EFFECTS OF BIOPHILIC RESTORATIVE EXPERIENCES ON DESIGNERS' BODIES, BRAINS, AND MINDS

Abstract

The research presented in this paper explores a novel method for assessing the effects of biophilic restorative experiences on designers' cognition by combining the use of physiological, neurocognitive and semantic measures. A total of 12 engineering graduate students participated in a three-step pilot experiment that consisted of (1) a stressor (the Trier Social Stress Test), (2) a destressing intervention (biophilic sound experience), and (3) a design task. Heart rate variability (HRV) was used to track subjects' autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to track patterns of brain activation in subjects' prefrontal cortex (PFC). Changes in design quality were assessed by the semantic space they explored, measured through a natural language processing (NLP) technique. Preliminary findings suggest that an auditory biophilic restorative experience can change designers' bodies, brains, and minds. Results from this pilot study encourage further exploration of the use of exposure to nature-based stimuli as a method to help enhance engineering design cognition.