Effects of Green Space in an Apartment Complex on the Environmental Cognition and Stress Response of Residents

Abstract

Background and objective With an increasing interest in health-related issues in urban environments, there has been growing attention to the relationship between green space and psychological states of residents in apartment complexes. This study investigated resident perceptions of green space and their stress responses in an apartment complex. Methods The psychological stress responses that arose during residents’ observation of two types of environments―an indoor living room and an outdoor green space―were investigated through a field experiment. Sixteen healthy adult females in child care participated in the within-group comparison study. The semantic differential (SD) method was used to examine environmental perception, and three psychological tests were administered to quantify stress responses to the two environments: the Profile of Mood States (POMS), the Revised Perceived Restorativeness Scale (RPRS), and the Zuckerman Inventory of Personal Reactions Scale (ZIPERS). Results Feeling of pleasure, familiarity, and beauty showed significantly higher scores in outdoor green space than indoor space. In the POMS analysis, significantly more positive mood states were found in outdoor green space than indoor space. The ZIPERS and RPRS data showed that outdoor green space was more suitable for fatigue recovery because it relieved negative emotions and psychological stress to a greater degree than indoor space. Conclusion This field study suggested that green spaces have the potential to reduce psychological stress and restore psychological well-being in female residents. Despite limited exposure to the green space in the apartment complex, improved mood states and positive health-related effects were observed among the participants.