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Environmental Deficit Phenomenon: The Effect of Recess on Attention and Emotion Regulation and Implications for the Connectedness of People and the Natural World

Bates, Lauren
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1534522727126405

Abstract Details

2018, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Environment and Natural Resources.
For years scholars, journalists and environmental philosophers have pondered the relationship between people -especially children- and nature. Whether evidence exists of an inherent draw toward nature remains the subject of debate, but a growing body of research from the medical and psychological communities point to a connection between optimal human development and wellness and time spent outdoors. There are measurable physical, emotional, and cognitive benefits to spending unstructured time in natural space, and known risks for health problems in those who do not spend that time outdoors. This dissertation explores previous theory on the human connection to nature and reviews key evidence from the medical, psychological and human development fields to support the claim that time spent in natural space uniquely and positively affects human health and wellness. Furthermore, this dissertation offers an explanation as to why suboptimal child development as a result of lack of access to unstructured time outdoors is a social problem, not something solved at the individual level. Lastly, this dissertation presents two studies that examine the effect of unstructured time spent outdoors, in the form of recess, on the attention and emotion regulation of 73 preschoolers during their group reading lesson. Results suggest that children are better able to pay attention and regulate angry emotions after playing outside, regardless of whether or not they played on a naturalized playground. This contributes to the body of knowledge of how unstructured time outdoors serves to facilitate aspects of optimal child development, and also how others communicate about and offer solutions to address the current disconnect from natural space that many children face today.
Kerry Ard (Advisor)
Robyn Wilson (Committee Member)
Xin Feng (Committee Member)
110 p.
Educational Sociology; Environmental Studies; Health
Children, Recess, Outdoors, Attention, Emotion Regulation

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Bates, L. (2018). Environmental Deficit Phenomenon: The Effect of Recess on Attention and Emotion Regulation and Implications for the Connectedness of People and the Natural World [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1534522727126405

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Bates, Lauren. Environmental Deficit Phenomenon: The Effect of Recess on Attention and Emotion Regulation and Implications for the Connectedness of People and the Natural World. 2018. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1534522727126405.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Bates, Lauren. "Environmental Deficit Phenomenon: The Effect of Recess on Attention and Emotion Regulation and Implications for the Connectedness of People and the Natural World." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1534522727126405

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1534522727126405
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.