In a series of studies, we investigated how environmental characteristics—especially the presence of green and natural spaces—shape mental well-being and resilience to technostress. We hypothesized that these effects operate primarily through psychological processes associated with sense of self and agency. A further aim was to capture these dynamics using both psychometric instruments and innovative quantitative methods mapping individuals' surrounding environments.
Findings confirm that the sense of self is a key mediator between environment and well-being, integrating identity and agency as fundamental dimensions. A major methodological advance was the development of a Satellite Image Segmentation approach to quantify environmental factors around participants' residences, study, and work locations. Satellite images were segmented using optimized k-means clustering (guided by BIC and Dunn indices) and converted into YIQ color space to enhance chromatic variation analysis. The relative coverage of green versus built spaces was then calculated across multiple neighborhood scales, yielding a multilayered assessment of environmental exposure. In addition to providing novel environmental metrics, this approach enabled a direct integration of objective spatial data with psychometric and neurophysiological findings, enhancing the ecological validity of the findings.
Psychometric results showed that in university contexts, sense of self and agency significantly mediated the link between environmental features and mental well-being, suggesting that exposure to green spaces supports psychological restoration. Neurophysiological experiments using functional infrared imaging (fIRI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) further demonstrated that exposure to green spaces reduced stress perception and physiological activation under conditions of high technostress and low agency, confirming the restorative power of nature.
Overall, the findings demonstrate how environmental features—captured through both psychometric and satellite-based measures—interact with psychological processes to modulate technostress, with concrete benefits for mental and physiological well-being in contexts shaped by digital demands.