Assessing the Relationship Between Perceived Restorativeness and Psychological Wellbeing Among Students

Last reviewed: March 2026

Background and Context

University students worldwide frequently report elevated levels of academic stress, mental fatigue, and psychological distress. In Malaysia, where higher education has expanded rapidly over the past two decades, growing concerns about student mental health have prompted researchers and policymakers to explore environmental and activity-based interventions that can support psychological recovery and resilience.

Attention Restoration Theory (ART), developed by environmental psychologists Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, proposes that certain environments and activities possess restorative qualities that help individuals recover from mental fatigue. The theory identifies four key components of restorative experiences: fascination (involuntary attention that requires no effort), being away (a sense of psychological distance from daily routines), extent (the feeling that the environment or activity forms a coherent whole), and compatibility (the match between the individual’s inclinations and the demands of the activity).

While ART has been extensively studied in Western populations, its application to psychological wellbeing in Malaysian educational settings remained largely unexplored. This study, published in the Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, aimed to bridge this gap by investigating how perceived restorativeness relates to psychological wellbeing among Malaysian postgraduate students, while also examining which specific activities students prefer for cognitive restoration.

Study Design and Methodology

The study employed a cross-sectional design with 192 Master of Education students at Universiti Putra Malaysia. Female participants constituted approximately half the sample (n = 94), and the mean age was 30.64 years (SD = 2.73). Data were collected using two validated instruments: the 12-item Perceived Restorativeness for Activities Scale (PRAS), which measures the four ART constructs (fascination, being away, extent, and compatibility), and the Ryff Psychological Wellbeing Scale (PWB), a widely used measure of eudaimonic wellbeing.

The study also assessed nature view windows as a moderator variable — that is, whether having access to natural views from student dormitories influenced the relationship between perceived restorativeness and wellbeing. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to examine these relationships, providing robust analysis of both direct and moderating effects.

Key Results

Students in the sample reported high levels of both psychological wellbeing and perceived restorativeness for their preferred activities. Among the four ART constructs, three emerged as significant predictors of psychological wellbeing: being away (the sense of psychological escape from routine), fascination (effortless engagement), and compatibility (the degree to which activities matched personal inclinations). The extent construct, while contributing to overall restorativeness, did not independently predict wellbeing in this sample.

Preferred Restorative Activities

A notable finding was the range of activities students identified as restorative. While traditional ART research emphasises nature-based experiences, Malaysian postgraduate students identified internet browsing, social networking, and visiting social media platforms as highly restorative — alongside physical activities and spending time in nature. This suggests that in the digital age, and particularly among populations in tropical climates where outdoor heat may be a deterrent, restorative experiences extend well beyond nature immersion.

Physical activities — including walking, jogging, and gymnasium exercise — also featured prominently as preferred restorative activities, supporting the growing literature linking physical exercise with psychological recovery and enhanced cognitive functioning.

Role of Nature View Windows

For students who had access to dormitory windows with nature views, the relationship between perceived restorativeness and psychological wellbeing was strengthened. This finding aligns with the biophilic design literature, which suggests that even passive exposure to natural elements — such as views of greenery from windows — can confer restorative benefits. However, the moderating effect was observed only for specific ART constructs, indicating that nature views complement rather than replace active engagement in restorative activities.

Implications for Malaysian Universities

The findings carry practical implications for university campus design and student wellbeing programming in Malaysia. Campus planners should consider incorporating accessible green spaces and ensuring that student accommodation provides views of natural landscapes where possible. Student affairs departments might also develop structured break programmes that encourage engagement in restorative activities — whether nature-based, physical, or digital — as a buffer against academic burnout.

The finding that digital activities can serve a restorative function is particularly relevant in the post-pandemic era, where students’ engagement with technology has increased substantially. Rather than viewing screen time as inherently detrimental, universities could help students identify which digital activities provide genuine cognitive restoration versus those that contribute to further fatigue.

Theoretical Contributions

This study makes several contributions to the environmental psychology literature. It provides evidence that ART constructs are applicable to Malaysian postgraduate populations, supporting the cross-cultural validity of the theory. The identification of digital activities as restorative challenges the traditional emphasis on nature-based restoration and suggests that the restorative process may be more about the cognitive qualities of an activity (fascination, being away, compatibility) than the specific type of activity itself.

Furthermore, the use of PLS-SEM provides a more nuanced understanding of how individual ART components relate to wellbeing, rather than treating restorativeness as a unitary construct.

Limitations

The study is limited by its cross-sectional design, which cannot establish causal relationships between restorativeness and wellbeing. The sample was restricted to postgraduate education students at a single university, limiting generalisability to undergraduate students or those in other disciplines. Self-report measures of both restorativeness and wellbeing are susceptible to response bias. Additionally, the study did not objectively measure physical activity levels or screen time, relying instead on participants’ subjective assessments of their preferred activities.