Measuring affect and complex working memory in natural and urban environments
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1039334
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Summary
This study investigates whether exposure to natural environments restores complex working memory capacity and improves mood more effectively than urban environments, addressing a gap in Attention Restoration Theory (ART) research. While prior meta-analyses indicate that nature exposure benefits selective attention and working memory, few studies have examined the Operation Span (OSPAN) task, a complex measure of working memory capacity that requires attentional inhibitory control. The authors aimed to replicate findings from Bratman et al. (2015) with a larger sample and a shorter walk duration to determine the minimal effective "dose" of nature for cognitive restoration. The study employed a mixed-subjects experimental design with 100 participants (50 per condition) recruited from the University of Utah. Participants were randomly assigned to either a nature or urban walk condition. Before walking, all participants completed a proofreading task to deplete attentional resources, followed by baseline measurements of affect using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and working memory using the OSPAN task. Participants then completed a 30-minute walk in either a natural area (trees, river, bridges) or an urban neighborhood (streets, stores, parking lots) in Salt Lake City, Utah. Post-walk, participants repeated the PANAS and OSPAN measures. The OSPAN score was calculated using both absolute (perfect recall) and partial (total correct letters) methods. Results indicated that both the nature and urban groups exhibited significant increases in positive affect and decreases in negative affect after the walk, suggesting that outdoor walking boosts mood regardless of the specific environment type. However, contrary to the hypothesis and previous findings by Bratman et al. (2015), there were no significant changes in OSPAN scores for either group, nor were there significant differences between the nature and urban conditions. The lack of improvement in complex working memory may be attributed to the shorter 30-minute walk duration compared to the 50-minute walks in prior studies, or the specific cognitive demands of the OSPAN task, which relies on inhibitory control that may not be as readily restored by nature exposure as simple digit-span tasks. The findings imply that while short urban or nature walks are effective for mood enhancement, they may not be sufficient to restore complex working memory capacity. The study highlights the need for future research to examine the specific environmental characteristics, duration of exposure, and individual differences in nature connectedness that influence attention restoration. It also suggests that complex working memory tasks may be less sensitive to nature exposure than simpler attentional tasks, necessitating further investigation into the mechanisms underlying cognitive restoration in natural settings.
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.8-27b-gittensor | summ-v5 | 2 | 2026-08-23 |
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Summary generated by qwen3.8-27b-gittensor on 2026-08-23; verification: pending re-verification.
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