Elements of Biophilic Design Increase Visual Attention in Preschoolers
Biophilic design increases attention among adults, but little is known about the influence of biophilic design on attention in childhood. We assessed visual attention in 4–5-year-old children as a function of high and low degrees of biophilic design. In the high-biophilic-design condition, the child...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Buildings |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/5/1160 |
| _version_ | 1797600759804592128 |
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| author | Roberta Fadda Sara Congiu Herbert Roeyers Tricia Skoler |
| author_facet | Roberta Fadda Sara Congiu Herbert Roeyers Tricia Skoler |
| author_sort | Roberta Fadda |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Biophilic design increases attention among adults, but little is known about the influence of biophilic design on attention in childhood. We assessed visual attention in 4–5-year-old children as a function of high and low degrees of biophilic design. In the high-biophilic-design condition, the children saw four plants, which were placed on their desks. In the low-biophilic-design condition, the children saw no plants on their desks. The children viewed a series of abstract images on a computer screen while their visual attention was measured with an eye tracker. We found that the durations of the children’s first fixations were significantly higher in the high-biophilic-design compared to those in the low-biophilic-design. This study demonstrates the potential of biophilic design to increase visual attention in indoor environments. The implications of this finding for architecture and building design are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:52:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2c4541633b2c476ab4087be903f7d910 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-5309 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:52:29Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Buildings |
| spelling | doaj.art-2c4541633b2c476ab4087be903f7d9102023-11-18T00:44:24ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092023-04-01135116010.3390/buildings13051160Elements of Biophilic Design Increase Visual Attention in PreschoolersRoberta Fadda0Sara Congiu1Herbert Roeyers2Tricia Skoler3Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, University of Cagliari, 09126 Cagliari, ItalyDepartment of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, University of Cagliari, 09126 Cagliari, ItalyDepartment of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, BelgiumDepartment of Psychology, Hunter College, New York, NY 10065, USABiophilic design increases attention among adults, but little is known about the influence of biophilic design on attention in childhood. We assessed visual attention in 4–5-year-old children as a function of high and low degrees of biophilic design. In the high-biophilic-design condition, the children saw four plants, which were placed on their desks. In the low-biophilic-design condition, the children saw no plants on their desks. The children viewed a series of abstract images on a computer screen while their visual attention was measured with an eye tracker. We found that the durations of the children’s first fixations were significantly higher in the high-biophilic-design compared to those in the low-biophilic-design. This study demonstrates the potential of biophilic design to increase visual attention in indoor environments. The implications of this finding for architecture and building design are discussed.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/5/1160biophiliabiophilic designeye trackingpreschool childrenschool environmentvisual attention |
| spellingShingle | Roberta Fadda Sara Congiu Herbert Roeyers Tricia Skoler Elements of Biophilic Design Increase Visual Attention in Preschoolers Buildings biophilia biophilic design eye tracking preschool children school environment visual attention |
| title | Elements of Biophilic Design Increase Visual Attention in Preschoolers |
| title_full | Elements of Biophilic Design Increase Visual Attention in Preschoolers |
| title_fullStr | Elements of Biophilic Design Increase Visual Attention in Preschoolers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Elements of Biophilic Design Increase Visual Attention in Preschoolers |
| title_short | Elements of Biophilic Design Increase Visual Attention in Preschoolers |
| title_sort | elements of biophilic design increase visual attention in preschoolers |
| topic | biophilia biophilic design eye tracking preschool children school environment visual attention |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/5/1160 |
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