Operational Drift: Why Validated Fatigue Induction is the Missing Link in Nature Restoration Research.

The article focuses on the evaluation of nature-based interventions for cognitive benefits within psychological sciences. It highlights that systematic reviews report small effects and high variability, attributing this to deviations from the conditions required by Attention Restoration Theory, which emphasizes recovery from cognitive fatigue. The article notes that only a minority of studies explicitly induce fatigue, often using tasks insufficient to cause measurable impairment, leading to challenges in interpreting positive or null results. It proposes that rigorous research protocols should include validated fatigue induction, objective manipulation checks, appropriate control groups, and sensitive outcome measures to accurately assess cognitive restoration. The findings are based on a preprint that has not undergone peer review. [Extracted from the article]