Indoor plants can effectively improve indoor air quality, relieve depression and other negative emotions for indoor occupants, and improve their work efficiency. However, the effects of plants on indoor occupants were attributed to the aesthetic effects only in previous studies, without considering the effect of air-purification performance. In this study, the purification and aesthetic coupling effects of Epipremnum aureum were studied using various combinations of number and placement of artificial and real E. aureum. Indoor environment parameters like the formaldehyde concentration were monitored. The effects of plants on subjects’ work efficiency and psycho-physiological benefits were investigated. Quantitative analysis was conducted on the air-purification and aesthetic coupling effects of E. aureum on subjects’ psycho-physiological responses using Isight software. The results revealed that the CADR of E. aureum could reach 10.254 m3/h, and the air-purification performance of the plants contributed to the physiological and psychological benefits of subjects. The interaction term of number and ‘real or artificial’ of plants contributed the most to the work efficiency, physiological response and psychological response of the subjects, accounting for 39.78%, 43.09% and 25.50%, respectively. The interaction term was a positive stimulus to work efficiency and physiological response and had a negative effect on psychological response.
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