Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

3-2026

Abstract

We examined the effects of nature-based environmental stimuli versus evolutionarily novel built or abstract art environments on creative production in three experiments. In Study 1 (N = 85), we compared people's creative performance in rooms set up to display either a natural or built landscape. In Study 2 (N = 62), participants completed creativity tasks after taking a walk in an urbanized city district or after a walk in a forested park. In Study 3 (N = 108), using a longitudinal field experiment taking place over three months, we examined the creative performance of factory employees by comparing their normal unadorned workplaces with workspaces decorated with posters of nature or abstract art. Collectively, our findings show that nature exposure did not have a unique effect on creativity. Specifically, creative performance was similar across nature and in non-natural environmental stimuli. We discuss the implications of our findings and the importance of examining the effects of other environmental stimuli on creativity.

Keywords

Creativity, Nature, Built environment, Stress, Evolutionary mismatch

Discipline

Industrial and Organizational Psychology | Place and Environment | Social Psychology

Research Areas

Psychology

Publication

Journal of Environmental Psychology

Volume

110

First Page

1

Last Page

24

ISSN

0272-4944

Identifier

10.1016/j.jenvp.2026.102929

Publisher

Elsevier

Copyright Owner and License

Authors-CC-BY

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2026.102929

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