_Some_hidden_benefits.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Striking studies

Even a view of a few trees and a patch of grass has restorative benefits - the benefits of nearby nature for reducing crime and domestic violence in the inner city

Aggression and violence in the inner city: Impacts of environment via mental fatigue

In this paper is where I found the references for the studies that found a link between a view of a few trees and a patch of grass and less domestic violence.

Kuo FE & Sullivan WC (2001a) Aggression and violence in the inner city: Impacts of environment via mental fatigue. Environment and Behavior 33(4):53-571.

http://is.muni.cz/el/1423/podzim2011/HEN597/um/Readings_Env_Psy/Kuo__F.E.__Sullivan__W.C.__2001_.pdf

Excerpt: A third contribution of this work concerns the density and extent of nature necessary to convey benefits. It might seem implausible that a few trees and grass in relatively small areas outside public housing apartment buildings could have any clear effects on residents’ levels of aggression. Yet this low dose of vegetation has been shown to have far-reaching and positive effects on a number of other important outcomes, including residents’ management of major life issues (Kuo, 2001) and neighborhood social ties (Kuo et al., 1998; Kweon et al., 1998).

The following is a quick synopsis of this paper from: http://lhhl.illinois.edu/violence.htm

Trees Linked with Less Domestic Violence in the Inner City

In a study conducted in a Chicago public housing development, women who lived in apartment buildings with trees and greenery immediately outside reported committing fewer aggressive and violent acts against their partners in the preceding year than those living in barren but otherwise identical buildings. In addition, the women in greener surroundings reported using a smaller range of aggressive tactics during their lifetime against their partner.

How can we explain this link between vegetation and less aggression? The women who reported a larger range of aggressive behaviors over their lifetime also had worse scores on a test of concentration, and living in an apartment with barren surroundings was linked to having worse scores on that same test. Low scores on tests of concentration can be caused by high levels of mental fatigue and this study demonstrated that those living in barren housing were both more fatigued and more aggressive. But exposure to green surroundings reduces mental fatigue and the feelings of irritability that come with it. The ability to concentrate is refreshed by green views, along with the ability and willingness to deal with problems thoughtfully and less aggressively. And, in this study, even small amounts of greenery—a few trees and a patch of grass—helped inner city residents have safer, less violent domestic environments.

Environment and crime in the inner city: Does vegetation reduce crime?

Kuo FE & Sullivan WC (2001b) Environment and crime in the inner city: Does vegetation reduce crime? Environment and Behavior 33(3):343-367.

Here's a link to this paper: http://willsull.net/resources/Sullivan-papers/KuoSullivan2001crime.pdf

Context for the papers

Excerpt from the Some Hidden Benefits paper which is an article that my advisor Stephen Kaplan has said provide good overviews of the issues and findings surrounding directed attention, mental fatigue, and Attention Restoration Theory and that he often directs reporters and other people to.

Effectiveness at managing life issues. Residents of public housing face enormous challenges in dealing with poverty, discrimination and inadequate education. While it might be difficult to imagine how trees could help in this difficult context, once again ingenious research yields some striking findings. Kuo (2001) found that residents who have the benefit of nearby nature were less likely to procrastinate in dealing with the major issues of their lives. Further, such residents felt more hopeful and less helpless about the issues facing them. Once again, this effect of nature was found to be due to greater attentional capacity (or, in other words, to lower mental fatigue).

The following paragraph is from earlier in the Some Hidden Benefits paper and provides the context for all of the 2001 studies

Overcoming economic and social disadvantage

A notoriously dismal public housing facility in Chicago is the setting for a remarkable series of studies carried out by Frances Kuo, William Sullivan and their students. Two features of this setting make it particularly interesting as a context for research. First, it is a situation where finding ways to improve the life quality and life prospects of these individuals is exceedingly difficult. Second, from an experimental standpoint, it provided a control that is difficult to achieve in a real world context: the residents are essentially randomly assigned to the apartment they live in and cannot afford to refuse their housing when it becomes available. ... In a series of studies these researchers examined the impact of access to the natural environment, with a particular emphasis on trees.

Kuo (2001) is mentioned in 2 of the excerpts that I've included one this page, so I thought I'd provide you with the reference:

Kuo FE (2001) Coping with poverty: Impacts of environment and attention in the inner city. Environment and Behavior 33(1):5-34.

Other studies

From a Fall 2006 Michigan Today article

• Studies by Bernadine Cimprich showed that the psychological health of cancer patients “improved dramatically” after they spent 20 minutes a day, three days a week, doing restorative activities such as gardening or walking in the woods. A control group that did not do the activities showed notably less improvement.

• Studies by Frances Kuo and William Sullivan found that residents of public housing projects who live near trees “showed all kinds of benefits,” says Stephen. “More civility, less aggression—and girls were more likely to study” their schoolwork.

• A study of AIDS caregivers by Lisa Canin found that the single most powerful factor in avoiding stress-related burnout was “locomotion in nature”—such as walking, running, biking, or canoeing. (The quickest route to burnout was watching television.)

• Better yet, says Rachel, the natural setting “doesn’t have to be big or pristine” to have a positive effect. “Most of all, it has to be nearby.” A study by Ernest Moore of prisoners in Milan, Michigan, showed that simply having a view of farmland from a prison cell reduced inmates’ need for health care.