Quantum mechanics

Psychoanalysis

Natural landscape

Neuroscience

Archaeology

Computer science

Eye tracking

Business

Environmental planning

Physics

Psychology

Geography

Environmental resource management

Valuation (finance)

Natural (archaeology)

Environmental science

Artificial intelligence

Finance

Gaze

Perception

Naturalness

Journal of Environmental Psychology

Landscape composition is known to influence how natural scenes are perceived and valuated. Updating the traditional methodologies in this field might produce new insights. We used in situ captured data (eye-tracking data acquired with a mobile device) to study the influences of landscape composition on the landscape perceptions and valuations of city dwellers. Our goal was to compare the information provided by three sets of in situ data collected during a landscape valuation experiment: (a) evaluations of landscape quality collected through rating scales, (b) discourse data resulting from answers to open questions focused on landscape quality, and (c) eye-tracking data recorded when landscape quality assessments were made. We considered three scenes located along a green promenade that borders an urban river (the Yzeron River, France). Thirty riverine residents of this river participated in our experiment. The results revealed strong concordance among the rating, verbal and gaze data (based on gaze fixations). The gaze data helped identify landscape objects of importance in forming judgments of landscape valuation, and we obtained new insights into qualifying the impacts of nature on the perceptions and valuations of city dwellers. The natural section of the river is where we observed distinct gaze behaviors that can be interpreted as signs of fascination, which is known to promote attention recovery. We conclude that the restoration of the natural states of rivers in cities is likely to be important for increasing urban well-being.

Using gaze behavior to gain insights into the impacts of naturalness on city dwellers' perceptions and valuation of a landscape