Up high, down low, too slow: Effects of nature on directed attention differ between high and low spatial frequencies

Abstract

Research has shown that viewing images of natural environments can promote attentional restora- tion significantly better than urban environments, but results have been mixed. Other studies have also found that visual complexity can have a mediating effect on one’s preference for environ- ments. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the restorative effects of natural environments on directed attention are dependent on visual information contained in high and low spatial frequency components. 60 university students and young adults participated in this study. Participants performed three rounds of the Sustained Attention to Response Test (SART) between which they were shown images according to their experimental condition. The images portrayed natural or urban environments and were filtered to contain either only high spatial frequencies or only low spatial frequencies. When looking only at the high spatial frequency components of images, watching images of natural environments led to worse performance on the SART than urban ones, a trend that was reversed for lower spatial frequencies. Our results indicate that the restorative effect of natural environments on directed attention might be confounded by greater visual complexities of natural environments conveyed via high spatial frequencies.