The effects of green space on college students’ mood

Abstract

Objective: Less attention has been given to how green space can impact college students’ moods. This study aimed to examine whether university students exposed to outdoor and indoor green space-natural and artificial would experience a change in moods compared to students not exposed to green space. Method: Seventy-nine participants were randomly assigned to four different conditions: office without greenery, office with posters of nature, office with green plants, and outside in a garden. The Brunel Mood Scale was used to assess participants’ moods before and after spending time in their assigned setting. Results: Results indicated that all participants experienced a decline in tension and fatigue regardless of their assigned setting, yet the decline was less pronounced among participants in the office without greenery. Conclusion: Study findings highlight indoor green space is also conducive to positive moods. Thus, in addition to protecting outside greenery, universities may invest in indoor greenery (e.g., indoor plants, posters/artwork featuring nature) that can be placed in classrooms, libraries, dormitories, and other spaces frequented by students.

Keywords:

• College students
• experiment
• green space
• mood

Acknowledgments

We want to thank Dr. Josh Witten from the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics and Melissa Hawkins from the Clemson University Honors College for their support in this project.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of United States and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Clemson University.

Additional information

Funding

The study was supported by Clemson University Honors College.