Any Designed Environment

Aleem and Grzywacz studied how our aesthetic preferences change as time passes.  They determined that “A handful of studies that have measured aesthetic preferences at multiple moments show that preferences may change in as little as two weeks. . . . we measured aesthetic preferences for different colored objects at six-time points, spanning a month. We found that aesthetic preferences were not stable and tended to drift stochastically [randomly] over time. Small statistically significant drifts occurred already after 20 min, and large ones happened after 2 weeks. . . .

Buckley found that different birdsongs have different effects on our mental health.  Buckley reports that “Mental health benefits of birdsong differ between bird species. . . . Benefits of birdsong for mental health provide an economic argument for conservation of bird species, assemblages and habitats; but we need to quantify the benefits of bird diversity, and of rare relative to abundant bird species. . . .  the benefits of birdsong may depend on particular bird species, e.g. since songs bring memories or emotions. . . . birdsong is not a single homogeneous parameter.”

Hammoud and colleagues identified positive consequences of seeing or hearing birds.  They report that they “used the Urban Mind smartphone application to examine the impact of seeing or hearing birds on self-reported mental wellbeing in real-life contexts. . . . Everyday encounters with birdlife were associated with time-lasting improvements in mental wellbeing. These improvements were evident not only in healthy people but also in those with a diagnosis of depression, the most common mental illness across the world. . . . results . . .

Liu and colleagues conducted a literature review to better understand how people over 60 years old experience virtual nature. They determined that data available indicate “that natural landscapes displayed through virtual reality positively influence the emotions of older adults. Simple scenes such as waterscapes and plants were more applicable virtual interventions for older adults compared with complex scenes.”

Merrill and associates studied musical preferences; it is likely that their findings are applicable more broadly. The investigators determined via an online survey that “analysis identified two profiles of explanatory strategies for disliked music. The highbrow profile included reasons such as the music being Too Simple, or Not Authentic, having No Impact on the listener, and a perceived Social Incongruence, and was mainly associated with a dislike of German schlager, traditional music, and pop.

Rizzo and team’s work confirms how much language used influences conclusions drawn.  They determined that “sensory language (e.g., words like “crumble” and “juicy” that engage the senses) shapes consumer responses to influencer-sponsored content. A multimethod investigation . . . demonstrates that sensory language increases engagement and willingness to buy the sponsored product. . . . these effects are driven by perceived authenticity.

How does how we’re moving or where we're standing while looking at art influence our responses to that art?  Kuhnapfel and colleagues share that “in a gallery-like setting . . . we tracked movements of participants that engaged an abstract artwork. . . . moving more/more dynamically related to more reported insight. . . . We found indications that when people spent more time near to the artwork, or when their mean viewing distance was closer, they rated the art as more meaningful, interesting, and reported feeling more stimulated and insight.