Cabiro and colleagues investigated the psychological implications of living in an urban area. They found “no association between urbanicity [living in an urban area or not doing so] and multitasking abilities. However, additional analyses revealed that other variables related to the engagement with their physical environment, such as time spent outdoors, and time spent in nature were associated with multitasking abilities. This goes in line with the previous research showing the restorative effects that short-term exposure to nature can have on cognition. . . . In line with previous research, dwellers living in highly urban areas showed a global bias as compared to those living in less urban areas.” Useful background information: “physical objects can be processed visually by focusing on the details (i.e., local processing style) or the objects' overall shape (i.e., global processing style).”
Marina Cabiro, Sonja Sudimac, Emil Stobbe, and Simone Kuhn. “Urbanization Is Positively Associated with Global Perceptual Style.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, in press, 102100, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102100