Flowers & Seniors Study Research Methodology
The Flowers & Seniors Study (2001) is the second floral research project conducted by Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., professor of
psychology, Project Director, Human Development Lab at Rutgers. Dr.
Haviland-Jones is a psychologist and internationally recognized
authority in the role of emotional development in human behavior and
nonverbal emotional signals and response. In 2000, Haviland-Jones
completed the first phase of her research on
the emotional impact of
flowers on women. The Society of American Florists worked in cooperation
with the Rutgers research team, bringing its expertise of flowers to
the project.
The Flowers & Seniors Study examined senior citizens' levels of depression, social contact and memory with and without the presence of flowers. Participants were placed in one of four groups, each receiving flowers at different intervals. A series of three interviews was conducted throughout the six-month study, to measure changes in participants' moods and behaviors. Participants also kept personal daily logs to record social contacts and were given a memory test at the conclusion of the study.
Study Participants
The study consisted of 104 participants (94 women, 10 men), ranging in ethnicity, from ages 55-93. To prevent skewed or biased results, participants did not know the purpose of the study.
Interviews
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Participants were given an initial baseline interview to obtain data on moods, health, social support, life satisfaction and demographic information.
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A second and third interview followed to measure changes in feelings and behaviors.
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After the third interview, seniors were tested on everyday personal memories, including their memories of the flowers, of daily social contacts (based on the logs they kept, see below), and on recent social events (also taken from daily logs). Points were given based on the accuracy, specificity and detail of the seniors' answers.
Flower Deliveries
Participants were randomly placed into four groups. Each group received flowers at different intervals in the study, which they were told were thank-yous for participating. Results were based on how often the participants in each group received flowers (if at all), at what point in the study they received flowers, and any changes in mood and behavior that ensued. The groups included:
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The Early group: Received a bouquet once - after the first(baseline) interview only. This group had the flowers in time for the second interview.
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The Late group: Received flowers once - before the last interview only. This group had the flowers in time for the third interview.
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The All Flowers group: Received flowers twice - before both the second and third interviews.
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The No Flowers group: Received flowers only after the study was completed. They had no flowers during any of the interviews.
Evaluation
Rutgers researchers tested participants for changes in their depression, social contact and memory. Noting which flower group they
were in, the researchers used the following methods for measurement:
One-on-one
interviews - Seniors were asked questions (see list of questionnaires
below) about moods and behaviors three times during the study.
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Daily logs - Participants kept journals of daily contacts with friends, family and other supporters such as medical people, neighbors, household helpers and religious support.
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Memory tests - Seniors were tested on everyday personal memories,which were coded according to the degree of detail each participant gave about the item or event they were asked to describe.
Questionnaires
The following questionnaires were asked of participants: Izard's Differential Emotional Scale, Diener's Life Satisfaction Scale. The standard social support measure, social contact logs and memory tests also were evaluated.
About the Researcher
Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at Rutgers
University and the director of its Human Emotions Lab. An
internationally recognized authority on the role of emotional
development in human behavior and nonverbal emotional signals and
response, Haviland-Jones has published several books on adolescence and
emotion and is co-editor of the Handbook of Emotion, for which she won a
Critics Circle Award.
Studies and Research data published here
courtesy of SAF (Society of American Florists)
