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Experiencing Connection With Nature: The Matrix of Psychological Well-Being, Mindfulness, and Outdoor Recreation
Abstract
Ecopsychological theory and practice underscore the vital importance of realizing the interdependence between human beings and the diverse living universes that they inhabit. This article focuses on the mental health implications of the shift toward a more ecologically rooted identity by examining relationships between psychological well-being and the personal experience of connection with nature. Three separate surveys conducted with undergraduate and community samples assessed relationships between the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS), psychological well-being, mindfulness, and outdoor recreation. Higher CNS scores were consistently associated with greater trait mindfulness, more participation in appreciative outdoor activities, and higher scores on multiple measures of both hedonic and eudaimonic aspects of psychological well-being. Discussion focuses on informing optimal strategies for nature-based interventions.
... Perhaps this is being realised, as young people are presenting in recent studies with increased interest in nature-based relaxation and recreation as a health resource to manage strong feelings like stress (Moriki et al., 2018;. Nature recreation can be beneficial for human mental health and wellbeing (Hurly & Walker, 2019;Kinnafick & Thøgersen-Ntoumani, 2014;Wolsko & Lindberg, 2013), both for younger and older people (Buckley, 2018;. A recent literature review found that 90% of articles reported at least one mental health benefit of nature recreation (Lackey et al., 2019). ...
... Wellbeing: The Scale of Positive and Negative Experiences (SPANE) (Diener et al., 2010); the Flourishing Scale (FS) (Diener et al., 2010); and the stress subscale from the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-42) (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) were used. FS and SPANE had been examined together with nature connection by Wolsko and Lindberg (2013). Stress, wellbeing and nature contact is related (Ingulli & Lindbloom, 2013;Ulrich et al., 1991) and the DASS was chosen for its construct validity, its brevity and suitability for adolescents and adults ...
... Nature connection: Nature relatedness scale (NR-6) and connection to nature scale (CNS) are associated with wellbeing (Howell, Passmore, & Buro, 2013;Ingulli & Lindbloom, 2013;Wolsko & Lindberg, 2013). Both scales were used because the CNS is considered a cognitive measure of nature connection (Perkins, 2010) while NR measures affective and experiential dimensions (Nisbet, Zelenski, & Murphy, 2009). ...
Nature recreation can be beneficial for human health and wellbeing, and this paperinvites discussion about whether environmental behaviour nature contact can influence naturecontact. As human life becomes more urbanised, people interact less closely with nature,which weakens and nature connections are weakened. Tourism provides an opportunity toenhance nature contact, and hence nature connection, and may, motivate pro-environmentalbehaviour. This study uses the ‘R’ statistical package to analyse questionnaire data from 679participants who have encountered marine mammals in the wild, as part of an ecotour, and incaptive settings. It considers the question: Does a connection to nature mediate the rolebetween nature contact and wellbeing, and do marine mammal experiences specificallycontribute to human wellbeing and environmental behaviour? The role of nature connectionas a mediator between nature contact and wellbeing is described in a structural equationmodel. Marine mammal experiences are shown to be significantly and positively related tohuman wellbeing (three-way ANOVA) and environmental behaviour (Kruskal-Wallis HTest). We conclude that nature connectedness mediates the effect of nature contact onwellbeing, and marine mammal experiences have an effect on wellbeing and environmentalbehaviour. This study adds to research on cetacean experiences by including all marinemammals across different experience types. The results assist identify paths through whichrecreation time may achieve a two-way benefit of wellbeing and environmental behaviour.
... Two of the studies did not include a connection or relationship with nature questionnaire [61,62] though the studies took place in an outdoor setting. The studies included both survey [60,63,64] and interventional [61,62,65] studies. All studies used convenience sampling and one study did have a small control group [61]. ...
... The purpose of three of the studies was to determine the relationship between nature, mindfulness, and psychological wellbeing outcomes [60,63,64]. The remaining study purposes were to examine the effects of mindfulness training within an outdoor nature environment [61,62,65]. ...
... Specific psychological conditions such as anxiety, depression, and psychological stress showed significant benefits from mindfulness in nature [60,65]. Connection or relatedness to nature scores was correlated to an increase in mindfulness [60,63,64] and measures psychological wellbeing [60,[63][64][65]. Mindfulness was positively correlated with measures of psychological wellbeing [60][61][62][63]65]. ...
Mindfulness and Shinrin-yoku (SY) translated as forest bathing, is potentially effective to alleviate mental health issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The purpose of this article is to provide a translational and pragmatic approach to understanding mindfulness in the context of SY and psychological wellbeing through a rapid review of the literature. The background of mindfulness and SY practice are discussed and the emotional, neuroendocrine, and neurobiological responses are examined. Next, a rapid review of the literature examined six studies, published between 2010 and 2020 to determine what is known regarding the relationship between SY, mindfulness, and psychological wellbeing. The studies included 21–360 participants with a mean age of 20–55 years. The results demonstrated a significant positive correlation between nature, mindfulness, and measures of psychological wellbeing. During uncertain events, including COVID-19, weaving mindfulness with SY may be specifically important to at-risk groups, those experiencing depression, loneliness, and social isolation, and at-risk populations such as college students, veterans, and professionals with high levels of stress. The goal of this review is to provide a thorough background and support of this cost-effective modality to promote overall psychological wellbeing as a preventative measure to those at risk or experiencing psychological illnesses.
... Other perspectives of individuals' understanding of nature may come from an understanding based on spiritual beliefs (see Ashley, 2007), or from a more epistemological standpoint, as a "representation" built from the language of science (see Zwart, 2008). Moving away from such perspectives, the items of the scale that constitute this subdimension stem from a rather psychological perspective to include an often underexplored understanding of nature reflected in individuals' mindfulness of nature, that is, the way we perceive nature as a whole system where humans are part of and belong to (consider Wolsko & Lindberg, 2013). ...
... The ECS-HNR is based on the work of, in particular, Nisbet et al. (2009Nisbet et al. ( , 2011, Cheng and Monroe (2012), Perrin and Benassi (2009), Wolsko andLindberg (2013), andUlrich (1983), which served as the backbone for the creation of this scale. Thus, while some items were adapted from these surveys and translated into Spanish following the guidelines proposed in Muñiz et al. (2013), Behling and Law (2000), and Hambleton et al. (2006), others were created to address the purposes of this study following reflections in, for example, Galafassi (1998), de Canales et al. (2014, and previous studies by the team (e.g., Lazzaro-Salazar, 2019). ...
... The ECS-HNR is based on the work of, in particular, Nisbet et al. (2009Nisbet et al. ( , 2011, Cheng and Monroe (2012), Perrin and Benassi (2009), Wolsko andLindberg (2013), andUlrich (1983), which served as the backbone for the creation of this scale. Thus, while some items were adapted from these surveys and translated into Spanish following the guidelines proposed in Muñiz et al. (2013), Behling and Law (2000), and Hambleton et al. (2006), others were created to address the purposes of this study following reflections in, for example, Galafassi (1998), de Canales et al. (2014, and previous studies by the team (e.g., Lazzaro-Salazar, 2019). ...
A bidimensional (cognitive–emotional) novel survey, the Emotional and Cognitive Scale of the Human–Nature Relationship (ECS-HNR), was designed and validated to measure Ecological Awareness (EAW) and Ecological Affectiveness (EAF) as vital aspects of the human–nature relationship. Data were collected in Chile between July and October 2019 from 474 participants ranging between 6 and 85 years old, using the snowball sampling technique. To examine the properties of the ECS-HNR we analyzed the results in terms of its content validity, reliability, factor structure, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. The ECS-HNR comprises 24 items divided into two subscales with three subscales each (EAF: Empathy, Enjoyment, and Connectedness; EAW: Understanding, Appreciation, and Perception). The results demonstrated that the ECS-HNR is a reliable instrument, as items (the two scales and their subscales) exhibited an acceptable internal consistency. Our findings demonstrate that the ECS-HNR allows the integration of both dimensions of the human–nature relationship and is appropriate to evaluate attitudes and feelings toward nature.
... The potential influence of nature on motivational quality has also been recognised. Wolsko and Lindberg (2013) posited that spending time in nature ultimately reduces the influence of others on one's self-worth (controlled motivation) and instead cultivates internally-driven motives (autonomous motivation). Indeed, there is growing evidence that nature-based PA is associated with autonomous motivation, most notably in the form of intrinsic motivation (e.g., Gladwell et al., 2013;Eigenschenk et al., 2019) and that nature-based PA is more likely to be associated with autonomous motivation and adherence to PA compared to nonnature-based PA (Fraser et al., 2019). ...
... This is noteworthy as introjected regulation (which is characterised by ego-based motives) negatively predicted psychological well-being. While causality cannot be inferred from our data, these findings align with Wolsko and Lindberg's (2013) hypothesis that egobased motivations may decrease as a result of being in nature. Thus, future research should directly examine whether natural environments may reduce ego-oriented motivations for PA. ...
The COVID-19 pandemic is a global event that has already had substantive negative impacts on psychological well-being. This study investigated the relationship between physical activity (PA) and psychological well-being during a country-wide COVID-19 lockdown in New Zealand. Motivational quality and PA context (nature-based or non-nature-based) were included as potential mediating and moderating variables within this relationship, respectively. Participants completed an online survey assessing psychological well-being, weekly PA levels, and PA during the second and third weeks of the 7 week COVID-19 lockdown period in New Zealand. Data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling. Results showed that PA significantly predicted psychological well-being, with no significant difference evident in psychological well-being dependent on whether PA was nature or non-nature-based. Nature-based PA was a stronger predictor of intrinsic motivation compared to non-nature-based PA, and intrinsic motivation was positively associated with psychological well-being. In contrast, non-nature-based PA was a stronger predictor of introjected regulation compared to nature-based PA, which was negatively associated with psychological well-being. Overall, these findings suggest that (1) weekly PA was associated with increased psychological well-being during the lockdown, and (2) nature-based PA may foster psychological well-being via effects on motivation. The implications for continued participation in PA will be discussed.
... The benefits of outdoor activities for mental well-being are well documented [25,36,88], but our results advance understanding of connection to nature's role in driving that relationship. Participation in either nature experience or outdoor play activities contributed to adolescent connection to nature and well-being, with connection to nature further enhancing the direct effects of participation in outdoor activities both before and during the pandemic. ...
... It is also possible that connection nature indirectly fueled the link between outdoor activities and well-being by inspiring and reinforcing higher levels of outdoor activity participation. Although this study did not explore the potential bi-directional relationship between connection to nature and contact with nature, previous studies have demonstrated connection to nature's role in driving continued contact with nature [25,31]. ...
