Girls and Greenery
A study conducted by
Andrea Faber Taylor, Frances E. Kuo,
and William C. Sullivan
Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
With funding from
• The Cooperative State Research, Education
and Extension Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture
• The USDA Forest Service
Urban and Community Forestry Program
on the recommendation of the National Urban
and Community Forestry Advisory Council
Take home message
Take home message
Girls with a view of nature at
home scored higher on tests of
self-discipline.
Presentation outline
•
•
•
•
Why Study Girls and Greenery?
The Approach
The Findings
So What?
Why Study Girls and
Greenery?
Inner-city girls are prone to risky
behaviors:
• academic underachievement
• juvenile delinquency
• teenage pregnancy
• substance abuse
To avoid these problem
behaviors, girls need to have
self-discipline.
Daily exposure to greenery
may boost girls’
self-discipline.
Exposure to greenery enhances the
ability to deliberately pay attention…
Greener
Views
Better
attention
One explanation for how greenery
improves attention comes from Attention
Restoration Theory
(Kaplan, S. 1995)
Green
views
Better
attention
According to Attention Restoration
Theory
• Nature is engaging, so attracts our attention
effortlessly.
• This allows deliberate attention to rest.
• Restored deliberate attention is then available
when needed.
If our deliberate attention is restored,
then our capacity for self-discipline
should benefit.
Better
attention
Greater
self-discipline
Self-discipline exists in three forms:
• concentration
Self-discipline exists in three forms:
• concentration
• impulse inhibition
Self-discipline exists in three forms:
• concentration
• impulse inhibition
• delay of gratification
The following study explored whether
exposure to greenery does lead to
greater self-discipline in children.
Green
views
Better
attention
Greater
self-discipline
The Approach
The Robert Taylor Homes were chosen
as a research site because
• buildings are similar; only the quantity of
nearby vegetation differs
The Robert Taylor Homes were chosen
as a research site because
• buildings are similar; only the quantity of
nearby vegetation differs
• residents are randomly assigned to buildings
The Robert Taylor Homes were chosen
as a research site because
• buildings are similar; only the quantity of
nearby vegetation differs
• residents are randomly assigned to buildings
• residents have similar characteristics
The participants were
• recruited by door-to-door interviewers
The participants were
• recruited by door-to-door interviewers
• 169 mother or primary care-giver and child
(7-12 year old) pairs
The participants were
• recruited by door-to-door interviewers
• 169 mother or primary care-giver and child
(7-12 year old) pairs
• from 12 buildings that represented the full
range of amount of nature visible from home
Data collection
For each mother-child pair, the trained
resident interviewer
• asked the mother or care-giver to give both a
“green” rating and a “built” rating of their
apartment’s views.
Data collection
Barren Views
Green Views
Data collection
For each mother-child pair, the trained
resident interviewer
• asked the mother or care-giver to give both a
“green” rating and a “built” rating of their
apartment’s views.
• administered standardized tests of
self-discipline to the child
Data collection
The standardized tests included tasks
that measured the ability to
• concentrate
• inhibit impulses
• delay gratification
Green
views
Greater
self-discipline
Adults asked,
“How natural is
your view?”
Children tested on
• concentration
• impulse inhibition
• delay of gratification
The Findings
For girls, was self-discipline
related to the amount of
greenery in views from
home?
All forms of self-discipline were
related to green views from home
Concentration
High
scores
Test
scores
Low
scores
Impulse
inhibition
2
2
1.5
1.5
1
1
1
.5
.5
.5
0
0
0
-.5
-.5
-.5
-1
-1
-1
0
Barren
1
2
3
4
Very
green
2
Delay of
gratification
1.5
0
1
2
Barren
Greenness of Apartment Views
3
4
Very
green
0
Barren
1
2
3
4
Very
green
Self-discipline increases as the
greenness of the view increases
High
scores
2
1.5
1
Combined
self-discipline
test scores
.5
0
-.5
Low
scores
-1
0
Barren
1
2
3
4
Very green
Greenness of Apartment Views
On average, the greener a girl’s view
from home:
• the better she concentrates
• the less she acts impulsively
• the longer she delays gratification
…in short, the better her
self-discipline.
For boys, self-discipline was
not affected by the view from
home.
For boys, self-discipline was
not affected by the view from
home… why not?
Two studies have shown that
boys’ attention is better after
playing in greener places.
Nature may affect
boys just as much as
girls.
