The Influence of Audio-Visual Interactions on Psychological Responses of Young People in Urban Green Areas: A Case Study in Two Parks in China

Audio-visual interactions in green spaces are important for mental health and wellbeing. However, the influence of audio-visual interactions on psychological responses is still less clear. This study introduced a new method, namely the audio-visual walk (AV-walk), to obtain data on the audio-visual...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shilun Zhang, Xiaolong Zhao, Zixi Zeng, Xuan Qiu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-05-01
Series:International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/10/1845
Description
Summary:Audio-visual interactions in green spaces are important for mental health and wellbeing. However, the influence of audio-visual interactions on psychological responses is still less clear. This study introduced a new method, namely the audio-visual walk (AV-walk), to obtain data on the audio-visual context, audio-visual experiences, and psychological responses in two typical parks, namely Cloves Park and Music Park in Harbin, China. Some interesting results are as follows: First, based on Pearson&#8217;s correlation analysis, sound pressure level and roughness were significantly correlated with psychological responses in Cloves Park (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05). Second, the results of stepwise regression models showed the impact intensity of acoustic comfort was 1.64&#8722;1.68 times higher than that of visual comfort on psychological responses of emotion dimension, while visual comfort was 1.35&#8722;1.37 times higher than acoustic comfort on psychological responses of cognition dimension in Music Park. In addition, an orthogonal analysis diagram explained the influence of audio-visual interactions on psychological responses of young people. The audio-visual context located beside the waterscape with a relatively higher level of acoustic and visual comfort was the most cheerful (2.60), relaxed (2.45), and energetic (2.05), while the audio-visual context close to an urban built environment tended to be both acoustically and visually uncomfortable, and the psychological state was decreased to the most depressed (&#8722;0.25), anxious (&#8722;0.75), fatigued (&#8722;1.13) and distracted (&#8722;1.13).
ISSN:1660-4601