Attention Restoration: The Effects of Elevated Vibrancy on the Perceived Environment

The attention restoration theory states that attentional fatigue may be restored by environments which contain the following criteria: fascination, extent, compatibility, and 'being away'. The present study hypothesizes pictures of natural environments will have a greater restorative effect than pictures of urban environments. It is also hypothesized that environments with an elevated level of brightness and contrast, together called "vibrancy", provide higher fascination, greater extent, and further compatibility with the viewer. This elevation may provide the crucial elements necessary for the restoration of attention. The dependent variable measured was attention by the level of restorative effect brought by the experiments manipulations. Two independent variables consisted of the type of environment (natural or urban) and the level of vibrancy (high or low). Using a repeated measures design subjects completed five conditions each on separate days including a high and low vibrancy natural environment condition, a high and a low vibrancy urban environment condition, and a control condition using a neutral stimulus. Preliminary results indicate the absence of significant main effects for the IVs of environment and vibrancy. Analysis of the data indicates the scope of variables being measured is too broad. Revising the study to investigate only levels of vibrancy would potentially remove individual subject preferences unaccounted for by the studies current design. Further revision could also include measurements of personality and emotional state, better facilitating subject compatibility with the type of environment used.