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Wood in Study Spaces : Impact on Student Mood and Preference

University of British Columbia. Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability; University of British Columbia. Campus and Community Planning

It is well known that people have an affinity to nature and previous research has found that biophilic designs are correlated to higher individual satisfaction (Nyrud et al., 2014); however little is known about the effect of wood in study environments. An online volunteer sample of 157 participants were presented with images of one of five fictional study rooms in a between subject design. The five rooms had differing amounts of wooden surfaces (independent variable), from no wooden surfaces, to having both wooden floors and four wooden walls. They were then asked to complete a short PANAS and preference questionnaire (dependent variables). No significant results were found regarding the impact of wooden design elements on student preference or mood. Therefore, the effect of wood on preference cannot be definitively extended to study environments. Future research with larger participant samples and a higher statistical power are required. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”

Text

UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report; University of British Columbia. PSYC 421

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0421552

Arts, Faculty of; Psychology, Department of

Undergraduate

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