Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41408873›Full record

ArticleThe British journal of educational psychology2026

Affect and conceptual learning in indoor and green outdoor school environments: Psychophysiological self-regulation matters.

Lucia Mason, Libera Y Mastromatteo, Cecilia Rocchi, Sara Scrimin

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The British journal of educational psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Lucia MasonDepartment of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7134-0510
Libera Y MastromatteoDepartment of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8870-7630
Cecilia RocchiDepartment of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Sara ScriminDepartment of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6290-322X

Funding

Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca MUR 2022MBPWH7-DD104-CUPC53D23005850006
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundResearch on the role of the physical school environment in areas other than educational psychology has documented the benefits of exposure to nature for cognitive and emotional functioning. Positive effects have been indicated not only after a break in nature in mentally fatigued students but also in students who did not have depleted mental resources when performing cognitive tasks in a green area.

aimsWe investigated the impact of the physical school environment during a single lesson. We also considered psychophysiological self-regulation as a possible moderator of the relationship between environment and learning. SAMPLE: We used data from 101 sixth and seventh graders for self-reported variables. Data about psychophysiological self-regulation, measured as resting cardiac vagal tone, was available for 83 students.

methodIn a within-participants research design, we compared the effects of a lesson in the classroom and a lesson in a green urban park close to the school - featuring numerous trees of different sizes, with lush foliage - on participants' affective state, perception of the environmental quality, and conceptual learning.

resultsAfter the lesson in nature, students reported more positive affect and perceived the park as a higher quality environment compared with the indoor classroom. Students with higher cardiac vagal tone learned more in nature, whereas this individual characteristic did not play a role in the classroom environment.

conclusionPassive exposure to nature during a school lesson has a positive affective impact and may also be beneficial for conceptual learning in combination with a higher ability to flexibly adapt to environmental demands.

Indexed as

AffectConcept FormationLearningSchoolsSelf-ControlStudentsAdolescentChildFemaleHumansMaleVagus Nerveaffectcardiac vagal toneclassroomconceptual learninggreen outdoornaturepsychophysiological self‐regulation

Identifiers

PMID41408873
PMCPMC13155069

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.