Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
2-2026
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the effects of different smartphone lock screen wallpapers on weekly perceived well-being, procrastination, and productivity in young adults. Through a pre-registered within-subject experiment, 60 participants were exposed to three smartphone wallpaper conditions: nature, animal, and neutral (control). Each participant experienced each condition over three weeks, with the order of conditions counterbalanced. Using Frequentist and Bayesian analyses, we did not find any differences between conditions across the pre-registered confirmatory outcomes (i.e., life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, stress, productivity, and procrastination). Exploratory outcomes related to lock screen engagement, however, revealed some meaningful effects. Animal-themed smartphone wallpapers increased recognition and distractibility, while nature-themed smartphone wallpapers were rated as more pleasing than both animal and control images. Our findings suggest that brief visual exposure to nature or animal-themed lock screens may be insufficient to influence broader well-being or behaviour. Implications for designing strategies to promote psychological health in everyday technology use are discussed.
Keywords
animal, nature, well-being, lock screen, wallpaper, smartphone
Discipline
Personality and Social Contexts | Social Psychology
Research Areas
Psychology
Areas of Excellence
Sustainability
Publication
Behavioral Sciences
Volume
16
Issue
5
First Page
1
Last Page
25
ISSN
2076-328X
Identifier
10.3390/bs16050623
Publisher
MDPI
Citation
MAJEED, Nadyanna M., CHEN, Nicole R. Y., GOH, Adalia Y. H., HU, Meilan, KOH, Kenneth J. J., ANG, Yuolmae H. G., & HARTANTO, Andree.(2026). Examining the effects of viewing nature and animal smartphone wallpapers on affect, behaviour, and cognition: A randomised cross-over trial. Behavioral Sciences, 16(5), 1-25.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/4457
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16050623