The Effects of Environment on Memory and Reasoning Skills: Comparing Natural and Artificial Environments
Date
2020-05
Authors
Prentice, Stephen
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Abstract
The Attention Restoration Theory (ART) suggests that our directed attention is
subject to fatigue, and that the presence of nature and natural environments allows us to
recover from that fatigue, consequently improving cognitive function. Three hundred
and eighty undergraduate degree-seeking students of all classifications from diverse
academic disciplines at Texas State University were tested using modified forms of the
Sentence Repetition Test and the California Verbal Learning Test to test verbal memory
and verbal learning, and a modified form of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV
Matrix Reasoning to test non-verbal reasoning/fluid intelligence. Half of the subjects
(190) were tested in their classroom at the regularly scheduled class time or one located
in the same building at a predetermined date and time. Half of the subjects (190) were
tested in an outdoor garden classroom at a predetermined date and time. No significant
difference was found to exist between either the memory or reasoning scores of the two
groups. Comparisons of subjects in the same demographic categories produced three
significant P values. Students classified as seniors (P=0.035), students ages 36-40
(P=0.030), and students ages 41 and above (P=0.041) who were tested in the natural
environment performed significantly better on the Sentence Repetition Test than those
tested in the artificial environment.
Description
Keywords
Memory, Reasoning, Cognitive function, Environment
Citation
Prentice, S. (2020). <i>The effects of environment on memory and reasoning skills: Comparing natural and artificial environments</i> (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.