Aesthetics and mood: exploring the effect that landscape aesthetics have on individuals with depressive symptoms

dc.contributor.authorNelson, Breanna
dc.date.accessioned2018-05-02T18:09:10Z
dc.date.available2018-05-02T18:09:10Z
dc.date.graduationmonthAugusten_US
dc.date.issued2018-05-01en_US
dc.date.published2018en_US
dc.description.abstractAccording to the National Alliance on Mental illness, 18.5% of adults in the U.S. experience mental illness each year. Many recent studies suggest that the natural environment can beneficially impact the mental health of an individual. Research on healing gardens suggests that if an individual with depression has a higher aesthetic preference for a landscape, the individual will see a positive increase in mood and perhaps a decrease in depressive symptoms. An environmental preference study was conducted to understand if an aesthetically preferred landscape has an impact on the mood of an individual. Participants were recruited from two universities and included students and non-students. A total of 120 participants were given the option of online or in-person participation. Prior to viewing landscape images, participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Environmental Preference Questionnaire (EPQ). Before and after viewing each image, the participants indicated their mood using a Visual Analog Scale and their aesthetic preference using a Likert-type Scale. This study showed a positive increase in mood, dependent upon aesthetic preference across all participants, however, an overall lower mood for individuals with higher depressional tendencies.en_US
dc.description.advisorTimothy D. Keaneen_US
dc.description.degreeMaster of Landscape Architectureen_US
dc.description.departmentDepartment of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planningen_US
dc.description.levelMastersen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2097/38912
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.subjectLandscapeen_US
dc.subjectAestheticsen_US
dc.subjectDepressionen_US
dc.subjectPreferenceen_US
dc.titleAesthetics and mood: exploring the effect that landscape aesthetics have on individuals with depressive symptomsen_US
dc.typeReporten_US

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