Aggression and Violence in the Inner City Effects of Environment via Mental Fatigue

S. Kaplan suggested that one outcome of mental fatigue may be an increased propensity for outbursts of anger and even violence. If so, contact with nature, which appears to mitigate mental fatigue, may reduce aggression and violence. This study investigated that possibility in a setting and populati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEnvironment and behavior Vol. 33; no. 4; pp. 543 - 571
Main Authors Kuo, Frances E., Sullivan, William C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Thousand Oaks, CA SAGE Publications 01.07.2001
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Aggression
Aggressiveness
Anger
Central Cities
Environmental Factors
Fatigue
Grass
Health Problems
Human Ecology
Human environment
Inner cities
Inner city
Local authority housing
Mental fatigue
Mental Health
Natural landscapes
Nature
Psychological wellbeing
Public Housing
Residents
Trees
U.S.A
Urban life
Urban Population
Urban sociology
Violence
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Summary:S. Kaplan suggested that one outcome of mental fatigue may be an increased propensity for outbursts of anger and even violence. If so, contact with nature, which appears to mitigate mental fatigue, may reduce aggression and violence. This study investigated that possibility in a setting and population with relatively high rates of aggression: inner-city urban public housing residents. Levels of aggression were compared for 145 urban public housing residents randomly assigned to buildings with varying levels of nearby nature (trees and grass). Attentional functioning was assessed as an index of mental fatigue. Residents living in relatively barren buildings reported more aggression and violence than did their counterparts in greener buildings. Moreover, levels of mental fatigue were higher in barren buildings, and aggression accompanied mental fatigue. Tests for the proposed mechanism and for alternative mechanisms indicated that the relationship between nearby nature and aggression was fully mediated through attentional functioning.
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ISSN:0013-9165
1552-390X
DOI:10.1177/00139160121973124