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Effects of Biophilic Wallpaper on University Students’ Mental Wellbeing

University of British Columbia. Sustainability Office; University of British Columbia. Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability

Studies have suggested the benefits of biophilic designs on people’s wellbeing, however, none has investigated the effects of biophilic wallpaper on people’s mental wellbeing, especially in school settings. This project aimed to fill this research gap by investigating the following research question, how does biophilic wallpaper impact university students’ positive affect and negative affect? We hypothesized that staying in a classroom with biophilic wallpaper will increase students’ positive affect and decrease their negative affect, and students will prefer biophilic wallpaper over non-biophilic wallpaper and a plain wall. We conducted an online experiment which randomly assigned the participants to view a picture of a classroom with either biophilic wallpaper, non-biophilic wallpaper, or a plain wall. Then, we asked them to imagine being in the classroom and indicate their likings for the picture and their current positive and negative affect. We obtained 246 valid responses and performed an ANOVA analysis. Results showed that the participants have a stronger preference towards the biophilic wallpaper than towards the non-biophilic wallpaper and the plain wall; they have less negative affect in the biophilic condition than in other two conditions. However, the results were not statistically significant, so we rejected our hypotheses. 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.”

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

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0421611

Arts, Faculty of; Psychology, Department of

Undergraduate

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