This study was conducted to analyze the degree of interest in plants and its image by using SD scale with survey. Base on this, the investigation has been taken place to see the influence of plant image to human brain and emotion. With analysis of this, the study has been carried out to suggest the positive effects of plants scientifically. Study 1 has been accomplished with 350 subjects between October 2009 to March 2010 and brain wave and emotional words survey has conducted for study 2~5 between August 2010 to September 2010 with 30 subjects each time and 120 subjects in total. Electroencephalography (EEG) test for each plant’s visual stimuli was conducted on pre-frontal, frontal, parietal and occipital lobe. Emotional adjective survey has been done with fourteen pairs and measured by 5 Phase SD Scale. Analysis of statistics was implemented regarding stimulation onto emotion and physiology.


1. Influences of psychological effect and importance perception from the visual image of the plants upon the repurchasing intention.
The purpose of this study is to define the relations between the psychological effect given by visual image of the plants and the interest level in plants, and the effect of interest level and importance on fidelity. Three major factors are extracted from 14 pairs of emotional adjectives to express 9 kinds of plants evaluative, active and emotional. It has been revealed that those three emotional factors, the evaluative factor more the active factor, and the emotional factor more the evaluative factor have higher influences upon interest level of the ornamental plants (P < 0.05). The study also shows that the interest level of subjects in indoor plants have positive effects on fidelity (P < 0.05), but behavioral factors such as numbers of purchase a year, cost, and ways to keep ornamental plants, have showed no significant differences. In terms of importance perception in indoor plants, six major factors have been extracted from the survey with 22 items about ornamental plants. Of those extracted factors, items concerning “emotional relaxation” and “esthetics” have higher positive effects on fidelity than the other factors (P < 0.05). But the item “Intend to spend more money in purchasing ornamental plants”, of five items of fidelity, showed lower fidelity than the other items. The result of this study shows that psychological effect given by visual image of ornamental plants, interest level in indoor plants, and importance perception are expected to enhance emotional health of inhabitants, and cause more consumption of ornamental plants, thus promoting fidelity on indoor plants.

2. Impact of color stimuli of plant to human brain-wave.
This study investigated how color stimuli consisting of green foliage plants (Epipremnum aureum) and four flower colors (white, yellow, pink, and red; Kalanchoe spp.) influenced the brain waves and emotions of 30 undergraduate students. Since RFA, RLB and RMB increased with green plant than other four colors, it could be said that it provided the positive effects on human’s psychophysiological condition such as leading to the pleasant and comfortable focus and improvement of the creativity and external concentration. However, optical stimuli from the yellow flowers had a positive effect on the parietal and occipital lobes, producing a high relative theta power spectrum and indicating that concentration improved and the subjects were happier. Based on the relationship between the adjectives and the brain waves, the same brain waves were generally active; however, this correlation was relatively low. This research may have practical applications because green plants can be used in places where comfort and high concentration are required, plants with white and yellow flowers can be used to make a place more pleasant, and red flowering plants can be used to create a luxurious environment.

3. Impact of background element of plant scenery to human brain-wave.
This study has been taken place with subject of 30 university students (male: 15people, female: 15people) to investigate the effect of plant on human’s brainwave when it is placed in the environment. A change (Fp1, Fp2, F3, F4, P3, P4, O1, and O2) in electroencephalography (EEG) of subjects was measured with showing the different pictures of grey urban city, green forest and blue ocean scenery with plant background. The result that showed significantly higher relative slow alpha power spectrum (RSA), relative fast alpha power spectrum (RFA), ratio of alpha to high beta (RAHB), relative low beta power spectrum (RLB) and spectral edge frequency of 50% of alpha spectrum band (ASEF), with visual stimuli of green forest scenery and blue ocean scenery with the plant background than grey urban city scenery indicates that it gives extremely positive effect, such as, stability in pleasant environment, relaxation, improvement in creativity and external concentration, to human brainwave. However, the comparison between forest and ocean scenery showed that ocean scenery provides more positive effect than forest scenery. In analysis of psychological response survey with emotional adjective, forest and ocean scenery are considered as more comfortable background than the urban city background generally. However, subjects felt brighter, softer and more comfortable with the green forest background than the blue ocean one. This result is a bit different from the analysis of brainwave response. The analysis has been done to find out whether there is correlation between brainwave and emotional adjectives when stimulation of plant background occurred. As a result, there is little correlation while equivalent brainwave activated generally. According to the result of study, green forest scenery is suitable for the location where needs stability and relaxation while blue ocean scenery suits for the place where requires pleasantness, concentration, calmness and creativity. Therefore, background element can be commercialized as well as the availability of plant.

4. Impact of visual element of foliage plant to human brain-wave.
This experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of the presence of foliage plants in indoor space on changes in electroencephalography (EEG) of human. We examined the EEG of 28 undergraduate students in spaces with the presence of either Sansevieria trifasciata, Spathiphyllum spp., or Cupressus macrocarpa, or absence of plants. As a result, RSA, RFA, RAHB were lower in the place with plants than without plants while RT was high in the entire lobes (p = 0.01). Relative mid beta power spectrum (RMB) and relative high beta power spectrum (RHB) increased significantly in the parietal lobe and left-occipital lobe of students, which are related with visual perception. The results of correlation between emotional words and brainwave showed similar results to the simple brainwave test. In the presence of plants, RSA and RFA of the students were relatively low, while RT and RMB were relatively high, indicating the increase of cerebrum activation, such as concentration and improvement of attention. Overall, this study showed that participants had negative mindsets when there were no plants in the space, while more positive mindsets were induced by the space with S. spp. or C. macrocarpa due to increased concentration and attention.

5. Changes in human brain-wave according to the plant scenery.
This study carried out to investigate the effect of plant scenery to university student. The experiment was conducted with 30 university subjects. Subject was exposed to four kinds of scenery (without-plant area, foliage plant area, flowering pot plantscape and mixed plants area) and change of brain wave and emotional adjective survey were measured. The recognition and internal/ external concentration was higher in plant scenery area then the without-plant area. Flowering pot plantscape seems to make brain more active with colour stimulation of flower. According to the result of emotional adjective survey of plant scenery, it was evaluated that subjects felt collectedness, brightness, and ease whereas, they felt punctiliousness, coldness and disliked in without-plant area. The result of evaluation of correlation between brain wave and emotional adjective by element of plant scenery was similar with the result of brain wave and emotional adjective evaluation. Based on result of this study, scenery of foliage plant and mixed plant fit to the area where requires ease, collectedness and concentration while flowering pot plantscape is suitable for the area where requires brightness and high concentration. Therefore, it would be much useful by putting the plants in different way in accordance to the area.
With this result of study, it could be partially verified that plant and nature scenery can provide the positive effect to emotion and physiology. In near future, it is anticipated that this study can be the objective and scientific primary data to the study of usefulness of plant. In addition, even though, this experiment generally oriented on the comparison of plants with university student, it may be required to have wider range of study with broader age group, the color of interior, scent of plant, and the comparison between plants and non-plants.