Growing evidence suggests that connection to nature may be linked to mental health and well-being. Behavioral changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic could negatively affect adolescents’ connection to nature, subsequently impacting health and well-being. We explored the relationship between connection to nature and well-being before and during the pandemic through a nationally representative survey of adolescents across the United States (n = 624) between April and June 2020. Survey items focused on connection to nature, mental well-being, and participation in outdoor activities before and during the pandemic. Paired-sample t-tests revealed declines in connection to nature, mental well-being, and participation in outdoor activities during the pandemic. Multiple linear regression analyses examining connection to nature’s mediating role between outdoor activity participation and mental well-being indicated that connection to nature fueled higher levels of mental well-being at both time intervals. Z scores comparing connection to nature’s mediating role between outdoor activity participation and mental well-being between time intervals indicate that during the pandemic, the direct effect of outdoor activities on mental well-being increased, generating a greater impact than before the pandemic. This study illustrates how the health and well-being benefits associated with adolescents’ outdoor activities are reinforced when those activities also foster a stronger connection to nature.
... It is a stable state of consciousness, that is experiential, emotional and highly personal, rather than rational or deliberation-based (Lumber et al., 2017;Nisbet et al., 2009;Nisbet and Zelenski, 2013;Richardson and Sheffield, 2017;Wright and Matthews, 2015;Zylstra et al., 2014). Nature relatedness is considered to be a basic psychological human need (Baxter and Pelletier, 2019), associated with mental well-being and also with increased contact with nature (Fretwell and Greig, 2019;Lin et al., 2014;Mayer and Frantz, 2004;Nisbet et al., 2009Nisbet et al., , 2011Nisbet and Zelenski, 2013;Tam, 2013;Van Gordon et al., 2018;Wolsko and Lindberg, 2013;Wright and Matthews, 2015). Contact with nature is associated with an extraordinarily broad range of benefits to physical and mental health and well-being (for reviews see Frumkin et al., 2017;Twohig-Bennett and Jones, 2018). ...
... There is a synergistic, positive association between mindfulness and nature relatedness (Andersen, 2017; Aspy and Proeve, 2017; Schutte and Malouff, 2018;Unsworth et al., 2016;Van Gordon et al., 2018), and the former has been found to enhance the latter in natural settings (Nisbet et al., 2019;Unsworth et al., 2016). Other studies confirm nature relatedness to be strongly associated with mindfulness (Howell et al., 2011;Wolsko and Lindberg, 2013). ...
Therapeutic psychedelic administration and contact with nature have been associated with the same psychological mechanisms: decreased rumination and negative affect, enhanced psychological connectedness and mindfulness-related capacities, and heightened states of awe and transcendent experiences, all processes linked to improvements in mental health amongst clinical and healthy populations. Nature-based settings can have inherently psychologically soothing properties which may complement all stages of psychedelic therapy (mainly preparation and integration) whilst potentiating increases in nature relatedness, with associated psychological benefits. Maximising enhancement of nature relatedness through therapeutic psychedelic administration may constitute an independent and complementary pathway towards improvements in mental health that can be elicited by psychedelics.
... Ecosystems provided coping mechanisms for stress as well as restorative mental health benefits. This finding is far from novel; a burgeoning collection of empirical studies document nature's positive impact on emotional functions and mental health (Bratman et al., 2012;Wolsko and Lindberg, 2013). Yet this result has important practical implications for resettlement programs and strategies in support of mental well-being. ...
The growing field of research into cultural ecosystem services (CES) explores nonmaterial benefits that people receive from ecosystems. These studies have, however, largely overlooked refugee communities. To reduce this gap, we systematically review academic literature on refugee interactions with ecosystems to understand what cultural ecosystem services refugees may experience, and how these services affect their well-being. The results identify a broad range of CES that refugees experience, even though studies do not use CES terminology. Benefits include social relations, mental health, cultural heritage, education, recreation, identity, sense of place, aesthetic, spirituality, perspective, and existence value. Results also show that the majority of studies of refugee—ecosystem interactions occur in agricultural ecosystems. Findings suggest that interactions with ecosystems may ease the resettlement process and overall well-being, including mental health, in many ways. These findings enrich understanding of CES experienced by people of diverse (and in this case traumatic) backgrounds and provide practical implications for those who work in the field of refugee resettlement.
... However, other studies have found that mindfulness is associated with nature connectedness. Wolsko and Lindberg (2013) found that greater nature connectedness was consistently associated with greater mindfulness, more engagement in outdoor activities, and greater psychological wellbeing. Similarly, Van Gordon et al. (2018) suggested that mindfulness can be used to enhance the restorative qualities of natural environments, and that experience in natural environments can enhance mindfulness. ...
This study assesses the effectiveness of incorporating the beneficial effects of exposure to nature in a 3-week mindfulness programme. Participants (n = 122) were randomly assigned to one of two intervention groups (mindfulness, relaxation group) under different simulated environmental conditions (two natural, two non-natural environments) during an intervention lasting three weeks. The participants in the mindfulness group were asked to attend a weekly 1-h mindfulness programme. The relaxation group also spent 1 h per week on relaxation activities of their choice (e.g. reading books or magazines). Participants' wellbeing outcomes and nature connectedness were measured before and after the three-week intervention, and at one-week follow-up. The findings show that the mindfulness programme was more effective when carried out in a natural environment. In addition, the mindfulness group in natural environments continued to improve even after the intervention was completed. This study offers valuable insights into the benefits of combining a wellbeing intervention with exposure to nature.
... 67)-an operationalization Mayer and Frantz (2004) later expanded to emphasize the affective and experiential components of feeling connected with nature. Indeed, like mindfulness, studies link nature connectedness with psychological, social, and emotional wellbeing (Howell, Dopko, Passmore, & Buro, 2011;Mayer et al., 2009;Wolsko & Lindberg, 2013). A positive relationship has also been observed between nature connectedness and dispositional mindfulness (Hanley, Deringer, & Hanley, 2017;Howell et al., 2011). ...
... Our study found respondents who engaged in appreciative recreational activities on a regular basis such as walking, wildlife viewing, and non-motorized boating were more likely to rate their estuary as being very important in contributing to their overall wellbeing. This finding aligns with similar research by Wolsko and Lindberg (2013) who found individuals that engage in more appreciative outdoor activities experience stronger connections with nature and a higher degree of wellbeing, as well as greater positive emotions, mindfulness and vitality. Clearly, coastal and estuarine areas provide important places where aesthetic and appreciative recreational experiences provide CES-related benefits influencing wellbeing. ...
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Cultural ecosystem services (CES) are the non-material benefits obtained from natural ecosystems that contribute to human wellbeing through aesthetic and recreational experiences, and spiritual enrichment. While research on CES is rapidly increasing in line with growing recognition of important contributions to wellbeing, little is known about CES derived from estuaries: some of the most densely populated and highly impacted ecosystems worldwide. A broad-scale assessment of CES derived from estuaries in New South Wales (NSW) was conducted using a questionnaire survey that targeted people residing near estuaries. The study aimed to determine: (i) CES important to respondents; (ii) perceptions of threats to the provision of CES; and (iii) attributes considered important by local people for their continued enjoyment and recreational use of estuaries in NSW. A total of 463 people completed the questionnaire and results revealed estuaries were highly valued by all respondents for supplying a range of CES; with aesthetics, intrinsic/existence/future, and nature/biodiversity being the most highly valued CES. The top three perceived threats with the potential to negatively affect supply of CES were: development, pollution, and poor water quality. Good water quality, maintenance of biodiversity, and litter prevention were the three most important attributes considered crucial by respondents for the provision of CES. Further, natural attributes were positively associated with CES. Overall, almost all respondents believed their estuary was very important in contributing to their wellbeing. These findings have important implications for spatial planning and the management of estuarine areas to ensure a continued provision of CES.
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... CN associated with multiple dimensions of PWB, consistent with prior research (Kamitsis & Francis, 2013;Wolsko & Lindberg, 2013). These findings support the integration of nature into the design of schools, workplaces, and communities to provide spaces conducive to restoration and promotion of PWB, which is a relatively low-cost public health approach. ...
The purpose of this study was to examine how connection to nature and mindfulness independently and jointly relate to psychological well-being, specifically: (1) the mediating role of mindfulness on the association between connection to nature and psychological well-being; and (2) whether connection to nature and mindfulness moderate the association between perceived stress and psychological well-being. Participants (N = 360; 65.8% female) completed surveys assessing their connection to nature, mindfulness, and psychological well-being. Results revealed that mindfulness significantly mediated the association between connection to nature and psychological well-being. Mindfulness also significantly moderated the association between perceived stress and two indicators of psychological well-being. Limitations of the current study and future directions are discussed.
... The need for nature connection has become more important as society advances technologically and continues to urbanize (Richardson et al., 2015). Achieving nature connectedness has been linked to a variety of psychological benefits including ecological behavior (Nisbet et al., 2009;Yang et al., 2018), sense of purpose (Mayer et al., 2009), vitality (Ryan et al., 2010), well-being (Mayer et al., 2009;Wolsko & Lindberg, 2013), and other constructs (Schutte & Malouff, 2018). Actively noticing nature has also been proposed as a way to improve nature connection (Richardson et al., 2015). ...
... A fifth category deals with the relationship between mindfulness and people's sense of connectedness with nature (Barbaro & Pickett, 2015;Schutte & Malouff, 2018;Wolsko & Lindberg, 2013). The construct "nature connectedness" (or "nature relatedness") refers to a general attitude toward nature (Brügger, Kaiser, & Roczen, 2011) rather than to the specific experiences of connection in specific nature contacts that are of central concern in ReST. ...
This thesis integrates restorative environments research and mindfulness research: two disparate but related approaches to managing the demands of modern living. Both offer ways to improve attention regulation by detaching from routine mental contents and engaging with present experience. However, restoration works bottom-up, from supportive environmental features, while mindfulness meditation works top-down, through effortful training. Complementarities between the two are the foundations of restoration skills training (ReST), a five-week mindfulness-based course that uses mindful sensory exploration in a natural setting to build a meditative state effortlessly. As in conventional mindfulness training (CMT), ReST involves a learning structure to teach versatile adaptive skills.
Data were collected in four rounds, with successively refined versions of ReST given in a botanic garden and formally matched CMT given indoors. Data were collected to test short-term outcomes of practice sessions and long-term course outcomes. Four papers aim to determine whether ReST confers similar health benefits as CMT and has specific advantages related to lower effort and enhanced restoration. Paper I shows that on repeated measurement occasions across the course weeks, attention tests obtained before and after ReST practice sessions showed restorative effects (improved performance) consistently for general attention and increasingly for executive attention. In contrast, CMT practice indoors incurred increasing effort (deteriorated performance) seen in general attention. Despite these different short-term outcomes, ReST and CMT conferred similar generalized improvements over the course weeks. Paper II shows that ReST compared with CMT had higher course completion and better establishment of a regular practice. Compliance was mediated through perceived restorative qualities in the meditation setting and state mindfulness during the classes. Paper III shows that ReST was attended by at least similar benefits for general psychological functioning as CMT. Ratings of dispositional mindfulness and attention problems remained improved six months after ReST. After CMT, only attention problem ratings remained improved. However, chronic stress ratings were not lastingly improved with either course. Paper IV shows that with ReST, participants with higher initial ratings of attention problems subsequently completed more homework practice during the course. Homework practice in turn explained part of the improvement in dispositional mindfulness and attention problems. With CMT, homework practice was unrelated to initial attention problems and improvement. In conclusion, ReST is a promising alternative for people who struggle under heavy attention demands; effortful training is not necessary to improve attention regulation in early stages of mindfulness training. The theoretical and practical integration can guide further exchange between these related research fields.
