Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, Stanford University, California 94305, USA.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2012 Feb;1249:118-36. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06400.x. Epub 2012 Feb 9.
Scholars spanning a variety of disciplines have studied the ways in which contact with natural environments may impact human well-being. We review the effects of such nature experience on human cognitive function and mental health, synthesizing work from environmental psychology, urban planning, the medical literature, and landscape aesthetics. We provide an overview of the prevailing explanatory theories of these effects, the ways in which exposure to nature has been considered, and the role that individuals' preferences for nature may play in the impact of the environment on psychological functioning. Drawing from the highly productive but disparate programs of research in this area, we conclude by proposing a system of categorization for different types of nature experience. We also outline key questions for future work, including further inquiry into which elements of the natural environment may have impacts on cognitive function and mental health; what the most effective type, duration, and frequency of contact may be; and what the possible neural mechanisms are that could be responsible for the documented effects.
学者们跨越了多个学科领域，研究了接触自然环境对人类幸福感的影响方式。我们回顾了这种自然体验对人类认知功能和心理健康的影响，综合了环境心理学、城市规划、医学文献和景观美学等方面的工作。我们概述了这些影响的主流解释理论、考虑暴露于自然环境的方式，以及个体对自然的偏好可能在环境对心理功能的影响中所扮演的角色。从这一领域极具成效但分散的研究计划中汲取灵感，我们最后提出了一种不同类型自然体验的分类系统。我们还概述了未来工作的关键问题，包括进一步探究自然环境的哪些元素可能对认知功能和心理健康产生影响；最有效的接触类型、持续时间和频率可能是什么；以及可能负责记录效果的神经机制是什么。
