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

Abstract

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’s correlation analysis, sound pressure level and roughness were significantly correlated with psychological responses in Cloves Park (p < 0.05). Second, the results of stepwise regression models showed the impact intensity of acoustic comfort was 1.64–1.68 times higher than that of visual comfort on psychological responses of emotion dimension, while visual comfort was 1.35–1.37 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 (−0.25), anxious (−0.75), fatigued (−1.13) and distracted (−1.13).

Promoting Healthy and Supportive Acoustic Environments: Going beyond the Quietness

“…To some extent, the work by Payne and Bruce [8] also claims that the type of sounds heard and other aspects of a site experience are likely to be related to a non-linear relationship between sound levels and perceived restoration of an acoustic environment. Other contextual aspects might indeed play a role, such as audio-visual interactions in environmental perception, as suggested in the work by Zhang et al [9]. Cerwén [10] explores new autoethnographic approaches to propose possible actions, which are organized into three main categories (i.e., localization of functions, reduction of unwanted sounds, and introduction of wanted sounds) that designers can take into account when managing quiet areas in the urban realm.…”

Effect of sound on visual attention in large railway stations: A case study of St. Pancras railway station in London

“…Human senses are not able to work independently [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. Yang and Moon [13] investigated variation in acoustic, thermal, visual, and indoor environmental comfort, under the influence of multisensory interactions.…”

Effect of Forest Therapy on Depression and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Auditory stimulation by the forest, such as the sound of leaves shaking in the wind, singing birds, and the sound of flowing streams, can contribute to psychophysical relaxation and stress recovery [ 102 , 103 , 104 ]. For example, Zhang et al [ 103 ] reported that the acoustic and visual comfort given in the green environment had a strong positive correlation with low depression and anxiety. In particular, acoustic comfort showed a more significant influence than visual comfort.…”