... We found that the change in nature connectedness mediated the changes in participants' levels of reflection. Wolsko and Lindberg (2013) showed that individuals who have stronger feelings of nature connectedness also Fig. 8. Interaction graph for rumination; Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. Fig. 9. Interaction graph for the reflection; Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. ...
This study investigated whether the impacts of a commonly used wellbeing intervention, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), are enhanced when combined with the benefits of exposure to a natural environment. Participants (n = 99) were randomly assigned to a weekly one-hour MBSR in one of three different environments (i.e. natural outdoor, built outdoor and indoor environments) over a six-week period. Participants' wellbeing outcomes and nature connectedness were measured at baseline, during the intervention and at one-week and one-month follow up. The results show that the mental health and wellbeing outcomes of MBSR are greater when it carried out in a natural outdoor environment compared with indoor or built environments. Moreover, participants in the natural outdoor environment showed sustained improvements even after one month from completion of the intervention. This study supports the potential value of natural environments as settings for the enhancement of health care delivery and therapeutic interventions.
... 101,102,103 Table 4 shows the correlation coefficients of PREQ indicators and Table 5, based on standardised regression coefficients, presents the direct and indirect effects of each of the environmental quality indicators on local urban identity. Finally, the experimental model of research is depicted (Figure 4) 105 and Wolsko and Lindberg, 106 it seems connection to local community would logically be associated with a desire to preserve the environment and greater importance placed on qualities afforded by preserving it. Wolsko and Lindberg 107 suggest, for example, that people who are more connected to nature are more likely to participate in outdoor recreation. ...
Local communities in Iranian cities had a special place in the past and
the inhabitants of each local community considered themselves a member. With the
introduction of modern urbanisation, the pre-modern structures of the local community
have disappeared, but the legal definition of local community has remained as the
smallest unit of urban division. Creating a reunion between local community and
residents is important, and local identity should also be transformed conceptually.
Accordingly, the main purpose of this research is to promote local community identity
based on environmental quality indicators. The research has selected the Bagh-Shater
local community in Tehran, which conforms to both the historical definition and also the
new legal definition of Iranian urban local community. The effect of perceived residential
environment quality (PREQ) indicators on urban local community identity (ULCI) has been
studied. The results show that although neighbourhood attachment (NA) is an important
component of urban local identity, now more than NA, upkeep and care (UC) create
a local identity. Based on this, maintenance and preservation of the environment can
be seen as a valuable concept which will interconnect the inhabitants and create local
environmental behaviours.
... Although mindfulness, as a dispositional trait, is associated with increased levels of connectedness to nature (Barabro & Pickett, 2015;Howell, Dopko, Passmore, & Buro, 2011;Wolsko & Lindberg, 2013), exposure to nature is thought to be a necessary component within the relationship (Howell et al., 2011;Shutte & Malouff, 2018). This notion is supported by results indicating that exposure to nature-in and of itself-can generate increased levels of connectedness to nature (Mayer, Frantz, Bruehlman-Senecal, & Dolliver, 2009); however, those who meditate in nature report higher levels of connectedness to nature than those who are only exposed to nature (Unsworth, Palicki, & Lustig, 2016). ...
Previous research suggests that meditation, a mindfulness exercise, could result in increased connectedness to nature and pro-environmental behavior. Exposure to nature also is associated with these outcomes. It was hypothesized that meditation alongside stimuli reminiscent of the natural environment would produce enhanced effects. Participants (N = 97) were randomly assigned to complete a four-week online meditation program consisting of a guided meditation paired with either nature sounds (“nature group”) or spa-like sounds (“control group”). Mindfulness, connectedness to nature, and pro-environmental behavior were assessed before and after the program. Meditation, in general, produced increases in mindfulness, connectedness to nature, and pro-environmental behavior. Additionally, the nature group had a greater rate of change in connectedness to nature when compared to the control group. The results extend previous cross-sectional research by demonstrating the beneficial effects of meditation on pro-environmental behavior and its theorized mechanisms, which may be informative for future research and interventions.
... Moreover, results showed that the public positively recognized the importance of health benefits, both physical health and mental health, from the usage of parks and recreation services. As documented and discussed in other studies (Bedimo-Rung et al., 2005;Godbey & Mowen, 2010;Wolsko & Lindberg, 2013), the findings from the present study indicated that the research participants in South Dakota recognized the potential of local parks and recreation in promoting physical and mental health. Although South Dakota residents acknowledge the linkage between health benefits and public parks and recreation services, these respondents also expected more from their local public providers than is currently being delivered or emphasized. ...
Public parks and recreation services could be considered as an accessible and affordable choice for local residents as they are pursuing active and healthy lifestyles. The purpose of this study is to identify perceptions of benefits from parks and recreation services using Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA). Using convenience sampling through email invitations and social media, a total of 1,212 self-identified South Dakota residents were included in this study. Using paired t-tests to identify differences between importance and performance, the results indicated the public desire more physical and mental health related services from parks and recreation than they have received. The results can assist parks and recreation providers in prioritizing resource allocations and could aid in decision-making processes to maximize the benefits of health and quality of life.
... The outdoor environment provides for a variety of unique play and learning opportunities and a growing body of research suggests that play and activities in natural environments are beneficial for children's development and learning in many areas (Waller et al. 2017). Several studies show positive effects of nature contact on various dimensions of children's health and well-being (Chawla 2015;Gill 2014;Maller 2009;Wolsko and Lindberg 2013), cognition (Burdette and Whitaker 2005;Wells 2000), attention skills (Mårtensson et al. 2009;Ulset et al. 2017), motor development (Fjørtoft 2001(Fjørtoft , 2004 as well as resilience and social behavior (Corraliza, Collado, and Bethelmy 2012;Dowdell, Gray, and Malone 2011;Flouri, Midouhas, and Joshi 2014). ...
The aim of this study is to provide more knowledge on how outdoor time in Norwegian kindergartens is used as a resource for educational activities regarding science education and physical education. Through a questionnaire and a focus group interview, the study investigated early childhood teachers’ perceptions of their work with these subjects and included twelve teachers representing nine kindergartens. According to the teachers, they work more often with these subjects by following up spontaneous situations than through planned activities. They emphasize different science themes and movement experiences depending on the environment they are in and highlight nature as an environment with many opportunities for spontaneous activities. A matter of concern is that one-fourth of the teachers reported that they work only occasionally with these subjects. In addition, the teachers seem to regard themselves less knowledgeable and less prepared to work with science education than physical education.
... Research also suggests that mindfulnessthat is, one's ability to maintain focus in the immediate moment without judgment (Brown and Ryan 2003) may be associated with individuals' levels of connectedness with nature (Barbaro and Pickett 2016;Nisbet et al. 2019;Stewart and Haaga 2018;Wolsko and Lindberg 2013). In a recent meta-analysis, including 12 studies focused on trait mindfulness and connectedness with nature, Schutte and Malouff (2018) found a weighted effect size of r = .25 between measures of mindfulness and connectedness to nature (CNS), indicating that mindfulness and nature connectedness were moderately related. ...
This study explored the role of individual differences in relation to overall EcoWellness (Reese and Myers in Journal of Counseling & Development, 90, 400-406, 2012) in a sample of online participants situated in the United States. Data were collected through self-report measures of mindfulness, personality traits, EcoWellness, and perceived naturalness of environmental settings. Aspects of mindfulness, greater perceived naturalness, extraversion, agreeableness, and openness predicted overall EcoWellness. Thus, individuals who scored higher on these traits were more likely to be regarded as EcoWell. These findings give insight to who might benefit from counseling interventions targeting EcoWellness and help to further build a conceptual understanding of the concept of EcoWellness in the international counseling literature.
... Many studies have examined how recreation activities can benefit the mental health of college students, but a majority of this research has centered on campus-based facilities such as recreation centers (Miller, 2011) or organized outdoor orientation programs (Vlamis et al., 2011). However, some research is beginning to demonstrate that leisure time participation in nature-based outdoor activities can also impact multiple dimensions of students' psychological well-being (Wolsko & Lindberg, 2013). Because many forms of NBR have the potential to improve mental health (Corazon et al., 2019), understanding the drivers of NBR among college students is especially relevant for anyone hoping to promote more active, healthy lifestyles. ...
Nature-based recreation (NBR) can enhance human health and promote conservation. As a result, there is a growing interest in the drivers of NBR. In two separate surveys of college students in Brazil (N = 224) and the United States (N = 207), we found that young adults with stronger connection to nature (CN) have a greater preference for outdoor environments to recreate and that these preferences are associated with more frequent participation in NBR. Fostering connection to nature could therefore alter recreation preferences and enhance NBR. We also discovered gender differences in CN, recreation setting preferences and NBR participation. While women were more connected to nature and tended to prefer outdoor environments to recreate, they were less likely than men to engage in NBR. These relationships were consistent across both countries, raising concerns about gender equity in the outdoors that transcend geographical and cultural contexts.
... Et ønske om stadig emosjonelt påfyll for å vaere tilfreds kan knyttes til teorien om hedonisk adopsjon (Brickman & Campbell, 1971). Men en glede over å vaere i natur kan også romme andre dimensjoner, slik som kontemplasjon og tilstedevaerelse, som kan ha med livstilfredshet å gjøre, men ikke nødvendigvis hedonisk adopsjon (Howell, Dopko, Passmore & Buro, 2011;Vittersø & Søholt, 2011;Wolsko & Lindberg, 2013). Ut ifra et praksisdrevet perspektiv kommer vi her til en overskridelse, der en erfaringsbasert tilnaerming til natur, med en følelsesmessig tilknytning til natur, møter en begrensning som filosofisk forankring. ...
In this text, nature is explored as a space for recognition, seen from an
outdoor pedagogical perspective. Through guidance in outdoor living (friluftsliv)
in small groups, a working form is presented that aims to inspire nature-friendly
value orientation. This method of work is primarily known as an experience-based
practice and is only partially articulated as a philosophical project. Inspired by Arne
Johan Vetlesen’s demand for a paradigm shift in environmental ethics (Vetlesen,
2015), outdoor recreation pedagogical practice may be an answer to an interpretation of how “experiential ecocentric ethics” may be an alternative to exceeding the
recognition of nature’s inherent value. Special qualities in the perception of place
and space are central to understanding the uniqueness of outdoor living for the
philosophical conversation. By analysing various characteristics of outdoor pedagogical practice, the value of this practice is discussed to develop a philosophical
conversation. Finally, a proposal for virtues is presented to bridge the gap between
philosophy, psychology and know-how.
Keywords: outdoor didactics, meaning, values, philosophical conversation, ecocentric ethics, virtues
... The Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS) is a standardized self-report scale to assess this construct (Mayer and Frantz, 2004). It correlates with overall life satisfaction and various facets of well-being (Mayer and Frantz, 2004;Howell et al., 2011;Wolsko and Lindberg, 2013). Consistent with this view, engagement with natural beauty has been found to mediate the relationship between nature connectedness and well-being (Zhang et al., 2014). ...
