User:Dhberkowitz/sandbox

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Article evaluation

I could improve some of the articles I read for Week 4 by adding a section about the psychological benefits of domestic gardening by adding new information related to the broader field of Environmental psychology. I also noticed there is a lack of information about acai in contemporary food products, though there is an article about acai palm. Finally, I read about other topics, including blood oranges, pickling, Flowers and plants of the High Line, lemons, brussels sprout, and many others.

Week 5 comments: I looked into the Echopsychology page listed in the Environmental Psychology article. I have decided to add information about the psychological benefits of gardening to that page because I think it relates more closely to the topic. I found information I would like to include in various sources, including articles and research publications about psychological wellness associated with gardening, biophilia and visual contact with nature, other types of sensory-based benefits, restoration from stress as a result of gardening, and about how gardening as a therapeutic resource for the elderly.

The psychological benefits of human interaction with plants and gardening have been studied empirically in the contexts of stress reduction, restoration, and awareness. Initial experimental research about stress-relieving effects showed subjects who gardened after situations of acute stress were able to fully recover from the event and their cortisol level measurements indicated positive mood increases after gardening. Psychologists are also interested in the ways plants influence attention and healing. Plants are attributed as sources of positive distraction, shifting the focus from sensations of discomfort to aesthetic properties of plants, which creates perceived alleviation of pain. The psychological benefits of interactions with nature appear intensified at a smaller, more compressed scale in gardens, offering an accessible, fast-paced view of plant life cycles. For example, domestic gardening improves sense of self-efficacy across ages, particularly among the elderly. Psychologists have explored how senses influence the brain in natural environments. Plants in the visual sphere affect the brain whether or not they are the object of focus and the blue and green hues of nature may contribute to low-anxiety psychological states.