VIEWS TO NATURE - EFFECTS ON ATTENTION

This study is based on a theoretical view which suggests that under in creased demands for attention, individuals' capacity to direct attenti on may become fatigued. Once fatigued, attentional restoration must oc cur in order to return to an effectively functioning state. An attenti on-restoring experience can be as simple as looking at nature. The pur pose of this study was to explore whether university dormitory residen ts with more natural views from their windows would score better than those with less natural views on tests of directed attention. Views fr om dormitory windows of 72 undergraduate students were categorized int o four groups ranging from all natural to all built. The capacity to d irect attention was measured using a battery of objective and subjecti ve measures. Natural views were associated with better performance on attentional measures, providing support for the proposed theoretical v iew.