Research studies have identified various different mechanisms in the effects of nature engagement on well-being and mental health. However, rarely are multiple pathways examined in the same study and little use has been made of first-hand, experiential accounts through interviews. Therefore, a semi-structured interview was conducted with seven female students who identified the role of nature engagement in their well-being and mental health. After applying thematic analysis, 11 themes were extracted from the data set, which were: “enjoying the different sensory input,” “calm nature facilitates a calm mood,” “enhancing decision making and forming action plans,” “enhancing efficiency and productivity,” “alleviating pressure from society's expectations regarding education,” “formation of community relations,” “nature puts things into perspective,” “liking the contrast from the urban environment,” “feel freedom,” “coping mechanism,” and “anxious if prevented or restricted.” The results indicate complementary mechanisms for how nature-related activities benefit mental health and well-being that may occupy different levels of experience within a hierarchical framework informed by perceptual control theory.
... Evidence suggests that nature-rich cities and urban forest areas are an essential part of a long-term strategy to care for the Earth (Guiney and Oberhauser 2009). Furthermore, positive environmental identity contributes to well-being (Olivos and Clayton 2017;Wolsko and Lindberg 2013). ...
A Forest for Ancon is an urban reforestation project aimed at creating an environmental tool for children. The goal is to foster environmental literacy and identity in children and to incentivize teachers to deliver outdoor lessons. Human-centered design was used. The forest is located in Peru’s capital, Lima, inside a boarding school that houses 400 children. The project planted 450 trees from five different species that are endemic to and play an important ecological role in the Peruvian coastal desert. A diverse group of stakeholders came together to establish the forest: a non-profit ideated the project and executed it in collaboration with the non-profit responsible for housing and educating the children involved in the project, and a corporate bank that provided financing and labor through their staff volunteer program. A revenue stream was created by providing educational tours for other students. Teachers’ perspectives and barriers to implementing outdoor lessons have been identified. Moreover, the potential to use this area as therapy for disengaged students is explored. Recommendations for future designs in urban agriculture education are presented: including a multidisciplinary team, creating diverse new learning possibilities, how to make the project financially viable, and how to address barriers according to teachers’ perspectives. Finally, we propose how this project can be scaled up.
... Sexual mindfulness and sexual harmony may be positively connected; as individuals slow their thoughts to create more intentional awareness of the moment, they enhance a sense of connection between their sexual experiences and other life experiences. Mindfulness research indicates that the process of slowing down and noticing details of the present moment create a sense of connection with others and the environment (Wolsko & Lindberg, 2013). In this respect, sexual mindfulness may provide a mechanism to gain more autonomy and feeling of competence, as described by SDT (Deci & Ryan, 2012). ...
Marriage is an important adult relationship, and recent research indicates that sexual mindfulness, awareness and non-judgment, may be an important tool in helping maintain relational and sexual well-being. Using a nationally representative U.S. sample of newly married, mixed-sex couples (women’s age M = 29.70 years; men’s age M = 31.76 years; N = 1473 couples), we evaluated whether the two factors of sexual mindfulness, awareness and non-judgment, were linked with relational flourishing, sexual harmony, and orgasm consistency. We utilized an actor–partner interdependence model within a structural equation modeling framework to evaluate how husbands’ and wives’ awareness and non-judgment were associated with relational flourishing, sexual harmony, and orgasm consistency. Results indicated that both wives’ and husbands’ awareness was positively associated with relational flourishing, sexual harmony, and orgasm consistency. Partner effects were found for all outcomes. However, no partner effects were found between non-judgment and orgasm consistency. Therapists, educators, and couples may consider the use of sexual mindfulness skills when addressing marriage and sexual relationships.
... The efficacy of MBIs is associated with fulfillment of hedonic needs. Some studies have explored the relationship between mindfulness and hedonic well-being and confirmed the assumption that mindfulness functions in direct and indirect ways to induce pleasure and reduce pain [23,24]. Other than clinical symptom management, hedonia and its components can be induced by MBIs, independently as well as in combination with other positive variables. ...
Background: There are hundreds of mindfulness-based interventions in the form of structured and unstructured therapies, trainings, and meditation programs, mostly utilized in a clinical rather than a well-being perspective. The number of empirical studies on positive potentials of mindfulness is comparatively less, and their known status in aca-demia is ambiguous. Hence, the current paper aimed to review the studies where mindfulness-based interventions had integrated positive psychology variables, in order to produce positive functioning.
Methods: Data were obtained from the databases of PubMed, Scopus, and PsycNet and manual search in Google Scholar. From the 3831 articles, irrelevant or inaccessible studies were eliminated, reducing the number of final articles chosen for review to 21. Interventions that contribute to enhancement of eudaimonia, hedonia, and other positive variables are discussed.
Results: Findings include the potential positive qualities of MBIs in producing specific positive outcomes within limited circumstances, and ascendancy of hedonia and other positive variables over eudaimonic enhancement.
Conclusion: In conclusion, exigency of modifications in the existing MBIs to bring about exclusively positive outcomes was identified, and observed the necessity of novel interventions for eudaimonic enhancement and elevation of hedonia in a comprehensive manner.
... For example, Rogerson and colleagues (2016) reported that those who exercised in nature had significantly increased social-interaction time compared to indoor exercisers. Green exercise has been found to produce feelings of mindfulness (Wolsko & Lindberg, 2013); evidence has consistently demonstrated the strong relationship between mindfulness and well-being (see review Keng et al., 2011). Glackin and Beale (2018) interviewed a group of road cyclists about how the sport contributed to their wellbeing. ...
... Recreation in a natural environment is both physically and mentally beneficial and, therefore, important for well-being (Jenkins and Pigram, 2005;Wolsko and Lindberg, 2013;Thomsen et al., 2018). For the majority of the world's population, the closest, most easily-accessible form of nature is urban green spaces (UGS) (Konijnendijk, 2012). ...
For most of the world’s population, urban green spaces (UGS) offer the easiest form of contact with nature. Such environments deliver a wide variety of Recreational Ecosystem Services (RES) to visitors. This paper explores RES delivery in different types of UGS, differentiated with respect to their naturalness and distance from the city centre. Furthermore, it investigates how the identified use patterns are affected by an abrupt change in access. We extract data from Instagram, posted at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, for Warsaw, Poland, and use it to measure both the intensity of use of UGS, and the experience of Instagram users. Furthermore, we compare these data with data from the same period for the previous year (2019). Our results indicate that, in typical conditions, the wilder the area, the fewer visitors. RES patterns changed, however, when access to UGS was restricted. The recent COVID-19 outbreak showed that soon after restrictions on visiting UGS were lifted, recreation shifted towards wilder green areas. Moreover, users became more oriented to wild nature. We conclude that the number of visitors, and the pattern of recreational use of UGS, are highly dependent on the character of green spaces across the urban wilderness continuum, and that they are influenced by abrupt changes in access.
... For example, a recent metaanalysis reported that mindfulness was negatively associated with amotivation (Donald et al., 2019), which is characterized by a lack of motivation and/or intentionality (Ryan & Deci, 2017). In a similar vein, mindfulness has been associated with greater vitality (Visser et al., 2015) and greater interest in day-to-day activities such as work tasks (Shiba et al., 2015), interactions with romantic partners (Karremans & Papies, 2017), and connecting with nature (Wolsko & Lindberg, 2013). Thus, in certain contexts mindfulness may buffer against amotivation and help individuals connect with important aspects of life (Donald et al., 2019). ...
Recent research suggests that mindfulness meditation may impair motivation towards traditional laboratory tasks. The present research explored the effects of meditation on motivation towards personal goals and an anagram task. In Study 1 (n = 200), participants in the mindfulness condition reported greater goal motivation than those in a comparison podcast condition (due to a decrease in the podcast condition); this difference remained 10 minutes later. Exploratory analyses revealed no differences between conditions in post‐manipulation anagram motivation. In Study 2 (n = 120), participants in the mindfulness condition reported greater goal motivation than those in the podcast condition; this difference remained 20 minutes later. There were no differences between conditions in anagram motivation. Furthermore, goal motivation increased from before to after meditating, whereas anagram motivation remained the same. These findings oppose the notion that meditation impairs motivation and instead suggest that meditation may offer motivational benefits for personal goal pursuit.
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... For example, a recent metaanalysis reported that mindfulness was negatively associated with amotivation (Donald et al., 2019), which is characterized by a lack of motivation and/or intentionality (Ryan & Deci, 2017). In a similar vein, mindfulness has been associated with greater vitality (Visser et al., 2015) and greater interest in day-to-day activities such as work tasks (Shiba et al., 2015), interactions with romantic partners (Karremans & Papies, 2017), and connecting with nature (Wolsko & Lindberg, 2013). Thus, in certain contexts mindfulness may buffer against amotivation and help individuals connect with important aspects of life (Donald et al., 2019). ...
Recent research suggests that mindfulness meditation may impair motivation towards traditional laboratory tasks. The present research explored the effects of meditation on motivation towards personal goals and an anagram task. In Study 1 (n = 200), participants in the mindfulness condition reported greater goal motivation than those in a comparison podcast condition (due to a decrease in the podcast condition); this difference remained 10 minutes later. Exploratory analyses revealed no differences between conditions in post-manipulation anagram motivation. In Study 2 (n = 120), participants in the mindfulness condition reported greater goal motivation than those in the podcast condition; this difference remained 20 minutes later. There were no differences between conditions in anagram motivation. Furthermore, goal motivation increased from before to after meditating, whereas anagram motivation remained the same. These findings oppose the notion that meditation impairs motivation and instead suggest that meditation may offer motivational benefits for personal goal pursuit.
... Studies were also heavily represented by small sample sizes, with eight of the 13 studies including 20 participants or less, which is appropriate for many qualitative approaches. (2015), Ewert (1988) Butler-Collins (2017), Christensen, Wilson, and Holt (2013), Gathright, Yamada, and Morita (2006), Korpela et al. (2014), Li et al. (2012), Mang (1985), Morrow, Rodriguez, and King (2017), Vella, Milligan, and Bennett (2013), Weng and Chiang (2014), Wilson and Christensen (2012), Wolsko and Lindberg (2013), Zebrack, Kwak, and Sundstrom (2017) Natural Green-Spaces 8 Irani (1996), Jakubec et al. (2016) Buchecker and Degenhardt (2015) Hartig, Kaiser, and Strumse (2007), Harris (1996) Table Formatting (Stern, Powell, and Hill 2014). *Some sources operationalized nature-based recreation in multiple ways. ...
The demand for mental health services around the world has risen dramatically. Many researchers and practitioners are looking for alternative mental health treatments, including nature-based recreation. However, reviews examining nature-based recreation’s therapeutic effectiveness are limited. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of available research regarding the potential mental-health benefits of nature-based recreation. Following the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) guidelines, a global standard established to ensure consistency and quality in literature reviews, a systematic search generated 51 articles for review. Most articles (n = 46, 90%) observed at least one positive association between nature-based recreation and mental health, including improvements in affect, cognition, restoration, and well-being, and decreases in anxiety and depression symptoms. Trends regarding the setting, population, methodology, and theoretical orientation of existing research, as well as recommendations for future research, are discussed in this review.
