Environmental neuroscience integrates environmental, social, and cognitive psychology with social, cognitive, and behavioral neuroscience.
We investigate the role of the physical and social environment in human cognition, behavior, and functioning, with a particular focus on educational contexts.
Drawing on evolutionary and ecological psychology, we employ a wide range of methodologies, including biomarkers, EEG, functional and structural MRI, cognitive ethnography, and physical activity monitoring using mobile phones or accelerometers. Our research is conducted both in the lab and in natural environments.
Our goal is to understand the mechanisms through which the environment affects cognition and behavior, ultimately aiming to design physical and social environments that enhance human psychological functioning.
Coordinator
Norwegian Centre for Learning Environment and Behavioral Research in Education
Members
- Siv Hilde Berg
- Ulrich Dettweiler
- Francesca Granone
- Simone Grassini
- Gabriele Lauterbach
- Enrico Pollarolo
- Aleksandra Sevic
Recent publications
Dettweiler, U., Gerchen, M., Mall, C., Simon, P., & Kirsch, P. (2023). Choice matters: Pupils' stress regulation, brain development and brain function in an outdoor education project. British Journal of Educational Psychology(93), 152-173. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12528
Grassini, S., Segurini, G. V., & Koivisto, M. (2022). Watching nature videos promotes physiological restoration: evidence from the modulation of alpha waves in electroencephalography. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 871143. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.871143
Grassini, S., Revonsuo, A., Castellotti, S., Petrizzo, I., Benedetti, V., & Koivisto, M. (2019). Processing of natural scenery is associated with lower attentional and cognitive load compared with urban ones. Journal of environmental psychology, 62, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2019.01.007
Koivisto, M., Jalava, E., Kuusisto, L., Railo, H., & Grassini, S. (2022). Top-down processing and nature connectedness predict psychological and physiological effects of nature. Environment and Behavior, 54(5), 917-945. https://doi.org/10.1177/00139165221107535
Koivisto, M., & Grassini, S. (2022). Affective responses to urban but not to natural scenes depend on inter-individual differences in childhood nature exposure. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101840
Lauterbach, G. (2023). “Building Roots”—Developing Agency, Competence, and a Sense of Belonging through Education outside the Classroom. Education Sciences, 13(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13111107