This research project is the result of an international collaboration between Apsym and some researchers of Ohio State University in Columbus (US) and Macquarie University in Sydney (AUS).
Theorethical background
The research studies the construct of Restorativeness and particularly the restorative capability of natural environments. From '80 this construct was deeply explored in Environmental Psychology
(e.g. Ulrich, 1984; Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989; Hartig, Korpela, Evans & Garling, 1997; Purcel, Peron & Berto, 2001, Pasini & Berto, 2009), but only few studies have analysed the restorative effects on workplace environments (Finnegan & Solomon, 1981; Kaplan, 1993; Farley & Veitch, 2001).
Metal fatigue is a consequence of work activities because task execution causes exhaustion and directed attention's consumption. The attention restoration theory explains how restorative attributes of enviroment have a positive effects on attention. This cross-national study investigates the impact of a restorative experience on workers well being and on their task performance.
The first aim of the research is to deeply explore the construct of Restorativeness integrating the analysis of restorative attributes of the physical environment with the analysis of how these attributes can have different meaning depending on the personality and attitudes of each person who perceives them. The result of this exploration will be a broader definition of Restorativeness construct integrating different restorativeness meaning coming from personality and personal reactions of individuals.
A second aim is to study the impact of restorative break on workers well being and their task performance.
A final aim is to study the same phenomena on three different national contexts: Italy, Australia and United States.
References
Finnegan, M. C. & Solomon, L. Z. (1981). Work attitudes in windowed vs. windowless enviroments. The Journal of Social Psychology, 115, 291-292.
Kaplan, R. (1993). The role of nature in the context of the workplace. Landscape and Urban Planning, 26, 193-201.
Ulrich, R. S. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science, 224, 420-421.
Kaplan, R., & Kaplan, S. (1989). The experience of nature: A psychological perspective. New York: Cambridge University Press.
