The relationship between exposure to natural and urban environments and children’s self-regulation

Research suggests that children living in areas with more greenspace may have better self-regulation, but to date no studies have investigated this capacity immediately following exposure to natural vs. urban environments. To explore this, two studies using between-subjects experimental designs were conducted. Participants, between eight and eleven years old, completed a delay of gratification task (as an indicator of self-regulation) before and after a short (3 min) video of either a natural or built environment or a control display. Potential cognitive and emotional mechanisms underpinning any self-regulation effects were explored using a selective attention task (Stroop test) and by monitoring mood (adapted Cantril’s ladder). Results were mixed. Supporting earlier work, post-test delay of gratification scores were significantly better after exposure to a natural than urban environment, however, compared to controls, it appeared that this effect was due to the depleting effect of the built condi...