Psychological and Physiological Effects of Creating a Seasonal Roadside Flowerscape on Police Officials

Background and objective: This study was conducted to find out the psychological and physiological effects of creating a seasonal roadside flowerscape on police officials.Methods: Police officials created and managed a spring flowerscape in the outer space of their workplace, through which the effects on stability, relaxation, and attention could be examined through brainwave changes. EEG measurements and surveys were conducted twice before and after the experiment on a total of 18 men and women with an average age of 37.1 ± 9.0.Results: As a result of investigating the changes in the EEG and ECG of police officials, it was found that not only stability, relaxation (RSMT: Ratio of (SMR-mid beta) to theta), and attention (RMT:Ratio of mid beta to theta, RMB: Relative mid beta power spectrum), but also brain activity (SEF 50%:Spectral edge frequency 50%) increased after creating a roadside flowerscape compared to before (<i>p</i> < .05). As a result of examining the difference between positive and negative affect of police officials before and after creating the roadside flowerscape, it was found that positive affect tended to increase after creating the flowerscape, while negative affect tended to decrease, indicating the positive effect of the flowerscape. Police officials’ preference for flower landscapes increased after creating the flowerscape (<i>p</i> < .05). As for the correlations between key variables and loyalty to the seasonal roadside flowerscape, loyalty, positive affect, and flowerscape preference of police officials showed positive correlations, while negative correlations were found with negative affect, showing statistical significance. The results of this study indicate that creating a seasonal roadside flowerscape inside and outside the workplace of police officials increases stability, relaxation, and attention of police officials while decreasing tension and stress.Conclusion: Therefore, the positive effects of creating a natural landscape using plants for police officials suffering from severe occupational trauma could improve their quality of life and relieve stress