But because boys
spend less time at
home than girls, nearhome nature affects
boys less.
Future studies may find that
boys’ self-discipline is related
to the amount of nature in their
play area – wherever that is.
So What?
Lack of self-discipline
may play a key role in:
• teenage pregnancies
• juvenile delinquencies
• substance abuse
• academic
underachievement
A self-disciplined girl
will better handle
• peer pressure
• sexual pressure
• challenging situations
And, she will
• make more thoughtful choices
• do better in school
Since greenery near home
increases self-discipline in
girls…
And greenery in usual play
areas may eventually be
shown to improve selfdiscipline in boys…
We should provide access to
green views for all children.
Ideas for parents, caregivers, and
homeowners:
• Encourage girls to study or play in rooms
with a view of nature
Ideas for parents, caregivers, and
homeowners:
• Encourage girls to study or play in rooms
with a view of nature
• Encourage children to play in green spaces
and advocate recess in green school yards
Ideas for parents, caregivers, and
homeowners:
• Encourage girls to study or play in rooms
with a view of nature
• Encourage children to play in green spaces
and advocate recess in green school yards
• Plant, value, and care for trees at your
residence and in your community
Caring for trees means caring
for people!
To share this information
with others
• Copies of this presentation and other, written
materials for nonscientific audiences may be obtained
at <www.herl.uiuc.edu>
• To quote this information in print, please consult the
original scientific journal article:
Faber Taylor, A., Kuo, F.E., Sullivan, W.C. (2002). Views of
nature and self-discipline: Evidence from city children. Journal
of Environmental Psychology, 22, 49-63.
Available at www.herl.uiuc.edu
To learn more:
On the risks faced by inner city children
Berrueta-Clement, J.R. et al. (1984). Changed Lives: The Effects of the
Perry Preschool Program on Youths Through Age 19. Ypsilanti, MI:
High/Scope Press.
Brooks-Gunn, J. & Furstenburg, F.F. Jr. (1986). The children of adolescent
mothers: physical, academic, and psychological outcomes. Developmental
Review, 6, 224-251.
Furstenburg, F.F. Jr. (1976). Unplanned Parenthood: The Social
Consequences of Teenage Child-bearing. New York: Free Press.
On the role of self-discipline
Baumeister, R.F., Heatherton, T.F., & Tice, D.M. (1994). Losing Control: How
and Why People Fail at Self-Regulation. San Diego: Academic Press.
To learn more:
On greenery and directed attention
Cimprich, B. (1990) Attentional fatigue and restoration in individuals with
cancer. Dissertation Abstracts International, 51B, 1740.
Hartig, T., Mang, M., Evans, G.W. (1991). Restorative effects of natural
environment experiences. Environment and Behavior, 23, 3-26.
Kuo, F.E. (2001). Coping with poverty: Impacts of environment and attention
in the inner city. Environment and Behavior, 33, 5-34.
Kuo, F.E., Sullivan, W.C. (2001). Aggression and violence in the inner city:
Impacts of environment via mental fatigue. Environment and Behavior, 33,
543-571.
Tennessen, C.M., Cimprich, B. (1995). Views to nature: Effects on attention.
Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15, 77-85.
To learn more:
On directed attention and self-discipline
Kuo, F.E. (2000). Environment and Healthy Human Functioning: In pursuit of
a mechanism. In Stamps, A.E. III (Ed.), Building Bridges: Connecting
people, research and design. Edmond OK: Environmental Design Research
Association, p. 157.
On attention restoration theory
Kaplan, S. (1995). The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative
framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15(3), 169-182.
On where boys play
Moore, R., Young, D (1978). Childhood outdoors: toward a social ecology of
the landscape. In Altman, I. & Wohlwill (Eds.), Human behavior and
environment, Vol. 3 New York: Plenum. Pp. 83-130.
To learn more:
On effects of play area greenery on boys with
ADHD
Faber Taylor, A., Kuo, F.E., Sullivan, W.C. (2001). Coping with ADD: The
surprising connection to green play settings. Environment and Behavior, 33,
54-77.
On details of the original study
Faber Taylor, A., Kuo, F.E., Sullivan, W.C. (2002). Views of nature and selfdiscipline: Evidence from city children. Journal of Environmental Psychology,
22, 49-63.
Other questions?
Contact Andrea Faber Taylor, Ph.D.
([email protected])
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Human-Environment Research Laboratory
1103 S. Dorner Drive, MC-636
Urbana IL 61801