Outdoor laboratory supports research on people-environment interactions

Could you provide a brief overview of Sensola?

SLU Multisensory Outdoor Laboratory (Sensola) is a research infrastructure funded by an SLU infrastructure grant.  Starting in 2019, it was developed with the intention to support research on people-environment interactions in real world environments, with a particular focus on portable physiological sensors. Psychophysiologial measurements is a valuable complement to self-reported experiences, and its popularity has grown with the increasing focus on environments’ impact on health and wellbeing.

If we take the example of emotional experiences to the environment, it’s made up of two dimensions: valence, varying along unpleasantness-pleasantness, and arousal, varying along deactivation-activation. Valence is commonly measured using self-reported measures, for instance rating scales. Although a person can also self-report on their arousal level, a more objective way would be to measure a physiological indicator of arousal such as skin conductance, or heart rate (HR).

Most previous studies involving physiology have used simulations of environments, such as photos and videos, in controlled laboratories indoors. Lab studies are beneficial in the sense that they offer optimal control over stimuli and measurement equipment, but the experience for the participant is largely artificial. By taking the measurements out in real environments, we can avoid this problem, thus increasing what we call the ecological validity of the research. The technological development of sensors is quick, and the associated new possibilities to understand environmental experiences are interesting, but studies in situ also poses new challenges, such as artefacts from movement or light. We are currently about to publish a research paper in which we discuss challenges and possibilities based on our experiences in the lab.*

How does the research relate to the One Health concept?

The lab was developed focusing on environmental psychology and landscape architecture, which implies an emphasis on human experiences. With this being said, human experience often entails consideration for multiple aspects in the environment, such as biodiversity and nature experiences. Contact with both wild and domesticated plants and animals is an important factor in many everyday experiences, which can create meaning and foster a sense of being one with the living world. The facilities are open to researchers in SLU, with potential to support collaborations across disciplines.

What do you consider the key challenges and opportunities in your research area in relation to nature connected to mental health and wellbeing?

Studies in controlled laboratories are good in the sense that they offer control over data collection and stimuli conditions. By taking studies into real settings, not least when going outdoors, the situation becomes much more complex, with new challenges such as artefacts from movement and light, as well as interferences from unexpected events (confounding factors). Confounding factors have typically been avoided in psychophysiological research, but we acknowledge the fact that they are often a central part of everyday experiences. Studies in situ can help us understand unexpected events and encounters, embodied experiences as well as other important contextual factors, with potential to inform future planning and design of outdoor environments.

Gunnar Cerwén and Caroline Hägerhäll

* Cerwén G and Hägerhäll CM (2025) Psychophysiological research in real-world environments: methodological perspectives from the SLU Multisensory Outdoor Laboratory. Front. Psychol. 16:1432180. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1432180

Länk:

SLU Multisensory outdoor laboratory - Sensola