Joint Workshop For Global Engineers in Asia 2015 at
Ritsumeikan University on 24 to 29 July 2015
Henry Ojobo and Ismail Said
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
 INTRODUCTION
• Contact with natural environments enhance restoration of directed attention
better than experience of other environments. Restoration encompasses the
process that facilitates peoples recovery from stress acquired whilst trying to
meet demands of everyday life (Hartig, 2011).
• Whereas stress is the general response of the body to any demand, stressor is
the stress reducing agent (Selye, 1976).
• Hence, mental stress results from interactions between persons and their
environment that are perceived as straining or exceeding their adaptive
capacities and threatening their well being (Annerstedt et al. 2010).
• Directed attention phenomenon as described by Kaplan (1995) plays a major
role in human capacity and its restoration is dependent upon the components of
the environment.
• Assumption: Cumulative effects of contact with environment having high
restorative qualities can enhance better health benefits than contact with lesser
restorative quality (Hartig et al. 2011)
Components of a restorative environment include:
 Being away - different from everyday environments
 Extent – Possess Enough scope and organization
 Fascination – Evokes effortless attention
 Compatibility- A purpose fit component
• While MODERN DAY environments are
only created to suite everyday living and
working which offer less restorative health
benefits (Thompson, 2010), NATURE
RELATED ENVIRONMENTS like
forests, wilderness and mountains are
considered to possess significantly the
possibility of enhancing restoration from
stress through passive and active contact.
 WHY WE NEED THIS STUDY!

Previous studies have been done in quasi
(confined or laboratory) environments which
involved participants viewing through a window or viewing
nature scenes through video, picture slides and simulations.
QUASI/LABORATORY
RESEARCH
MILIEU


White (2013), Berto et al (2010), Han,
K. T. (2010), Van den Berg et al. (2010),
Chang et al.(2008), Berto, (2007), Han,
K. T. (2007), Hartig & Staats (2006),
Berto, R. (2005), Staats & Hartig
(2004), De Vries et al. (2003), Herzog et
al. (2003), Laumann et al. (2003), Staats
et al. (2003), Herzog et al. (2002),
Laumann et al. (2001), Purcell et al.
(2001), Herzog et al. (1997), Ulrich et al.
(1991), Ulrich, R. S. (1981) Ulrich, R. S.
(1979)
REAL SITE
Tsunetsugu et al.
(2013), Martens et al.
(2011), Annerstedt et
al. (2010), Cole & Hall
(2010), Hartig et al.
(2003), Tennessen &
Cimprich (1995)
MIX MILIEU
Berman et al.
(2008), Kaplan,
R. (2001),
Hartig, T. et al.
(1997)
Most of the research carried out on real-site nature related environments
has been largely done in forests while mountain environments have merely
been mentioned as part of picture slides or video simulations.
A large volume of published studies depended on psychometric self report
measures to determine the magnitude of psychological human response
to environmental stimuli. Very few have combined both psychological and
physiological measures.
OBJECTIVE 1
To identify the feature(s)
of the mountain
landscape environment
potentially critical to
human perception and
psychological response
RQ1
What feature of the
mountain environment
yield higher restorative
benefits in terms of
psychological
wellbeing?
AIM
To examine the mechanism
and intricacies of the link
between restorative
environments, human
response and wellbeing in a
mountain landscape
environment.
OBJECTIVE 2
RQ2
To investigate the
magnitude to which
mountain environments
can stimulate human
psychological and
physiological well-being
What degree would the
mountain landscape
environment influence
recovery from directed
attention and stress?
OBJECTIVE 3
RQ3
To determine the
significance of the
ambient mountain
environment conditions
on human physiological
wellbeing.
What aspects of the
ambient mountain
environment conditions
combine to elicit human
physiological wellbeing?
AESTHETIC-AFFECTIVE THEORY
AAT
Ulrich (1986) asserts that visual contact with most
natural settings by a stressed individual is likely to
foster positive feelings (emotions), hold interest and
mitigate stressful thoughts resulting in recuperation.
Aesthetic and affective responses are related to visual
perceptions of natural environments.
ATTENTION RESTORATION THEORTY
ART
STRESS RECOVERY THEORY
SRT
Natural environments play an essential role
in human functioning through the process of
restorative experience (Kaplan, 1992). The
theory focuses on:
• In-depth analysis of restoration in terms of
four conceptual components of a restorative
environment and
• Environmental configurations that are
likely to contribute to restorative experience
can be identified.
An encounter with most unthreatening
natural environment by stressed
individuals would yield restorative
benefits while many urban environment
will mitigate recovery (Ulrich et al. 1991).
Its focus is mainly on the emotional and
physiological stress reduction benefits
derivable through contact with natural
environments.
is focused on measuring the benefits of human contact with the mountain
landscape environment with regards to restoration of directed attention and
stress mitigation. Thus, a cause and effect strategy comparing contact with the
urban environment and mountain landscape environment is elucidated.
•
DBP-diastolic blood pressure;SBP-systolic blood pressure;PR-pulse rate and RR-respiratory rate.
The experimentation was carried out between 28th January and 3rd February 2014. The experimental
protocol spanned 7 days as shown in Figure 5.6. Pretest measures were carried out at the urban
environment on 28th, 29th and 30th January which represent first three days of the study.
Respondents were transported by road on a journey that lasted 4 hours to the Obudu mountain
landscape environment on the 31st of January 2014.
Posttest measures were carried out at the mountain landscape environment the following three
days, 1st, 2nd and 3rd February. Three qualified medics assisted in carrying out measurements at the
urban environment while two assisted at the mountain landscape environment. The respondents
were verbally briefed at the beginning of the study on the measures to be taken which included
systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate and respiratory rate measurements.
RO1
RO2
RO3
• cultural bias due to familiarity of the individuals with the structured
features and not innate human characteristics is responsible for their
preference.
• water features contribute greatly to the perception of the mountain
landscape as a fascinating environment capable of restoration of stress.
• perception of restorative potential of the mountain landscape
environment varies across age groups
• Findings affirm the phenomenon of being away and compatibility as
explanation for increased restorativeness and stress mitigation leading to
wellbeing with regards to mountain landscape environments.
• the feeling of fascination and extents in the mountain landscape
environment does not indicate restoration from stress.
• experiential contact with the mountain landscape environment
influenced individual’s ability to attain a relaxed state through the
reduction of their diastolic blood pressure and pulse rate.
• While temperature decreased at the mountain landscape environment
compared to the urban environment, humidity increased.
• This was found to have influenced the increase in systolic blood pressure
but decrease in both diastolic blood pressure and pulse rate.
The combination of findings provides support for the theoretical
premise that natural environments are typically distinct from the
everyday urban environments in terms of health benefits. It concludes
that contact with mountain landscape environments promotes
spontaneous recovery from stress and restoration of directed attention.
Therefore, individuals experiencing stress from daily hassles in urban
environments can seek short term relieve measures from a mountain
landscape environment.
The scope of environments studied in terms of landscape types and
their restorative benefits have been expanded through the situatedness
of this study in the mountain landscape environment. Also, with regards
to the link between nature experience and human wellbeing, research
has been expanded. The study represents an essential step in providing
empirical evidence of the psycho-physiological benefits of mountain
landscape environments.