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Nature versus urban exposure measured against directed-attention performance in two experiments

Berman MG, Jonides J, Kaplan S (2008) · Psychological Science

Participants who walked in an arboretum, or viewed nature photographs, showed larger improvements on a backwards digit-span attention task than those who walked in a downtown setting or viewed urban photographs, which the authors interpreted through attention restoration theory.

What they studied

38 and 12 university participants in two experiments, Ann Arbor, Michigan

What they found

Participants who walked in an arboretum, or viewed nature photographs, showed larger improvements on a backwards digit-span attention task than those who walked in a downtown setting or viewed urban photographs, which the authors interpreted through attention restoration theory.

What it does not establish

This entry reports the study. It is not a statement about any building Sage Co. designs or constructs.

Source

  • Berman MG, Jonides J, Kaplan S (2008). Nature versus urban exposure measured against directed-attention performance in two experiments · Psychological Science · Read at the source

Last reviewed September 23, 2026.