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THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DESIGN IN SOCIETY
Wind-Generated Movement as a Potential Means
to Psychological Presence
in Indoor Work Environments
Kevin Nute,
1
University of Hawaii, USA
Zhuo Job Chen, Clemson University, USA
Abstract: Over the last two decades the psychological benefits of mindfulness, a state of heightened awareness of the present
centered on one’s own thoughts, have been widely reported. Typically this is achieved through deliberate meditation or
during activities that require little or no direct attention. Such self-awareness is difficult to combine with tasks that require
active concentration, however, which includes many kinds of work. Previous research has shown that two of the major
benefits of mindfulness, reduced stress and improved subsequent attention, can also be produced by introducing visible
wind-generated movement into an otherwise static indoor environment. This has the advantage of keeping occupants
stimulated without taxing their directed attention, making it potentially compatible with tasks requiring concentration. The
experimental results reported here suggest that, as with mindfulness, the benefits of such movement may stem from an
increased connection to the present.
Keywords: Mindfulness, Presence, Stress, Attention, Wind-Generated Movement, Work Environments
Introduction
he 2017 US National Health Interview Survey found that almost 10% of American workers
engaged in some form of meditative practice, a fourfold increase from 15 years earlier
(Kachan, Olano, and Tannenbaum, et al, 2017). The notion of “mindfulness” in particular,
which is associated with Zen Buddhism, has been widely discussed over the last two
decades in both scientific publications (Brown and Ryan, 2003; Brown, Ryan and Creswell,
2007/2015; Purser, Forbes and Burke, 2016), and in the popular press (Kabat-Zinn, 2005; Powel,
2007; Gelles, 2012; Schaufenbuel, 2015), as a means of reducing stress and improving attention.
Precise definitions of mindfulness vary, but it is generally agreed to involve a heightened
awareness of the present centered on one’s own thoughts.
2
It is usually achieved through active
meditation, or alternatively during simple activities that require little or no direct attention. Such
self-awareness is difficult to achieve at the same time as performing tasks requiring concentration,
however, making it incompatible with many kinds of work.
Previous research has shown that two of the major benefits of mindfulness, reduced stress and
improved sustained attention, can also be produced by introducing visible wind-generated
movement into an otherwise static indoor space (Nute, Weiss, Kaur-Bala and Morrocco, 2012).
This has the potential advantage of keeping occupants stimulated without taxing their directed
attention, making it potentially compatible with work tasks that require such attention. In the
current paper the authors report the results of a set of experiments intended to test whether such
movement might be evoking a similarly increased connection to the present, and whether this might
be affected by either the location of the movement or the size of an indoor space.
1
Corresponding Author: Kevin Nute, School of Architecture, University of Hawaii, Manoa, Hawaii, 96822, USA. email:
knute@hawaii.edu
2
Wikipedia, for example, suggests that “Mindfulness is the psychological process of bringing one’s attention to the internal
and external experiences occurring in the present moment, which can be developed through the practice of meditation and
other training.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness, accessed, March 30, 2020. The Cambridge English Dictionary
online describes it as: “the practice of being aware of your body, mind, and feelings in the present moment, thought to
create a feeling of calm.” https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/mindfulness, accessed, March 30, 2020.
T
WIND–GENERATED MOVEMENT AS A POTENTIAL MEANS TO PSYCHOLOGICAL PRESENCE IN WORK ENVIRONMENTS
Theoretical Context
Western thinkers since antiquity have argued that the present is all there really is (Aristotle, St
Augustine), while others have suggested that we actually create the present through our own being
(Dogen, 1240, Berkeley, 1710, Kant, 1781, Okakura, 1906). Nineteenth Century psychologists
were the first recognize that it takes a certain amount of time to perceive the present. They found
that our sense of what constitutes “now” is far from the infinitely brief instant of mathematical
theory, and can last anything from 1 to 10 seconds (Kelly, 1882; James, 1893). Soon after, the
philosopher Henri Bergson encapsulated this idea in his notion of “duration,” which he argued was
fundamentally different from chronological time in being essentially subjective (Bergson, 1910).
