Attention restoration and sensory fascination What are they? Why do they matter?

1. Fascinating views and sounds:Their relationships to attention restorationEleanor Ratcliffe and Jonathan FreemanDepartment of Psychology

2. Overview • Attention restoration and sensory fascination • What are they? Why do they matter? • What do we need to know? • Attention restoration and aircraft views • Field and online studies • Planned studies • Aircraft views: lab-based study • Restorative audio environments

3. How do you feel?

4. Stress reduction

5. Attention Restoration Theory What is it? • Certain environments can facilitate the recovery of attention after fatigue or stress (Kaplan, 1995) • Particularly if they are fascinating • What do we mean by fascination? • Potential benefits: • Improved attention (Berto, 2005) • Reduced arousal (Hartig et al., 2003) • Types of environment • Traditional focus on natural and visual environments… … but what about fascinating built scenes and audio?

6. Attention restoration in built environments “Airports are generally not pleasant places to be.” (House of Commons Transport Committee, 2007) But they are also associated with excitement and exoticism, which may be symbolised by views of aircraft.

7. Attention restoration What needs to be studied further? Valence Arousal • Clarifying the Fascination construct • Existing definition is based on visual examples from nature • Needs robust operational definition

8. Attention restoration What needs to be studied further? • Proposed Fascination construct: • Enables study of fascinating, multi-sensory stimuli in context of individual differences

9. Fascinating aircraft views Research questions Travel frequency Travel reason Travel comfort • Are views of aircraft perceived as fascinating and restorative? • Do these perceptions vary depending on passenger differences?

10. Fascinating aircraft views Field studies at LHR and LGW • Method 154 departing passengers surveyed on: • Travel behaviour: reason, frequency, aircraft viewing • Perceptions of airport via Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS; Hartig et al., 1996) • Items such as “This setting has fascinating qualities,” and, “My attention is drawn to many interesting things.” • Agreement rated on 0 - 6 scale

11. Fascinating aircraft views Field studies at LHR and LGW (Fascination scale from 0 - 6) • Significant results (p < .05) Effect of view, especially… Frequent at LGW Infrequent/business at LHR • Implications • Plausible relationship between aircraft views and fascination • Requires experimental study with controlled manipulations

12. Fascinating aircraft views Online study • Method 50 participants viewed photos of airport environments • 100 matched photos: 50 with and 50 without aircraft • Photos represented view from departures before holiday flight • Each photo rated on fascination, arousal, and valence scales, e.g.: • “This place has fascinating qualities” (0 - 6) • “How calm or excited…” (0 - 10) • “How sad or happy…” (0 - 10)

13. Fascinating aircraft views Online study • Significant results (p < .05) Empirical support for effect of aircraft views on fascination (0 - 6 scale) (0 - 10 scale) (0 - 10 scale)

14. Fascinating aircraft views Online study • Significant results (p < .05) (Comfort and arousal on 0 - 10 scale) Preliminary support for arousal/valence model of fascination

15. Restorative aircraft views Laboratory study • Aircraft views and objectively measured restoration • Performance on Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) • After exposure to aircraft views… • Attention performance expected to increase • Greater change in affect and arousal expected • Restorative outcomes expected to be related to travel frequency and comfort • Relationship mediated by arousal and affective response • Potential implications • Airport design and wayfinding • Enhanced attentiveness amongst passengers

16. Attention restoration in audio environments • ART literature focuses heavily on visual environments • But other senses allow us to fully experience environments • Natural sounds may have restorative potential • “Sounds and smells of nature” (Kjellgren & Buhrkall, 2010) • Enhanced birdsong benefits mood & alertness (Goel, 2006) • Birdsong may alleviate “winter blues” (National Trust, 2010)

17. Domestic/foreign birdsongs Type of birdsong Affinity with nature Restorative audio Birdsong • Fascination and restoration after exposure to natural sounds

18. Longer = greater presence and greater opportunity for restoration? Addition of birdsong to visual scenes Company reduces presence in mediated environments and distracts from fascinating stimuli Restorative audio Birdsong • Fascination and restoration after exposure to natural sounds

19. Conclusion • ART explains benefits of restorative visual environments • Current research explores new types of environment • Views of aircraft may increase fascination and restorative experience of airports • depending on individual differences in passengers • supports proposed arousal/valence model of fascination • enhancement of passenger experience • Model may be applied to audio environments • Increases ecological validity of ART • Offers opportunities for economical media installations

20. Contact Eleanor Ratcliffe Department of Psychology Goldsmiths, University of London New Cross London SE14 6NW e.ratcliffe@gold.ac.uk