... The existing studies conceptualize HNC within frames of cognition (knowledge, perceptions, and beliefs), affect (feelings and emotions), and or behavior (actions and experiences; Zylstra et al., 2014, p. 124). HNC has also been linked to many of the same individual benefits associated with firsthand nature experiences-including, better environmental behaviors, and positive impacts on psychological, social, and emotional well-being (Howell et al., 2011;Mayer et al., 2009;Wolsko & Lindberg, 2013). Inversely, nature disconnection (Soga & Gaston, 2016) and more specifically, western disconnection from nature (Cronon, 1996;Zylstra et al., 2014) has highlighted the need for more options for experiencing nature. ...
Background: Immersive technologies may be an avenue to explore the construct of human–nature connection more thoroughly and without some of the obstacles to accessing nature in-person. Purpose: The aim of this project was to discover if self-exposure to immersive virtual nature can lead to any change in nature connectedness. Methodology/Approach: Participants were recruited from the Texas State University campus and randomized into three experimental conditions: a filmed library or nature experience, and an in-nature experience. 360-degree videos of a nature preserve and the university library were projected within a head-mounted display in a laboratory setting. Results of pre- and postsurvey data were compared between experimental groups. Findings/Conclusions: Pairwise comparisons with the Nature Relatedness Scale indicated that participants in the in-nature experience reported significantly stronger beliefs about their connection to nature than those in either virtual condition. With respect to the State of Independence with Nature Scale, planned pairwise comparisons indicated that between participants in the in-nature experience and the virtual nature experience did not differ. Implications: This study suggests that to connect with nature, one should spend time there. In addition, here data support that a virtual immersive nature experience can affect a state-dependent measurement of nature connection, and even equal that of an in-nature experience.
... Of course, the evidence for the benefits of outdoor learning is not just in the pages of the press, but in the many recent studies conducted into dual strands of intersecting outcomes of nature connection: improved mental health and wellbeing (Pritchard et al., 2019;Wolsko and Lindberg, 2013), and the development of pro-environmental behaviours (Defra, 2018;Lumber et al., 2017). While a steady decline of connection to nature has been observed for some time across all age groups Soga and Gaston, 2016), the current crisis has thrown into stark contrast the importance of natural connection and relationship within the outdoors. ...
Enabling educators to meet new and challenging times requires fundamental shifts to ways of imagining and enacting their practice. A central yet often understated aspect of this educational change are the various ways in which educators receive training and development. From initial teacher training through to continuing professional development, cultures which underpin policy change in educational institutions emerge from the practices of educators. In this paper we examine educators’ experiences of a Wild Pedagogies gathering which took place over three days in central Devon in late spring 2019. Part workshop, part informal social gathering and mutual exchange, this continuing professional development event enabled conversations, sharing (and shaping) of practice, and imagination of the future of personal and institutional educational priorities. This paper positions itself as an account of a gathering of wild pedagogues – captured as reflection, discussion and activities – and brings the participants’ reflections into conversation with wider themes emerging from previous Wild Pedagogies gatherings. It makes the assertion that such dialogic continuing professional development, constructed on foundations of relational and place-responsive pedagogies, can underpin future practitioner development in the event of a policy shift toward greater availability of outdoor learning and nature connection in the UK. The paper ends with four principles for infusing new or existing environmental education continuing professional development with place-responsive and wild pedagogical approaches.
... By quantifying the number of visitors to MPAs, our analysis demonstrates that these parks draw tourists and lead to spending in tourism-related industries. Experiences recreating in nature are important for physical and mental health [68][69][70], and nature-based tourism supports the livelihoods of people in surrounding communities [17,71,72]. Our estimates of nearly 400 K visitor-days to MPAs annually can in turn be used to build local and national support for protected areas. ...
Sustainable tourism involves increasingly attracting visitors while preserving the natural capital of a destination for future generations. To foster tourism while protecting sensitive environments, coastal managers, tourism operators, and other decision-makers benefit from information about where tourists go and which aspects of the natural and built environment draw them to particular locations. Yet this information is often lacking at management-relevant scales and in remote places. We tested and applied methods using social media as data on tourism in The Bahamas. We found that visitation, as measured by numbers of geolocated photographs, is well correlated with counts of visitors from entrance surveys for islands and parks. Using this relationship, we predicted nearly 4 K visitor-days to the network of Bahamian marine protected areas annually, with visitation varying more than 20-fold between the most and least visited parks. Next, to understand spatial patterns of tourism for sustainable development, we combined social media-based data with entrance surveys for Andros, the largest island in The Bahamas. We estimated that tourists spend 125 K visitor-nights and more than US$45 M in the most highly visited district, five times that of the least visited district. We also found that tourists prefer accessible, natural landscapes—such as reefs near lodges—that can be reached by air, roads, and ferries. The results of our study are being used to inform development and conservation decisions, such as where to invest in infrastructure for visitor access and accommodation, siting new marine protected areas, and management of established protected areas. Our work provides an important example of how to leverage social media as a source of data to inform strategies that encourage tourism, while conserving the environments that draw visitors to a destination in the first place.
If “that which is rare is precious”, then that which becomes scarce gains value. More precisely—and because nothing is created ex nihilo—the value of that thing, previously little-known or neglected, ends up being revealed by the threat of its erosion. Under the effect of light pollution, darkness and the starry sky are among those objects that have become rare, and we are assessing what they provide now that they seem to be eluding us. In reaction to this, territories are organising the protection of these “objects of nature” that have become precious, thus activating their multiple values. Feet on the ground and head in the stars, we look at values that are emerging from the starry sky industry and from the multiple services and activities it valorises, not only monetarily. Being in tension with other human needs and activities, access to darkness and therefore to the starry sky is more and more unequally distributed in space. Nevertheless, for territories previously isolated from the gains of modernity, this spatial disparity is turning into a new card to play.
Paz, D. T., Higuchi, M. I. G., Albuquerque, D. S., Lima, A., & Roazzi, A. (2021). Entendimentos sobre Natureza e Níveis de Conexão com a Natureza entre Professores/as da Educação Básica. Currículo sem Fronteiras, 20(3), 987-1005. ISSN 1645-1384 (online) doi:10.35786/1645-1384.v20.n3.19 https://bit.ly/3oApWBy ////
Resumo: Os benefícios que a conexão com a natureza traz para crianças e adolescentes têm sido confrontados com evidências do crescente distanciamento dos ambientes naturais destes grupos, principalmente nas grandes cidades. A escola poderia ser um meio para reduzir esse distanciamento, a partir da mediação dos/as professores/as. Entre tantos aspectos presentes nessa situação, pouco se problematiza como os/as professores/as compreendem a natureza e a necessária reconexão. Este estudo buscou, portanto, verificar os entendimentos sobre a natureza e da conexão com a natureza entre professores/as da educação básica numa região onde ela está presente de forma exuberante. A pesquisa de abordagem qualitativa foi realizada com a aplicação de um formulário com perguntas fechadas e abertas e escalas sociais tipo likert. Participaram do estudo 150 professores/as de escolas públicas da cidade de Manaus/AM. Os resultados obtidos por meio de análise de conteúdo e estatística não paramétrica demonstram diferentes entendimentos sobre natureza e estados de conexão com a natureza. Observou-se ainda que o gênero, idade e área de formação são variáveis determinantes na intensidade da conexão com a natureza. Palavras-Chave: Conexão com a Natureza; Afetividade ambiental; Afinidade emocional; ////
Abstract: The benefits that connections with nature brings to children and adolescents have been confronted with evidence of the growing distancing of the nature of these groups, especially in large cities. The school could be a means to reduce this distance, from the teachers’ mediation. Among so many aspects present in this situation, there are few studies focusing on how the teachers are supportive of those emotional ties for this necessary reconnection via the school curriculum. This study, therefore, sought to verify such understandings among elementary school teachers in a region where nature is present exuberantly. A form with closed and open questions and social Likert-type scales was used in this study to 150 teachers from public schools in the city of Manaus/AM. The results obtained through content analysis and statistical tests demonstrate that the different understandings of nature and what teachers understand to be connected to it, along with gender, age, and graduation area, are key variables in the intensity of emotional affinity toward nature. Keywords: Connections with Nature; Environmental Affectivity; Nature Emotional Affinity
Mindfulness has been shown to have varied associations with different forms of motivation, leading to a lack of clarity as to how and when it may foster healthy motivational states. Grounded in self-determination theory, the present study proposes a theoretical model for how mindfulness supports different forms of human motivation, and then tests this via meta-analysis. A systematic review identified 89 relevant studies (N = 25,176), comprised of 104 independent datasets and 200 effect sizes. We used a three-level modelling approach to meta-analyze these data. Across both correlational and intervention studies, we found consistent support for mindfulness predicting more autonomous forms of motivation; and among correlational studies, less controlled motivation and amotivation. We conducted moderation analyses to probe heterogeneity in the effects, including bias within studies. We conclude by highlighting substantive and methodological issues that need to be addressed in future research in this area.
This paper attempted to answer the question “How and to what extent does exposure to nature induce nondual compassion in adults?”. An integrative literature review was conducted, primarily based on peer-reviewed journal papers published since 2010 in the fields of psychology, neuroscience, environmental psychology and ecopsychology. The research indicates a potential for exposure to nature to induce nondual compassion by creating a cognitive space, allowing for effortless attention, cognitive restoration, decentering, and insight. Decentering can lead to interdependence (being one with nature; i.e., a state of nonduality). This state of nondual awareness is suggested to be a meditator and a pre-requisite to manifesting nondual compassion. This research also proposes a definition for nondual compassion that encompasses an innate state of nondual awareness, insight through metacognition of nondual awareness, and a manifestation into the physical world to alleviate others’ suffering (nature and people alike). The findings indicate that restorative environments have distinct features such as extent (spatial and temporal scope), sensory accumulation effect (effect from each additional sense stimulated) and perceived coherence (compatibility) that can inform the foundational design guidelines for integration of nature in cities. The significance of this study is that it presents nature exposure as a potential and a novel solution for combating global social and environmental challenges by inducing nondual compassion. The study is primarily limited by time constraint inhibiting undertaking a systematic literature review. A comprehensive literature review and empirical experimental research are recommended to substantiate the initial findings and develop a biophilic design framework.
Keywords: compassion, nondual awareness, nature connectedness, restorative environment, neuroscience
It is increasingly recognized that interacting with nature promotes well-being and health for both adults and children. Less is known about the role of nature in people's everyday lives during emerging adulthood which means the shift from adolescence to young adulthood. This study examines university students' participation in outdoor recreation and the perceived well-being effects of nature. The qualitative data consists of thematic writings (N = 47) produced by environmental students at the University of Helsinki, Finland, in 2020. The findings show that most students have negotiated time and other constraints and maintained active participation in outdoor recreation. The findings highlight that nature can have an important role in students' well-being during a life stage loaded with stress factors, and especially in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature provides opportunities not only for physical activity but also for emotional and cognitive renewal, strengthening social relationships, and relieving the negative physiological effects of various stressors. Nature helps students in reflecting on their lives and even gaining a stronger sense of self. Natural settings provide a venue for students' socially shared experiences but also support retreat behaviors by enabling ‘being away’ and providing freedom from the pressures of student life. To prevent decline in connection with nature, special efforts should be made to support young adults' interaction with nature and gaining well-being benefits. Encouraging outdoor recreation at all life stages is needed to foster a lifelong nature connection and well-being experiences.