Most forms of Buddhist mediation, and especially those associated with Zen, involve focusing
on being fully present. Zazen in particular, the most common sitting form of Zen meditation, is
intended to cultivate a state of mindfulness: an enhanced awareness of one’s thoughts and feelings
together with other phenomena, which are observed dispassionately, as if from a distance
(Tanahashi, 2004).
Over the last two decades, the psychological benefits of mindfulness have been widely
discussed in scientific journals and the popular press. Prior to this, evidence had also emerged that
contact with nature has similar benefits, particularly in reducing stress and improving attention
(Ulrich, 1984, Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989, Bringslimark, Hartig, and Patil. 2009, Kuo and Taylor,
2004, 2009). At least one study has even suggested that immersion in nature induces a state
equivalent to mindfulness (Howell, Dopko, Passmore and Buro, 2011). Without claiming such a
direct link themselves, the Kaplans found that moving patterns in nature, such flowing water and
drifting clouds, for example, were stimulating without being distracting, evoking what they
described as a state of “soft fascination,” which does appear to have superficial parallels with the
sense of detached awareness sought in mindfulness (Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989, S. Kaplan, 1995).
The Kaplans’ findings on the beneficial effects of familiar moving patterns in nature suggested
that it might be possible to use such movement as a means of reducing stress and improving
attention in the indoor environments where most people in the developed world now spend the
majority of their lives. The hope was that this kind of familiar natural movement might help to
reduce stress and maintain occupants’ attention without distracting them from other activities, and
a series of controlled experiments seemed to confirm this (Nute, Weiss, Kaur-Bala, and Morrocco,
2012). Subsequent work by the current authors indicated that such movement might be evoking an
increased connection to the present similar to that experienced in mindfulness (Nute and Chen,
2018). The experiments reported in the current paper were designed to test that thesis.
Study 1: Connection to the Present in a Static Room vs. a Naturally Animated Room
This experiment was intended to test the effect of wind-generated movement in a room on
occupants’ sense of connection to the present and awareness of time. A 2 x 2 between-subject
design was used to examine the following four variables: foliage vs. sunlight, and moving vs. static.
A total of 483 participants recruited from Amazon Mechanic Turk (MTurk) were randomly
assigned to one of four groups. Each group saw an image or video clip depicting one of the four
permutations on a computer screen. Participants were then asked to indicate with a number between
1 and 7 how much they agreed with a set of statements about the room they were looking at, with
7 indicating complete agreement, and 1 complete disagreement. The following statements were
intended to gauge their psychological connection with the present: “this room gives me a positive
feeling of being connected to the present,” “this room makes me less aware of the passage of time,”
and “this room makes time seem to pass more quickly.” These target statements were mixed with
others unrelated to the present or to time in order to conceal the objective of the experiment from
the participants.
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DESIGN IN SOCIETY
Figures 1 and 2 show the two static scenes. The two animated scenes were identical, except
that the foliage shadows in Figure 1 and the patches of sunlight in Figure 2 were moving with the
wind.
Figure 1 shows shadows of outdoor foliage being cast on an interior wall. Figure 2 shows sunlight being reflected
from an external water surface onto an interior ceiling. Subjects were shown either a static photograph or a moving
video clip of one of the two scenes. In the video versions, the foliage shadows were moving in response to the wind
outside, and the reflected sunlight were moving in response to wind disturbance of the external water surface.
Kevin Nute
Both the wind-animated foliage and the wind-animated sunlight significantly increased
participants’ subjective feelings of being connected to the present, and did not differ appreciably:
F = 18.36, p < 0.001. Participants also reported feeling significantly less aware of the passage of
time, F = 9.94, p = 0.002, and that time seemed to pass more quickly when viewing the animated
spaces, F = 5.05, p = 0.025. Figures 3-5 illustrate these effects graphically. Subjects reported higher
levels of connection to the present, reduced awareness of time, and a sense that time passed more
quickly when the rooms were animated than when they were static. The effects held true for both
the foliage shadows (the coral colored solid line) and the sunlight reflections (the teal colored
dotted line).
