Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study is to replicate Berto’s (2005) heavily cited work on attention restoration. Background: Nature interventions have gained increased interest for improving performance of attentionally demanding tasks. Berto (2005) indicated that viewing digital nature images could improve performance on a subsequent response inhibition task, the sustained attention to response task (SART). However, experimental design and statistical concerns about her experiments as well as failure to support her findings across multiple unpublished studies in our laboratory provided rationale for this replication study. Method: Twenty participants were each assigned to one of three digital image conditions: nature, urban, and control. Participants performed the SART before and after digital image exposure. Results: SART performance metrics (total correct target responses, mean response time, and transformed d′) were analyzed using 2 (SART) × 3 (image interventions) mixed design ANOVAs. The results failed to replicate Berto (2005). Conclusion: Possible reasons for not replicating Berto (2005) are discussed, including (1) sample differences, (2) different testing environments and procedures, (3) insufficient attentional depletion, and (4) individual differences. Applications: Research needs to determine the effectiveness of such interventions, the specific attention tasks that might benefit, and the individual difference variables relevant for attention restoration.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 1046-1060 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Human Factors |
Volume | 63 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We would like to thank Abigail Boudreaux, Mikaela Greathouse, Mariah Haughwout, Michaela Knapp, William Matthews, and Cooper Rodriguez for assistance with data collection and data analysis preparation.
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright 2020, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
Keywords
- attentional processes
- environmental design
- fatigue
- multiple resource models
- replication
PubMed: MeSH publication types
- Journal Article