Management implications
The study highlights the importance of hearing young adults' voices in decision-making and land-use planning to provide diverse opportunities for outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism. The findings stress the value of urban green spaces in supporting students' well-being in their everyday lives. To provide a sense of extent and ‘being away’ from daily routines and requirements within the city, it is important to preserve slightly managed natural settings that generate opportunities to explore nature and receive multisensory and embodied experiences. Emphasis on multisensory experiences, such as hearing bird song and breathing fresh air, also stresses the importance of taking natural elements into account in all urban planning. Promoting easy access to both urban green spaces and more distant natural settings is important for young adults. Organizing outdoor activities may also help students in familiarizing themselves with green spaces and socializing with peers.
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the effects of natural plants on satisfaction and loyalty in the hospitality servicescape and provides a theoretical framework explaining the underlying processes.
Design/methodology/approach
An experimental study (plants vs no-plants) was conducted in a restaurant with a sample of 119 individuals. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and bootstrapping moderated mediation analysis (Hayes, 2013).
Findings
The results of the study confirmed significant effects of indoor natural plants on consumers’ satisfaction and loyalty, mediated by the experiential value components of aesthetic value, service excellence and escapism. The absence of an interaction of these influences with consumers’ connectedness to nature indicates that the beneficial effects of indoor plants universally affect all individuals, independent of their personal degree of feeling connected with nature.
Practical implications
Indoor natural plants as ambient elements in restaurants can improve satisfaction and loyalty by enhancing the dimensions of aesthetics and escapism of the service experience, as well as the perception of service quality.
Originality/value
This is the first experimental study analyzing the effects of indoor plants on customer satisfaction and loyalty conducted in a real-life restaurant setting using actual plants. The findings contribute theoretically by providing an integrated conceptual model of the satisfaction and loyalty effects of atmospheric stimuli (i.e. plants) in the hospitality servicescape, which offers a process explanation based on the mediating influence of aesthetic value and the sequential mediations of aesthetic value → service excellence and aesthetic value → escapism.
Evidence suggests that experiences in nature enhance mental wellbeing. However, we are yet to clearly understand the processes through which this occurs. This study employed an exploratory qualitative approach to investigate how time spent in nature supports mental wellbeing. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 participants. Thematic analysis yielded three dominant themes: (1) ‘a sense of perspective’, (2) ‘mental and emotional sanctuary’ and (3) ‘being immersed in the moment’. Themes echoed relaxation and restoration of mental functioning, enhanced positive affect in natural environments and feelings of oneness with nature. However, participants also described experiences that reflected increased mindfulness, gratitude and awe, gaining a broader perspective on their concerns and feeling humbled in nature. Findings extend previous theoretical perspectives suggesting a more interactive relationship between people and their environment. The implications being that a more nuanced approach may better inform policy, research and practice in this area.
Objective:
The objective of the review was to identify, appraise, and synthesize the best available evidence related to participation in outdoor nature-based therapeutic recreation (TR) programs for adults with a mental illness living in the community.
Introduction:
Therapeutic recreation is posited to be beneficial for persons living with a mental illness. Research evidence indicates that TR programs can foster mental health recovery. It is important to understand from the perspective of persons living with mental illness how outdoor nature-based TR programs are meaningful and helpful for recovery.
Inclusion criteria:
This review considered studies that collected qualitative data on the experiences and perspectives of adults with a mental illness regarding their participation in outdoor nature-based TR programs.
Methods:
The databases PsycINFO, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Informit, as well as unpublished sources in gray literature sources (Google Scholar; OpenGrey), were searched and reference lists were checked to locate any additional studies. Studies published in English were considered, with a date range from as far back as possible up until 2019. Three reviewers independently assessed the methodological quality of the studies that met the inclusion criteria using the JBI critical appraisal approach for qualitative research. Data were extracted by one reviewer using the standardized qualitative extraction tool and checked for accuracy by three other reviewers. The qualitative research findings were pooled using JBI methodology. The JBI process of meta-aggregation was used to identify categories and synthesized findings, and a level of confidence was assigned to both synthesized findings.
Results:
Eighteen papers met the inclusion criteria and were included in the data extraction phase. A total of 84 findings were extracted and aggregated into six categories based on similarity of meaning and two synthesized findings. The methodological quality of the studies varied, and the overall level of confidence of the synthesized findings was determined to be moderate.
Conclusions:
This review identified that persons living with mental illness perceive outdoor nature-based TR as enjoyable and that TR makes a positive contribution to mental health. Congruent with the literature, TR offers a socially inclusive and psychologically safe environment. The intentionally structured social milieu enhances the formation of social relationships and meaningful connections for persons with mental illness. Elements linked with psychological well-being, such as intrinsic motivation, overcoming perceived challenges, and finding purpose and meaning, are enhanced through participation in TR in outdoor nature-based settings. Increased levels of physical activity, greater self-esteem, and enhanced sense of identity were some of the perceived positive changes. This review provides important insights into the subjective needs of persons with mental illness who undertake TR in outdoor nature-based settings. The qualitative findings can inform health care providers, or those interested in TR programming, to use alongside quantitative evidence of effectiveness to design nature-based TR activities that are meaningful for persons with mental illness. Limitations of the research were that papers published in languages other than English were not searched, and papers not located may have influenced the findings of this review.
Over the past two decades, environmental psychologists have become increasingly interested in the concept of nature connectedness: the degree to which people feel connected to the natural world. Nature connectedness has been shown to predict a variety of important individual differences, including stronger proenvironmental attitudes and behaviours, and greater well-being. Despite the increased attention that this topic has recently received, there is a dearth of research that has comprehensively examined how people’s relationship to nature might be related to and influenced by social relationships and contexts. In this dissertation, I consider and test the applicability of attachment theory to human–nature relations. Across two studies, I examined whether interpersonal attachment orientations (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) are associated with nature connectedness at the trait-level. I also investigated whether momentary activation of specific attachment-related schemas influence people’s motivation to connect with nature, and whether dispositional attachment orientations and nature connectedness moderate the impact of these temporarily activated schemas on motivation to connect with nature. Evidence for relationships between interpersonal attachment orientations and nature connectedness at the trait-level were weak and inconsistent across the two studies. Motivation to connect with nature did not differ across experimental conditions in either study, but some evidence was found for interpersonal attachment orientations moderating the effect of some of the experimental conditions. In general, the current research did not provide clear and consistent evidence for a link between how people relate to close others and how they relate to nature, or for attachment-related contexts impacting people’s motivation to connect with nature. Based on these results, one could conclude that attachment theory appears to have limited relevance for understanding human–nature relations. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between working at a campus community garden and student volunteers’ wellbeing. Participants: 76 undergraduate students at a large urban university in the San Francisco Bay area. Methods: A Web-based survey was conducted. Using an email mailing list of current and former garden volunteers, the study questionnaire was sent to survey participants multiple times to promote higher response rate. Results: Bootstrap regression revealed that both connectedness to nature and general health were significant predictors of a general well-being variable. Conclusions: University leaders might consider that campus natural spaces contribute to student success and may be among the few opportunities that urban college students have to engage with nature.
Contact with nature and experiences with nonhuman animals have been shown to contribute to nature connection and human wellbeing, both of which are innate needs according to the biophilia hypothesis. This study explores what marine mammal encounters mean to people and how they affect connection to and understanding of nature. It was hypothesized that individuals who had wild random vs ecotour vs captive marine mammal experiences would report differing degrees of meaning and nature-connectedness. The paper draws on responses to three survey questions, two quantitative and one qualitative, by 625 predominantly Australian participants. Significant differences were found between the three types of marine mammal experiences on subjective meaning, with highest levels in the wild random, then ecotour, then captive experience. Similarly, participants with wild experiences were more likely to report that the experience had influenced their nature connection than those who had captive mammal experiences. The five themes of Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment that make up Seligman’s PERMA wellbeing model were used to inform thematic template analyses of the short answer responses and highlighted the relationship between wellbeing and connection to nature. Importantly, the addition of Perspective as a sixth theme captured the expressed changes in participants’ points of view and attitudes, including humans’ place in the world and their impacts. Collectively the results point to how, through nature-connectedness and wellbeing, marine mammal experiences can contribute to an ecocentric view and humans can realize their effects on nature and wildlife. A model is proposed for understanding how marine mammal experiences can facilitate the quest for human wellbeing and meaning.
The study invited 12 experts to be Qi sensors to understand healthy landscape attributes of Tradition Environmental Qi (TEQ) in Eastern culture, which supports mind-body exercise. Through qualitative in-depth interviews with mind-body practitioners, the results extract the following seven healthy landscape attributes using ATLAS. ti 6.0: (1) landscape structure, (2) vegetation characteristics, (3) brightness, (4) visual quality, (5) microclimate, (6) disturbances, and (7) healthy feelings. The TEQ contains 47 items measuring the seven dimensions. Finally, through content analysis, exploratory factor analysis, reliability, and validity, 23 questions represent ＂the overall traditional environmental Qi＂ with a Cronbach's α of 0.89. In addition, the study invited 73 students from physical and mental exercises to evaluate the traditional environmental Qi scale, which represented a good internal consistency of the scale (Cronbach's α= 0.95). This research is based on the perspectives relating to environmental Qi, which aims to concretize the concept of TEQ. The study develops a scientific healthy supportive environmental assessment method to explain the harmonious interaction between individuals and urban green spaces.
Ocean Literacy is a growing global education movement aimed at deepening and contextualising the human relationship with the ocean. While ocean topics are largely missing from UK school curricula, Ocean Literacy principles offer an opportunity for environmental educators to infuse their programmes with broader perspectives on the ocean, creating openings for the development of learner knowledges, and increasing emotional connection with the marine environment. Field courses held at residential field study centres which focus on marine and coastal environments are uniquely positioned to explore principles of Ocean Literacy with their learners; through experiential, investigative modes of learning which encourage development of understanding, emotional engagement with the environment, and pro-environmental behaviours. This paper examines the learning outcomes of 16–18 year old school students taking part in residential programmes at three coastal field centres in the UK Field Studies Council network. Examining student responses against UK A-level, Scottish Highers, and International Baccalaureate specifications and curricula, we argue that while such programmes are largely determined by cognitive rather than behavioural or affective characteristics, they demonstrate a significant opportunity to further develop the emotional and behavioural foci of residential marine courses.