Figures 3, 4, 5. Effects of wind-generated movement (X-axis) on subjective feelings of connection to the present
(Figure 3), awareness of time (Figure 4), and perception of the speed of passage of time (Figure 5) for foliage
shadows (coral solid line) and sunlight reflections (teal dotted line).
Job Chen
Study 2: Sense of Connection to the Present with Movement Inside vs. Outside a Room
Since the present is often understood as “here and now,” we wanted to test whether perceptible
movement outside a room would still be perceived as part of “here.” This experiment was designed
WIND–GENERATED MOVEMENT AS A POTENTIAL MEANS TO PSYCHOLOGICAL PRESENCE IN WORK ENVIRONMENTS
to measure the effect on people’s sense of connection to the present and awareness of time of
having visible wind-generated movement inside or immediately outside a room.
A 2 x 2 between-subject design was used to examine the following four variables: inside vs.
outside, and moving vs. static. A total of 482 participants recruited from MTurk were randomly
assigned to one of four groups. One group was shown a static image of indoor foliage shadows,
another the same view with the shadows moving with the wind, and groups 3 and 4 were shown
static and moving images of similar foliage shadows immediately outside the room (Figures 6, 7).
All four groups were asked to indicate how much they agreed with the same statements used in
Study 1, again using a rating between 1 and 7, with 7 indicating complete agreement.
Figures 6, 7. The four groups were shown static or wind-animated versions of the two scenes above,
showing foliage shadows inside and immediately outside the same room.
Kevin Nute
The results replicated those in Study 1. Subjects felt significantly more connected to the
present when viewing the wind-animated scenes, F = 7.80, p = 0.005. They also reported feeling
significantly less aware of the passage of time, F = 3.93, p = 0.048, and that time seemed to pass
more quickly when viewing the animated scenes, F = 8.74, p = 0.003. Having the movement inside
or immediately outside the room seemed to make no appreciable difference to these effects, but
they were actually marginally greater with the movement outside.
We observed that subjects reported higher levels of connection to the present, less awareness
of time, and a sense of time passing faster when the scenes were animated than when they were
static Figures 8-10). These effects did not differ significantly between having the movement inside
the room (the coral colored solid line) or immediately outside (the teal colored dotted line).
Figures 8, 9, 10. Effects of wind-generated movement (X-axis) on subjective feelings of connection to the present
(Figure 8), awareness of time (Figure 9), and perception of the speed of passage of time (Figure 10) for indoor
(coral solid line) and outdoor foliage shadows (teal dotted line).
Job Chen
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DESIGN IN SOCIETY
Study 3: Sense of Connection to the Present with Movement in a Small vs. a Large Room
Since science treats time and space as interdependent, we wanted to test whether people’s sense of
presence and of perception of time might be affected by the size of a room. This experiment was
designed to measure the effect on people’s sense of connection to the present and awareness of
time of seeing the same visible wind-generated movement in a small or large room. A 2 x 2
between-subject design was used to examine the following four variables: small vs. large room,
and moving vs. static. A total of 485 participants recruited from MTurk were randomly assigned
to one of the four groups. One group was shown a static image of indoor foliage shadows, another
the same view with the shadows moving with the wind, and groups 3 and 4 were shown static and
moving images of the same shadows in a much larger room (Figures 11, 12). All four groups were
asked to indicate how much they agreed with the same statements as in Studies 1 and 2, using a
rating between 1 and 7, with 7 indicating complete agreement, and 1 complete disagreement.
Figures 11, 12. The four groups were shown static or moving versions of the two images above,
showing the same foliage shadows in a small and large room.
