Research has consistently found exposure to a natural environment to be associated with health and psychological well-being. However, the effect of such an environment on social behavior and relationships remains in question. In a field experiment, male and female confederates accidentally dropped a glove on the ground while walking in a natural environment. The confederates continued walking, apparently unaware of their loss. Passersby were tested either before or after their immersion in an urban green park with large trees, lawns, and flowers. It was found that passersby tested after immersion in the park helped the confederates more readily than those tested before immersion in the park. In a second study, possible mediating factors of this effect (positive mood and desire to help others) were tested. Mood was found to be a mediating factor, whereas desire to help others partially mediated the relation between immersion in a natural environment and helping behavior.

Research has consistently shown that the appearance of women's apparel influences men's behavior and judgment. However, the effect of women's shoe heels has received little interest. Female confederates wearing black shoes with 0-, 5-, or 9-cm heels walked on the street. In a first experiment, we examined the number of men in the street who smiled at the female confederate. More smiles were addressed to the confederate with high heels. In a second experiment, the confederates asked men and women to respond to a short survey. It was found that high heels increased males' but not females' compliance with the request. In a third experiment, photographs of the same woman's body profile wearing high heels or not were evaluated by men. Results showed that high heels were associated with greater sexiness, overall physical attractiveness, breast attractiveness, beauty, attractiveness to other men, and willingness to date. All the experiments supported the notion that high heels increase women's attractiveness to men.

Research reported that men interact with women wearing high heels more readily than with the same women wearing flat heels. However, the effect of heels on the judgment of women by both men and women has received little attention. Male and female participants viewed two photographs of the same woman's body profile; the woman wore high heels in the one and flat heels in the other, although her shoes and feet were not visible. Participants were asked to select one photograph of the woman on several dimensions of body attractiveness. A significant greater number of male and female participants selected the target with high heels as the sexier, the prettier, and the more elegant, with the more attractive legs and buttocks. The same target was also perceived as the younger person and the photograph that would be preferred by others and the more appropriate for a photo album. The findings support the assumption that high heels could act as secondary sexual characteristics that increase the attractiveness of women to men. which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

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Research has shown that exposure to the national flag alters people's behavior and political and intergroup judgments. In several field studies conducted in an area of France with a strong regional identity, we examined the effect of the presence of the regional flag versus the national flag versus no flag on behaviors. Various situations (e.g., money solicitation, implicit helping behavior, food tasting) were tested in Brittany, on the French west Atlantic coast. Car drivers, passersby in the street, and patrons in bakeries were exposed to no flag versus the French flag versus the Brittany flag held by requesters or presented on a product or on a car. Findings showed that the regional flag increased helping behavior dramatically. Other studies also revealed that the presence of the Brittany flag reduced aggressiveness and influenced preference for food products. The power of a flag as a symbol that could increase in‐group membership is discussed.

Cette revue de questions regroupant 60 articles, dresse un bilan de l’influence des plantes sur la santé du point de vue de la psychologie. Nous avons présenté les résultats de ces recherches en quatre grandes catégories, suivant un niveau d’exposition passant de l’immersion complète à la médiatisation des plantes. Les résultats montrent que la présence de plantes exerce une influence sur la santé de l’individu et que l’effet s’observe même à des niveaux de faible exposition aux plantes. Concernant les explications de ces résultats, cette revue de questions expose les deux grandes théories explicatives (biophilie et théorie de la restauration de l’attention théorie) et apporte de nouveaux éclairages théoriques possibles. Cette synthèse propose également des pistes de recherches à mettre en œuvre.

Previous studies have shown that pleasant weather conditions can improve people's mood and facilitate positive social relationships. The current study tested the effect of sunshine on drivers' willingness to give hitchhikers a ride. Four confederates (2 men, 2 women; M age = 20 yr.) acted as hitchhikers on the roadside in France, on sunny and cloudy days. To minimize the influence of other important variables, hitchhiking was conducted only when it was not raining and only when the external temperatures were between 20 degrees and 24 degrees C. Motorists' behavior in 2,864 hitchhiking events was analyzed. The results showed that both male and female drivers stopped more on sunny days than on cloudy days for both male and female hitchhikers. Perhaps the positive mood induced by the sunshine promotes helping behaviors.

Previous research has found that restaurant waitresses wearing flowers in their hair received higher tips. Here, the effect of hair ornamentation on responses to an explicit request for help was assessed. Two female confederates wearing a barrette with or without a flower asked 240 passersby (120 men, 120 women; apparently 30 to 40 years of age) in the street for bus fare change. The uccess rate was 76.7% when they wore the ornamentation and only 50.8% without the ornamentation. Both men and women more readily helped those with the hair ornamentation.