Three studies examine the effects of exposure to nature on positive affect and ability to reflect on a life problem. Participants spent 15 min walking in a natural setting (Studies 1, 2, & 3), an urban setting (Study 1), or watching videos of natural and urban settings (Studies 2 & 3). In all three studies, exposure to nature increased connectedness to nature, attentional capacity, positive emotions, and ability to reflect on a life problem; these effects are more dramatic for actual nature than for virtual nature. Mediational analyses indicate that the positive effects of exposure to nature are partially mediated by increases in connectedness to nature and are not mediated by increases in attentional capacity. The discussion focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the exposure to nature/well-being effects.
The utility of the attitude concept in outdoor-recreation research rests upon its predictive validity, that is, an ability to predict subsequent behavior (at either the general or specific level). This study examines the moderating and mediating effects of participation in three types of outdoor recreation activities (appreciative, consumptive, and motorized) on environmental attitude-behavior correspondence. A mediating effect occurs if participation accounts for the relation between attitude and behavior. A moderating effect occurs if the attitude-behavior relationship changes as a function of participation. Respondents (n1220) to a telephone interview of households in the Southern Appalachian region of the Southeast United States were asked about their participation in a selection of outdoor recreation activities and their environmental behaviors and were randomly assigned to one of five general environmental attitude scales. Results support a significant mediating effect for appreciative outdoor activities only. No consistent moderating effects were found. Findings are interpreted within the context of attitude accessibility, and implications for generating proenvironmental behaviors are provided.
For decades social scientists have observed that Americans are becoming more selfish, headstrong, and callous. Instead of lamenting a cultural slide toward narcissism,
Transcending Self-Interest: Psychological Explorations of the Quiet Ego provides a constructive framework for understanding--and conducting research on--both the problems of egocentrism and the ways of transcending it. Heidi A. Wayment and Jack J. Bauer have assembled a group of contributors who are helping to reshape how the field of psychology defines the self in the 21st century. In the spirit of positive psychology, these authors call us to move beyond individualistic and pathological notions of self versus other. Their theories and research suggest two paths to this transcendence: (a) balancing the needs of self and others in one's everyday life and (b) developing compassion, nondefensive self-awareness, and interdependent self-identity. At the end of these converging paths lies a quiet ego--an ego less concerned with self-promotion than with the flourishing of both the self and others. Readers will find in this volume inspiration not only for future work in psychology but also for their own efforts toward personal development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Abstract: Wilson's (1984) biophilia hypothesis predicts that people's psychological health is associated with their relationship to nature. Two studies examined associations among nature connectedness, well-being, and mindfulness in samples of undergraduate students while socially desirable responding was con-trolled. Significant associations emerged among measures of nature connectedness and indices of well-being (in Study 1 and Study 2) and mindfulness (in Study 2). Results are discussed in relation to possible mediators and moderators of the association between nature connectedness and mental health.
Environmental preferences vary with the environments evaluated and the people who evaluated them. When research has considered the explanatory power of person variables, it has focused on traits or demographic characteristics. Little research has considered how environmental preferences vary with regularly occurring psychological states, such as attentional fatigue. In this experiment, we investigated the need for psychological restoration as a within-individual determinant of the common preference differential between natural and urban environments. We treated preference as an attitude, constituted of beliefs about the likelihood of restoration during a walk in a given environment and the evaluation of restoration given different restoration needs. College students (N=103) completed the procedure just before a morning lecture (less fatigue condition) or immediately after an afternoon lecture, which itself followed the passage of time and other activities over the day (more fatigue condition). In both fatigue conditions, participants reported more favorable attitudes toward a walk in a forest than a walk in a city center, but this difference was larger with the more fatigued. This result apparently owes to the more fatigued participants’ more positive evaluation of attentional recovery, and a greater judged likelihood of restoration when walking in the forest.
We used a direct rating approach based on definitions of each construct to measure the four components of a restorative environment proposed by attention restoration theory (ART): being away, extent, fascination, and compatibility. We used the same approach to measure two criterion variables, perceived restorative potential (PRP) of a setting and preference for the setting, as well as four additional predictor variables (openness, visual access, movement ease, and setting care). Each participant rated 70 settings, 35 each from urban and natural environments, for only one of the variables. Mean ratings were higher for the natural than the urban settings for both criterion variables and all four restorative components, with differences significant in all cases except for fascination. Correlations across settings generally followed the predictions of ART, but collinearity appeared among several sets of variables, most notably being away and setting category, PRP and preference, and extent and fascination. Despite these problems, regression analysis showed that being away and compatibility predicted PRP and that the pattern of prediction for PRP and preference was somewhat different. r 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
Measures of well-being were created to assess psychological flourishing and feelings—positive feelings, negative feelings,
and the difference between the two. The scales were evaluated in a sample of 689 college students from six locations. The
Flourishing Scale is a brief 8-item summary measure of the respondent’s self-perceived success in important areas such as
relationships, self-esteem, purpose, and optimism. The scale provides a single psychological well-being score. The measure
has good psychometric properties, and is strongly associated with other psychological well-being scales. The Scale of Positive
and Negative Experience produces a score for positive feelings (6 items), a score for negative feelings (6 items), and the
two can be combined to create a balance score. This 12-item brief scale has a number of desirable features compared to earlier
measures of positive and negative emotions. In particular, the scale assesses with a few items a broad range of negative and
positive experiences and feelings, not just those of a certain type, and is based on the amount of time the feelings were
experienced during the past 4weeks. The scale converges well with measures of emotions and affective well-being.
KeywordsSubjective well-being-Well-being-Measure-Positive affect-Negative affect-Scales (or Assessment)
Five studies assessed the validity and reliability of the connectedness to nature scale (CNS), a new measure of individuals’ trait levels of feeling emotionally connected to the natural world. Data from two community and three college samples demonstrated that the CNS has good psychometric properties, correlates with related variables (the new environmental paradigm scale, identity as an environmentalist), and is uncorrelated with potential confounds (verbal ability, social desirability). This paper supports ecopsychologists’ contention that connection to nature is an important predictor of ecological behavior and subjective well-being. It also extends social psychological research on self–other overlap, perspective taking, and altruistic behavior to the overlap between self and nature. The CNS promises to be a useful empirical tool for research on the relationship between humans and the natural world.
Different conceptual perspectives converge to predict that if individuals are stressed, an encounter with most unthreatening natural environments will have a stress reducing or restorative influence, whereas many urban environments will hamper recuperation. Hypotheses regarding emotional, attentional and physiological aspects of stress reducing influences of nature are derived from a psycho-evolutionary theory. To investigate these hypotheses, 120 subjects first viewed a stressful movie, and then were exposed to color/sound videotapes of one of six different natural and urban settings. Data concerning stress recovery during the environmental presentations were obtained from self-ratings of affective states and a battery of physiological measures: heart period, muscle tension, skin conductance and pulse transit time, a non-invasive measure that correlates with systolic blood pressure. Findings from the physiological and verbal measures converged to indicate that recovery was faster and more complete when subjects were exposed to natural rather than urban environments. The pattern of physiological findings raised the possibility that responses to nature had a salient parasympathetic nervous system component; however, there was no evidence of pronounced parasympathetic involvement in responses to the urban settings. There were directional differences in cardiac responses to the natural vs urban settings, suggesting that attention/intake was higher during the natural exposures. However, both the stressor film and the nature settings elicited high levels of involuntary or automatic attention, which contradicts the notion that restorative influences of nature stem from involuntary attention or fascination. Findings were consistent with the predictions of the psycho-evolutionary theory that restorative influences of nature involve a shift towards a more positively-toned emotional state, positive changes in physiological activity levels, and that these changes are accompanied by sustained attention/intake. Content differences in terms of natural vs human-made properties appeared decisive in accounting for the differences in recuperation and perceptual intake.
Connectedness with nature (CN) is seen as a personal disposition relevant for environmental as well as human health. In five questionnaire studies (N = 547) we systematically investigated the relationship between various operationalizations of well-being and CN. CN was assessed with two different tools in parallel. All significant correlations were controlled for the effects of age and gender. Psychological well-being, meaningfulness and vitality were found to be robustly correlated with CN. We highlight the relevance of CN with respect to human health and further discuss conceptual differences unraveled by the concurrent application of two CN-tools.
As a result of increasing urbanisation, people face the prospect of living in environments with few green spaces. There is increasing evidence for a positive relation between green space in people's living environment and self-reported indicators of physical and mental health. This study investigates whether physician-assessed morbidity is also related to green space in people's living environment.
Morbidity data were derived from electronic medical records of 195 general practitioners in 96 Dutch practices, serving a population of 345,143 people. Morbidity was classified by the general practitioners according to the International Classification of Primary Care. The percentage of green space within a 1 km and 3 km radius around the postal code coordinates was derived from an existing database and was calculated for each household. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed, controlling for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.
The annual prevalence rate of 15 of the 24 disease clusters was lower in living environments with more green space in a 1 km radius. The relation was strongest for anxiety disorder and depression. The relation was stronger for children and people with a lower socioeconomic status. Furthermore, the relation was strongest in slightly urban areas and not apparent in very strongly urban areas.
This study indicates that the previously established relation between green space and a number of self-reported general indicators of physical and mental health can also be found for clusters of specific physician-assessed morbidity. The study stresses the importance of green space close to home for children and lower socioeconomic groups.
Human beings are unique in their ability to think consciously about themselves. Because they have a capacity for self-awareness not shared by other animals, people can imagine themselves in the future, anticipate consequences, plan ahead, improve themselves, and perform many other behaviors that are uniquely characteristic of human beings. Yet, despite the obvious advantages of self-reflection, the capacity for self-thought comes at a high price as people's lives are adversely affected and their inner chatter interferes with their success, pollutes their relationships, and undermines their happiness. Indeed, self-relevant thought is responsible for most of the personal and social difficulties that human beings face as individuals and as a species. Among other things, the capacity for self-reflection distorts people's perceptions, leading them to make bad decisions based on faulty information. The self conjures up a great deal of personal suffering in the form of depression, anxiety, anger, envy, and other negative emotions by allowing people to ruminate about the past or imagine the future. Egocentrism and egotism blind people to their own shortcomings, promote self-serving biases, and undermine their relationships with others. The ability to self-reflect also underlies social conflict by leading people to separate themselves into ingroups and outgroups. Ironically, many sources of personal unhappiness - such as addictions, overeating, unsafe sex, infidelity, and domestic violence - are due to people's inability to exert self-control. For those inclined toward religion and spirituality, visionaries throughout history have proclaimed that the egoic self stymies the quest for spiritual fulfillment and leads to immoral behavior.
Mounting evidence for the mental, physical, and behavioral health benefits of exposure to nature has considerable implications for psychotherapeutic practice. Survey research was conducted with a geographically and professionally diverse sample of mental health practitioners (n=231) in order to investigate the personal attitudes and demographic characteristics of those who practice ecotherapy, by incorporating the natural environment into their processes of assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. Ecotherapeutic attitudes and behaviors were more prevalent among those individuals who received graduate training in environmental psychology, had more positive personal experiences with nature, were female, agreed more with the New Ecological Paradigm, lived in communities with lower population density, lived in states with higher levels of outdoor recreation, and held master's degrees in psychology (relative to PhDs or PsyDs). All these variables exerted unique predictive effects, suggesting that there are a variety of independent pathways contributing to the integration of nature into therapy. Discussion focuses on issues related to the utility and practicality of engaging in ecotherapy, including a consideration of commonly reported obstacles to implementation.
