Growing Concerned: How Societal Stress Relates to Plants in the Home

<p> Design trends are constantly in flux, but the reasons why people prefer new trends are not readily apparent. This thesis brought together multiple aspects of interior design to investigate how design has changed. After a review of available studies, the researcher decided to focus on natural design in homes because this area has previous research upon which to build. This study compared data to examine how stress in America relates to plant imagery. The research questions asked what, if any, relationship exists between societal stress and the use of plants, plant-like objects, and window views.</p> <p> Measures of stress included hospitalization, violent crime, and poverty rates. The setting for examination was the United States from 1965 to 2020. The study used items in photographs to generate variables. The results indicated there was a positive, moderate relationship between the number of plants used in a home and the rate of hospitalization for the same year. When controlling for the size of plants, there was a strong, positive relationship. The data supported a negative, weak relationship between the use of plants and the poverty rate. The analysis concluded that there is little relationship between social factors and the view from the windows in a room. There was not enough evidence to support any connection between social factors and plant-like objects. This showed that in years when hospitalization rates were higher, there was an increased number of plants in magazine photographs.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science - Human Sciences

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Human Sciences

Year dc:date.available

2022

Author dc:creator

• Birdwell, Trenton W

Contributors dc:contributor

• Mrs. Sally Ann Swearingen
• Dr. Ray Darville
• Mrs. Leisha Bridwell

• Environmental Psychology
• Interior Design
• Biophilia
• Stress
• Shelter Magazine
• Environmental Design
• Interior Architecture

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/464

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.sfasu.edu:etds-1489