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Building on Attention Restoration Theory (R. Kaplan & S. Kaplan, 1989) and Construal Level Theory (Trope & Liberman, 2010), we investigated the benefits of cultural experiences in the context of visiting museums. We predicted that spending time in a Zoology Museum would be perceived as restorative, influence construal level, and restorative characteristics could predict abstract thinking styles. Visitors completed a survey while spending time inside the museum or before entering (control). Visitors inside rated the environment as more fascinating, compatible, and liked, and reported greater positive affect, compared to the control group. Older adults generally thought more abstractly regardless of condition, while younger adults engaged in more concrete thinking inside the museum compared to the control. The extent that participants engaged in abstract thinking styles could also be predicted with a medium effect size, with more abstract thinking being predicted by higher coherence ratings, older age, and identifying as male gender. Museums may have restorative benefits through effortlessly capturing attention, being compatible with needs, improving mood, and being highly preferable, and could engage concrete thought in younger adults. Museum environments which are coherent and free from distraction may also foster more abstract thinking styles.
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