Cognitive and affective responses to natural scenes: Effects of low level visual properties on preference, cognitive load and eye-movements

• Published in: Journal of environmental psychology Vol. 43; pp. 184 - 195
• Main Authors: Valtchanov, Deltcho, Ellard, Colin G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier India Pvt Ltd 01.09.2015
• Subjects: Affective responses; Categories; Cognitive responses; Construction; Human; Low level; Power spectra; Restoration Theory; Restorative effects of nature; Visual; Visual perception; Cognitive responses; Restoration Theory; Restorative effects of nature; Affective responses; Visual perception
• ISSN: 0272-4944; 1522-9610
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2015.07.001

Research has shown that humans have a preference for images of nature over images of built environments, and that eye-movement behaviour and attention are significantly different across these categories. To build on these findings, we investigated the influence of low-level visual properties on scene preference, cognitive load, and eye-movements. In the present study, participants viewed a mixture of unaltered and altered photographs of nature and urban scenes to determine if low-level visual properties influenced responses to scenes. Altered versions included photographs with only low or mid-to-high visual spatial frequency information, and photographs where the phase or amplitude of visual spatial frequencies had been scrambled. We replicated past findings, demonstrating preference and longer fixation-time for nature scenes versus urban cities. We then demonstrated that the visual spatial frequencies and power spectra contained in images significantly influenced preference, cognitive load, and eye-movements, and can partially explain the restoration response to natural environments. •We describe a visual mechanism for the restorative effects of nature.•We investigate how visual information impacts cognitive load and preference.•Cognitive and affective responses to scenes are dissociated through scene alteration.•Cognitive responses are linked to low spatial frequencies of scenes.•Affective responses are linked to mid-to-high spatial frequencies of scenes.