Quantifying the Benefits of Multisensory Biophilic Restorative Experiences: An Empirical Study Measuring Effects on How Engineers Feel, Think, and Design

This dissertation investigates the effects of multisensory biophilic restorative experiences on how engineers feel, think, and design. While previous research on the restorative effects of biophilic experiences have mostly focused on the benefits of visual exposure, less is known about the potential of exposure to auditory and multisensory stimuli. Moreover, a knowledge gap exists in regards to how the cognitive benefits of biophilic restorative experiences influence performance in real-world cognitive tasks, like design. To address the identified knowledge gaps, a randomized controlled trial with 154 participants was conducted, exploring the restorative effects of biophilic auditory, visual, and multisensory (auditory + visual) experiences after induced psychosocial stress. To assess the potential influence on the performance of a real-world cognitive tasks, an open-ended design task was given to participants following the exposure period. Dependent variables tracked covered three key domains of the research question: (1) psychological and physiological responses (feel), (2) neurocognitive responses (think), and (3) design originality and incorporation of biophilia (design). Results showed that the biophilic auditory experience induced higher physiological arousal during and after exposure, while the visual and multisensory conditions presented evidence of increased neural efficiency. The biophilic conditions assisted in restoring cognitive resources and improved prefrontal cortical functional connectivity, specifically within main hubs of the Default Mode Network (DMN). However, better engagement of the DMN did not result in more original design products. No significant differences were found for exploration of the design space across conditions. Interestingly, the visual group incorporated significantly more biophilic design patterns, such as "Visual Connection with Nature" and "Presence of Water", in their design concepts. This finding suggests a potential priming effect, where exposure to biophilic stimuli influenced designers' choices towards more nature-connected ideas. The study here presented contributes to the understanding of biophilic restorative experiences' nuanced effects on physiology, neurocognition, and design cognition. Accessibility and availability of the interventions tested affords readily replication of the experiment design and application of findings to the general public.