Kevin Nute
The results of Study 1 and Study 2 were again replicated. Subjects felt significantly more
connected to the present when viewing the wind-animated rooms, F = 8.94, p = 0.003. They also
reported feeling significantly less aware of the passage of time, F = 4.16, p = 0.042, and that time
seemed to pass more quickly when viewing the animated spaces, F = 11.62, p < 0.001. The size of
the room seemed to make no appreciable difference to these effects, but they were marginally
greater in the large room. We observed that subjects reported higher levels of connection to the
present, reduced awareness of time, and a sense of time passing faster when the scenes were
animated than when they were static (Figures 13–15). These effects did not differ significantly with
the same movement in a large room (coral colored solid line) or a small room (teal colored dotted
line).
Figures 13, 14, 15. Effects of wind-generated movement (X-axis) on subjective feelings of connection to the present
(Figure 13), awareness of time (Figure 14), and perception of the speed of passage of time (Figure 15) for a large (coral
solid line) and small room (teal dotted line).
Job Chen
WIND–GENERATED MOVEMENT AS A POTENTIAL MEANS TO PSYCHOLOGICAL PRESENCE IN WORK ENVIRONMENTS
Conclusions
Visible wind-generated movement was found to significantly increase subjects’ sense of
connection to the present. This is consistent with the authors’ hypothesis that its previously found
benefits to stress and attention (Nute, Weiss, Kaur-Bala, and Morrocco, 2012) may stem from a
mechanism similar to mindfulness.
Whether such movement was inside or outside a room made no significant difference to its
effects on subject’s sense of presence or awareness of time. This was counter to the authors’
hypothesis that movement perceived to be “outside” would not be perceived as part of “here,” and
would therefore have fewer positive effects. In fact, the external movement had a marginally
greater effect. This result suggests that perceptible change effectively becomes part of “here” when
it reaches our body, regardless of its origin.
The size of a room also made no significant difference to how quickly time appeared to pass
with the same indoor movement. Again, this was counter to the authors’ postulation that the same
movement would tend to have a greater effect in a smaller space. This result suggests that it is
movement through space that matters in perceptions of time, rather than the dimensions of the
containing space.
Human awareness of time is often associated with discomfort, typically because we feel it is
either passing too quickly or too slowly. In a reversal of the adage that “time flies when we’re
having fun,” it has been argued that “we’re having fun when times flies” (Sackett, Meyvis, Nelson,
and Sacket, 2010). In other words, we may derive enjoyment from being distracted from the
passage of time. The lowering of stress associated with being more present, then, whether evoked
by mindfulness or wind movement, could stem from a lack of awareness of time. The two meanings
of the term “endure,” “lasting over time” and “to suffer,” may be instructive here. If escaping time
is to escape suffering, then this would bring us full circle, back to two of the central objectives of
Buddhist meditation (Tanahashi, 2004).
As the ideom “more haste, less speed” suggests, awareness of time is rarely helpful to the
successful completion of tasks requiring concentration. Previous studies have suggested that
presence achieved through mindfulness helps subsequent attention (Brown and Ryan, 2003;
Brown, Ryan and Creswell, 2007; and Brown, Creswell and Ryan, 2015). But it is difficult to
combine active meditation simultaneously with other tasks requiring concentration. Naturally
generated movement in a space, on the other hand, has two of the same key benefits as mindfulness,
reducing stress and improving attention, without being consciously distracting (Nute, Weiss, Kaur-
Bala, and Morrocco, 2012). The experimental results reported here suggest that such movement
may be achieving these benefits through essentially the same mechanism as mindfulness, by
increasing our connection to the present and thereby disconnecting us from time.
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DESIGN IN SOCIETY
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Clemson Creative Inquiry for their generous support of this
research. Kevin Nute was responsible for the theoretical argument and experimental design. Job
Chen was responsible for the data collection and statistical analyses. Anonymous questionnaires
were used to gather the data, and all those who participated gave their prior informed consent to
both the gathering of the numerical data and its future publication. All procedures followed were
approved by Clemson University’s Office of Research Compliance and Committee for the
Protection of Human Subjects as being in accordance with the ethical standards of the Helsinki
Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008 (5).
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Kevin Nute: Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, University of Hawaii, Manoa, Hawaii,
USA
Zhuo Job Chen: Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Clemson University, Clemson,
South Carolina, USA
