| Missouri Environment and Garden |
Volume 13, No. 7 |
| News for Missouri's Gardens, Yards and Resources |
July 2007 |
Psychological Impact of Flowers
How much impact do flowers have on our emotions? Can the mere presence of
flowers make us feel better? These and other questions prompted a
behavioral study to be conducted recently that assessed the effects of
flowers in the home environment on humans. Funded by the Society of
American Florists, the research was conducted at Harvard University by Dr.
Nancy Etcoff, a noted psychologist and faculty member of the Harvard School
of Medicine. Dr. Etcoff has conducted research on the perception of beauty,
emotion and the brain for 15 years.
A total of 54 individuals ranging in age form 25 to 60 were included in the
research which made use of a series of self-report measures. These measures
allowed the investigators to know where the research subject was, with whom
and what they were doing when they expressed an emotion, both when flowers
were present and when they were absent. Half of the study group received
flowers for their home while the other half received a different home decor
item to serve as a control or comparison.
Dr. Etcoff made the following research findings public at a recent
convention:
- Flowers feed compassion
It took less than a week for research subjects living with flowers to
develop an increased feeling of compassion for others.
- Flowers chase anxieties, worries and the blues at home
In general, research subjects felt less negative after being around
flowers for just a few days at home. Flowers were most frequently placed in
kitchens, dining rooms and living rooms. Subjects reported looking forward
to see the blooms the first thing every morning.
- Living with flowers can provide a boost of energy,
happiness and enthusiasm at work
Research subjects were determined to be happier, have more energy and
show greater enthusiasm at work when they had flowers at home.
"We know that flowers make people happy when they receive them," observed
Etcoff, "What we didn’t know is that spending a few days with flowers in
the home can affect a wide variety of feelings — from compassion to
worry." She went on to conclude that, as a psychologist, she was intrigued
to learn that episodes of anxiety and depression were less frequent in
people living with flowers than those not having them in their homes.
Credit: Society of American Florists.
David Trinklein
Assoc. Prof. Plant Sciences
TrinkleinD@missouri.edu
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