The Effects of Viewing Natural Scenery Indoors on Middle School Students’ Changes in Mood States and Concentration

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mood states and concentration of students when they see the natural scenery indoors throughout the Free Semester Program (FSP) of middle school. The subjects were total 180 students comprised of 60 students in the group viewing natural scenery, 60 students in the group viewing urban scenery and 60 students in the control group from the first year of middle school located in Daejeon, and the experiment was carried out from September 3 to October 30, in 2018. The results showed that tension, depression, anger, fatigue and confusion were decreased and vigor was increased significantly in group viewing natural scenery compared to group viewing urban scenery and the control group. Ratings of ‘pleasant,’ ‘natural,’ and ‘calm’ were increased and concentration was also improved significantly in the group viewing natural scenery compared to the group viewing urban scenery and the control group. This indicates that positive effects can be anticipated on the improvement of mood states and concentration by developing indoor program viewing natural scenery for people who have difficulties in outdoor activities.