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Of cricket chirps and car horns: The effect of nature sounds on cognitive performance
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Description: Attention Restoration Theory (ART) posits that stimuli found in nature may restore directed-attention abilities through reducing demands on the endogenous attention system. In the present experiment, we assessed whether nature-related cognitive benefits extended to auditory presentations of nature, a topic that has been understudied. To assess directed attention, we created a composite measure consisting from a backward digit span task and a dual n-back task. Participants completed these cognitive measures and an affective questionnaire before and after an intervention. The intervention consisted of listening to and aesthetically judging either nature or urban soundscapes. Relative to participants who were exposed to urban soundscapes, we observed significant improvements in cognitive performance for individuals exposed to nature. This nature-related improvement persisted after controlling for affective changes and aesthetic ratings of the soundscapes. These results provide initial evidence that brief experiences with nature sounds can improve performance on cognitive tasks.
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Of cricket chirps and car horns: The effect of nature sounds on cognitive performance
The psychological benefits of interacting with nature have been discussed for well over a century. More recently, research has begun to assess how int...
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