The restorative effects of green spaces with animals on stress

Zahra, Arianne Muthia and Masrura, Aidal and Bohari, Rina Hazwani and Imtiaz, Shamim and Mohd Mahudin, Nor Diana (2013) The restorative effects of green spaces with animals on stress. In: UMRAN2013: Vision and Methods towards Sustainable Built Environment and Liveable Communities- Undergraduate and Postgraduate Seminar , 02 May 2013, KULLIYYAH OF ARCHITECTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN.

Preview	PDF (Best Paper Award UMRAN 2013) - Accepted Version Download (265kB) | Preview
Preview	PDF Download (220kB) | Preview
Preview	PDF Download (196kB) | Preview

Abstract

Past research on restorativeness has concentrated mainly on the potential of vegetation, scenic environments, parks, and open spaces rather than on natural environments with animals. At present, the restorative effects of green spaces with animals on people's general well-being and psychological stress remain unclear. This study argues that green spaces with animals, such as zoo, are also likely to have a restorative influence on human psychological stress and overall well-being. A between-group experiment was conducted, in which 80 randomly selected visitors of the Malaysian National Zoo were asked to answer two scales, i.e. the adapted Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS). Results showed that, contrary to the hypothesis, there is no significant relationship between stress and restorative effects of the green spaces with animals. However, statistical data indicate that most participants reported experiencing higher levels of restorative effects and lower levels of stress after they visited the zoo. These findings are generally supportive of cognitive model of attention restoration and point to the importance of enhancing the restorative qualities of the zoo’s environment and rebuilding the unity between man and nature.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Full Paper)
Additional Information:	3951/30109
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Restorative effects; Stress recovery; Zoo; Green spaces; Environmental psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology > BF511 Affection. Feeling. Emotion B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology > BF636 Applied psychology N Fine Arts > NA Architecture
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences > Department of Psychology
Depositing User:	Nor Diana Mohd Mahudin
Date Deposited:	30 Jul 2013 09:46
Last Modified:	30 Jul 2013 09:46
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/30109

Actions (login required)

View Item