Wednesday 22 July 15:40 - 17:10

Hall: 24 - Room 3 SPT

Chair and Presenter: Pasini Margherita

Division: Division 4: Environmental Psychology

Research on restorative environments has grown rapidly, yet methodological and measurement challenges remain, including assessing nature exposure, inconsistent health outcomes, and limited population-level causality (Hartig et al., 2014). Addressing these requires innovation in assessment, study design, and theory. This symposium highlights methodological and theoretical advances that strengthen understanding of environment-well-being links.


The session opens with Stefano De Dominicis (Green exercise and its physiological and psychological outcomes: insights from subjective and objective measures), who examines how natural settings promote restoration through physical activity. He highlights methodological challenges—heterogeneous measures, small samples, and short-term designs—underscoring the need for multi-method, longitudinal approaches and stronger integration across psychological, physiological, and social domains.


Margherita Pasini (Measuring Restorativeness at Work: Theoretical Refinement and Methodological Insights from the Development of the Restorativeness at Work Scale) focuses on the methodological process of developing and validating a psychometric instrument to assess restorative potential of work environments. She emphasizes item contextualization, dimensional refinement, and validation tailored to indoor contexts.


Next, Sjoerd Ebisch (Restorative Environments and Sense of Self: Linking Green Exposure, Agency, and Mental Well-Being through Innovative Measurement) presents innovations combining psychometric tools, neurophysiological measures, and satellite-based assessments of environmental exposure. His work shows how sense of self and agency mediate restorative processes, offering a multilayered, ecologically valid account of how green spaces support resilience under technostress.


The session concludes with Erin Largo-Wight (Nature Contact, Health, and Well-being: Exploring Dose, Type, and Setting), who examines how forms and doses of nature contact influence restoration. She underscores context-specific measurement, variations in exposure, and integrates the Biophilia Hypothesis with empirical evidence, linking theory to practical health promotion.


Finally, Jak L. Nasar discusses the presentations, drawing methodological and theoretical insights and future directions. The symposium shows how innovation, psychometric rigor, and reflection advance knowledge on restorative environments and well-being.