{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]],"date-time":"2026-07-24T14:08:35Z","timestamp":1784902115464,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]],"date-time":"2026-07-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784851200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"\n Introduction<\/jats:title>\n Outdoor landscape sketching is widely used in higher art education to develop students\u2019 artistic skills and aesthetic perception. However, its potential psychological benefits and the mechanisms linking environmental experiences with students\u2019 emotional and developmental outcomes remain insufficiently understood. This study extended the Stimulus\u2013Organism\u2013Response (SOR) framework by incorporating perceived emotional healing and perceived personal growth, proposing a dual-pathway model in which artistic creation mediates the relationships between environmental emotions and perceived psychological benefits.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 350 undergraduate art and design students from three higher education institutions in China who had participated in outdoor landscape sketching courses. Data were collected using an adapted five-point Likert questionnaire measuring emotions in natural environments, emotions in cultural environments, artistic creation, perceived emotional healing, and perceived personal growth. Exploratory factor analysis and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) were used to analyze the data.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n Emotions in natural environments were positively associated with artistic creation (\n \u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.351,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001) and perceived emotional healing (\n \u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.197,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.002). Emotions in cultural environments were positively associated with artistic creation (\n \u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.495,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001) but were not directly associated with perceived emotional healing (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.497). Artistic creation was positively associated with perceived emotional healing (\n \u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.692,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001), which in turn was positively associated with perceived personal growth (\n \u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.879,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001). In addition, artistic creation significantly mediated the relationships between environmental emotions and perceived emotional healing in both natural and cultural environments.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Discussion<\/jats:title>\n The findings suggest that artistic creation represents an important mechanism through which environmental experiences are associated with students\u2019 perceived emotional healing and personal growth during outdoor landscape sketching courses. By extending the SOR framework with a dual-pathway mediation model, this study advances understanding of the psychological value of arts-based educational activities and provides practical implications for integrating experiential landscape sketching into higher art education to support students\u2019 emotional well-being and personal development.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1884307","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]],"date-time":"2026-07-24T13:39:54Z","timestamp":1784900394000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The psychological benefits of outdoor landscape sketching in higher art education: an extended SOR perspective"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Mengqi","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Design, College of Design and Art, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology","place":["Taiyuan, Shanxi, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lei","family":"Feng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Foreign Languages, Soochow University","place":["Suzhou, China"]},{"name":"Chongqing New Guidance Intelligent Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.36346\/sarjall.2024.v06i05.004","article-title":"Impact of outdoor painting on the color tone in students\u2019 paintings","volume":"6","author":"Al-Husiny","year":"2024","journal-title":"South Asian Res J Art Lang Lit"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"104032","DOI":"10.1016\/j.annals.2025.104032","article-title":"From restoration to transformation in tourism experience: unearthing the critical roles of motivation and reflection","volume":"115","author":"Bai","year":"2025","journal-title":"Ann. 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