A pilot study examining the suitability of the mental arithmetic task and single-item measures of affective states to assess affective, physiological, and attention restoration at a wooden desk

Abstract

People seem to function and feel better in indoor natural environments, including spaces furnished with wood. When restorative effects of indoor spaces are not detected, suboptimal methodological approaches may be responsible, including stress-inducing activities and measures of affective states and cognitive performance. Our primary objectives were to test (1) whether the Mental Arithmetic Task (MAT) can reliably induce stress and measure cognitive performance, and (2) whether two single-item measures of pleasure and arousal can detect changes in affective states in restoration research. Our secondary objective was to examine whether stress recovery and cognitive performance differ between indoor settings furnished with or without wood. Twenty-two participants, allocated to a space furnished with either a wooden or a white desktop, completed MAT twice, while their electrodermal and cardiovascular activity and affective states were monitored. Participants on average responded to MAT with increased subjective arousal but unchanged subjective pleasure, and with increased physiological arousal on some but not all parameters, suggesting that MAT was effortful but not necessarily stressful. Scores on MAT improved at the 2nd administration, suggesting that MAT did not induce cognitive fatigue at the 1st administration and that its role as a cognitive task in restoration research may be limited. The items assessing affective states performed well. The measured outcomes did not differ between the wooden and non-wooden setting, suggesting that substantial restorative effects of a wooden desktop are unlikely, and that higher wood coverage is needed to increase the chances of observing restorative effects.