Research Design Connection: Mechanics of Attention Restoration

Chen, He, and Yu investigated the brain mechanics underlying attention restoration. They had study participants spend 20 minutes wearing a cap that collected information about brain activity in a “restorative (wooded garden [by a pond]) or a nonrestorative (traffic island [in a heavily trafficked road]) environment…the perceived coherence of the restorative environment may induce fatigue recovery and, hence, attention restoration via alpha-theta oscillations and synchronization. The increased alpha-theta oscillations in the occipital lobes suppress visual processing, allowing the human brain to reorganize itself via alpha-theta synchronization…The reduced load in external visual information processing allows the brain to focus more on self-restoration, which eventually leads to fatigue recovery and, consequently, improved attention-related cognitive performance.” An important clarification: “Environmental coherence reflects orderly organization with simple distinct regions, repeating themes and unifying textures.”

Zheng Chen, Yujia He, and Yuguo Yu. “Attention Restoration During Environmental Exposure Via Alpha-Theta Oscillations and Synchronization.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, in press, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101406

Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.