Children tend to perceive natural sounds as more restorative than sounds of an urban built environmentNature as a source of restoration is well-documented in the literature. One line of related research focuses on attention restoration theory (ART). According to this theory, the human capacity to focus attention is limited. Mental fatigue depletes this ability. Certain characteristics or qualities of an environment can help restore the ability to focus attention. An environment with these characteristics is referred to as a “restorative environment.” The restorative qualities include fascination, being away, compatibility and extent. “Fascination” involves involuntary or effortless attention, which allows directed attention to rest or recover. “Being away” refers to the physical and psychological distance away from the source of mental fatigue. “Compatibility” is a state of accordance between an individual’s needs and what the environment has to offer. “Extent” refers to the scope for involvement and coherence as perceived in the environment. This study focused specifically on restorative environmental sounds as perceived by children.
Thirty-six children (age 8-12) participated in a laboratory experiment in which they were exposed to two simulated visual contexts: a school classroom and an urban park. The children evaluated 16 different environmental sounds, each paired with a visual context. The environmental sounds represented both natural and urban environments. Natural environmental sounds included birdsong, leaves rustling, and water sounds. Urban environmental sounds included footsteps, construction noise, traffic noise, ringing bells, and people singing. The children evaluated the restorativeness of each sound in both the classroom and park contexts. They recorded their responses on a Perceived Restorativeness Soundscape Scale adapted for children (PRSS-C). This scale consisted of four components corresponding to ART: fascination, being away, compatibility and coherence.
Children’s responses showed that they generally perceived natural sounds as more restorative than urban sounds. Yet they perceived some urban sounds—music, singing, and ringing bells—as more restorative than most natural sounds. The children’s responses indicated that perceived restorativeness for both natural sounds and urban sounds related to three qualities: attractiveness, compatibility and coherence. A further analysis of what children perceived to be restorative environmental sounds revealed that children’s restorative values were positively correlated with fluctuation strength and sharpness, but negatively correlated with loudness and roughness. Responses revealed some gender and age group differences. For age, the significant differences were in the area of attractiveness, compatibility, and coherence; for gender, the significant differences were in the areas of attractiveness and compatibility. Contexts (classroom or park) had a significant effect only in the perception of coherence.
This research calls attention to the restorative potential of environmental sounds as perceived by children and suggests that restorative soundscapes may enhance the restorative experience in children’s living environments.
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