One of this century's central challenges is to embrace our kinship with a more-than-human world - our "totemic self"- and integrate that kinship with our scientific culture and technological selves. This book takes on that challenge and proposes a re-envisioned ecopsychology.
The utility of different theoretical models of restorative experience was explored in a quasi-experimental field study and a true experiment. The former included wilderness backpacking and nonwilderness vacation conditions, as well as a control condition in which participants continued with their daily routines. The latter had urban environment, natural environment, and passive relaxation conditions. Multimethod assessments of restoration consisted of self-reports of affective states, cognitive performance, and, in the latter study, physiological measures. Convergent self-report and performance results obtained in both studies offer evidence of greater restorative effects arising from experiences in nature. Implications for theory, methodology, and design are discussed.
Three experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that exposure to restorative environments facilitates recovery from mental fatigue. To this end, participants were first mentally fatigued by performing a sustained attention test; then they viewed photographs of restorative environments, nonrestorative environments or geometrical patterns; and finally they performed the sustained attention test again. Only participants exposed to the restorative environments improved their performance on the final attention test, and this improvement occurred whether they viewed the scenes in the standardized time condition or in the self-paced time condition. Results are in agreement with Kaplan's [(1995). The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15, 169–182] attention restoration theory, and support the idea that restorative environments help maintain and restore the capacity to direct attention.
American society's approach to its natural environment includes a narcissistic component. “Mount Rushmore Syndrome” refers to an attitude to nature that is grandiose, entitled, distant, dominating, manipulative, and hyper‐independent, yet empty. A manifestation of Mount Rushmore Syndrome is the exploitation of the natural world as a result of consumerism. Heavily influenced by corporate advertising, consumerism requires that people continually alternate between a consumer false self and a consumer symptomatic, or “one‐down,” self. Mount Rushmore Syndrome also includes an over‐identification with technology. Also discussed is a narcissistic process that occurs when , people exploit nature and when some groups socially oppress others, which helps explain why these two phenomena co‐exist so often.
Disconnection from the natural world may be contributing to our planet's destruction. The authors propose a new construct, Nature Relatedness (NR), and a scale that assesses the affective, cognitive, and experiential aspects of individuals' connection to nature. In Study 1, the authors explored the internal structure of the NR item responses in a sample of 831 participants using factor analysis. They tested the construct validity of NR with respect to an assortment of environmental and personality measures. In Study 2, they employed experience sampling methodology examining if NR people spend more time outdoors, in nature. Across studies, NR correlated with environmental scales, behavior, and frequency of time in nature, supporting the reliability and validity of NR, as well as the contribution of NR (over and above other measures) to environmental concern and behavior. The potential of NR as a useful method for investigating human-nature relationships and the processes underlying environmental concern and behaviors are discussed.
Pleasures of the mind are different from pleasures of the body. There are two types of pleasures of the body: tonic pleasures and relief pleasures. Pleasures of the body are given by the contact senses and by the distance senses (seeing and hearing). The distance senses provide a special category of pleasure. Pleasures of the mind are not emotions; they are collections of emotions distributed over time. Some distributions of emotions over time are particularly pleasurable, such as episodes in which the peak emotion is strong and the final emotion is positive. The idea that all pleasurable stimuli share some general characteristic should be supplanted by the idea that humans have evolved domain-specific responses of attraction to stimuli. The emotions that characterize pleasures of the mind arise when expectations are violated, causing autonomic nervous system arousal and thereby triggering a search for an interpretation. Thus pleasures of the mind occur when an individual has a definite set of expectations (usually tacit) and the wherewithal to interpret the violation (usually by placing it in a narrative framework). Pleasures of the mind differ in the objects of the emotions they comprise. There is probably a
Outdoor recreation may foster positive environmental views among participants and their nonparticipating household members, but little research has addressed this hypothesis at the household level. We address this gap with a case study evaluating both the individual-and household-level relationship between outdoor recreation and environmental views using the new ecological paradigm scale (NEP). Results suggest NEP relates positively to appreciative outdoor recreation participation and negatively to nonappreciative outdoor recreation participation for participants and their household members. Future research should focus on how household dynamics mediate the relationship between environmental views and outdoor recreation.
This book provides an in-depth psychological analysis of consumerism that draws from a wide range of theoretical, clinical, and methodological approaches. The contributors to this edited book demonstrate that consumerism and the culture that surround it exert profound and often undesirable effects both on people's individual lives and on society as a whole. Far from being different influences, advertising, consumption, materialism, and the capitalistic economic system affect personal, social, and ecological well-being as well as childhood development. The book makes a strong case that despite psychology's past reticence to investigate issues related to consumerism, such topics are crucial to understanding human life in the contemporary age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Author's Note: This article benefited greatly from the many improvements in organization, expression, and content made by Rachel Kaplan, and the many suggestions concerning consistency, clarity, and accuracy made by Terry Hartig. Thanks also to the SESAME group for providing a supportive environment for exploring many of the themes discussed here. The project was funded, in part, by USDA Forest Service, North Central Experiment Station, Urban Forestry Unit Co-operative Agreements. Abstract An analysis of the underlying similarities between the Eastern meditation tradition and attention restoration theory (ART) provides a basis for an expanded framework for studying directed attention. The focus of the analysis is the active role the individual can play in the preservation and recovery of the directed attention capacity. Two complementary strategies are presented which can help individuals more effectively manage their attentional resource. One strategy involves avoiding unnecessary costs in terms of expenditure of directed attention. The other involves enhancing the effect of restorative opportunities. Both strategies are hypothesized to be more effective if one gains generic knowledge, self knowledge and specific skills. The interplay between a more active form of mental involvement and the more passive approach of meditation appear to have far-reaching ramifications for managing directed attention. Research on mental restoration has focused on the role of the environment, and especially the natural environment. Such settings have been shown to reduce both stress and directed attention fatigue (DAF) (Hartig & Evans, 1993). Far less emphasis, however, has been placed on the possibility of active participation by the individual in need of recovery. A major purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of this mostly neglected component of the restorative process.
Five studies utilizing survey, experimental, and diary methods assessed the effects of being outdoors on subjective vitality. In Study 1, we used a vignette method to examine whether being outdoors was associated with vitality, above and beyond the influences of physical activity and social interactions. Study 2 explored the effects of being outdoors on vitality through an experimental design contrasting indoor and outdoor walks. In Study 3. participants were exposed to photographic scenes of either nature or buildings. Results showed that only the nature scenes enhanced subjective vitality. Studies 4 and 5 used a diary methodology to examine within-person variations in subjective energy as a function of being outdoors, again controlling for physical and social activity. Being outdoors was associated with greater vitality, a relation that was mediated by the presence of natural elements. Limitations of these studies are discussed, as well as their implications for research on energy and vitalization.
Two world trends are powerfully reshaping human existence: the degradation, if not destruction, of large parts of the natural world, and unprecedented technological development. At the nexus of these two trends lies technological nature—technologies that in various ways mediate, augment, or simulate the natural world. Current examples of technological nature include videos and live webcams of nature, robot animals, and immersive virtual environments. Does it matter for the physical and psychological well-being of the human species that actual nature is being replaced with technological nature? As the basis for our provisional answer (it is “yes”), we draw on evolutionary and cross-cultural developmental accounts of the human relation with nature and some recent psychological research on the effects of technological nature. Finally, we discuss the issue—and area for future research—of “environmental generational amnesia.” The concern is that, by adapting gradually to the loss of actual nature and to the increase of technological nature, humans will lower the baseline across generations for what counts as a full measure of the human experience and of human flourishing.
Psychology rarely examines the effects of economic systems on people's lives. In this target article, we set out to explore some of the costs of American corporate capitalism and its focus on self-interest, competition, hierarchical wage labor, and strong desires for financial profit and economic growth. Specifically, we apply recent cross-cultural research on goal and value systems (Schwartz, 1996; Grouzet et al. 2006), as well as a variety of other types of evidence, to demonstrate how the aims and practices that typify American corporate capitalism often conflict with pursuits such as caring about the broader world, having close relationships with others, and, for many people, feeling worthy and free. We hope that by bringing to light the value and goal conflicts inherent in this economic system, psychologists might begin to systematically investigate this pervasive yet paradoxically ignored feature of contemporary culture.
Baer's review (2003; this issue) suggests that mindf ulness-based interventions are clinically efficacious, but that better designed studies are now needed to substantiate the field and place it on a firm foundation for future growth. Her review, coupled with other lines of evidence, suggests that interest in incorporating mindfulness into clinical interventions in medicine and psychology is growing. It is thus important that professionals coming to this field understand some of the unique factors associated with the delivery of mindfulness-based interventions and the potential conceptual and practical pitfalls of not recognizing the features of this broadly unfamiliar landscape. This commentary highlights and contextualizes (1) what exactly mindfulness is, (2) where it came from, (3) how it came to be introduced into medicine and health care, (4) issues of cross-cultural sensitivity and understanding in the study of meditative practices stemming from other cultures and in applications of them in novel settings, (5) why it is important for people who are teaching mind-fulness to practice themselves, (6) results from 3 recent studies from the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society not reviewed by Baer but which raise a number of key questions about clinical applicability, study design, and mechanism of action, and (7) current opportunities for professional training and development in mindfulness and its clinical applications.
Nature relatedness (NR) describes the affective, cognitive, and experiential aspects of human–nature relationships (Nisbet in Environ Behav
41: 715–740, 2009). Evidence from three studies suggests that individual differences in NR are associated with differences in well-being. In
study 1 (N=184), we explore associations between NR and a variety of well-being indicators, and use multiple regression analyses to
demonstrate the unique relationship of NR with well-being, while controlling for other environmental measures. We replicate
well-being correlates with a sample of business people (N=145) in Study 2. In study 3 (N=170), we explore the influence of environmental education on NR and well-being, and find that changes in NR mediate the
relationship between environmental education and changes in vitality. We discuss the potential for interventions to improve
psychological health and promote environmental behaviour.
KeywordsNature relatedness–Happiness–Well-being–Positive affect–Vitality–Environmental attitudes–Environmental education
Directed attention plays an important role in human information processing; its fatigue, in turn, has far-reaching consequences. Attention Restoration Theory provides an analysis of the kinds of experiences that lead to recovery from such fatigue. Natural environments turn out to be particularly rich in the characteristics necessary for restorative experiences. An integrative framework is proposed that places both directed attention and stress in the larger context of human-environment relationships.
A growing body of literature indicates that contact with nature influence people's health and psychological well-being both directly and by moderating processes. A questionnaire study was conducted in urban residential settings with high road-traffic noise exposure (LAeq, 24 h = 60–68 dB). Out of 500 residents, 367 lived in dwellings with access to a quiet side (LAeq, 24 h ≤ 45 dB free field value; “noise/quiet”-condition) and 133 had no access to a quiet side (“noise/noise”-condition). The present paper examines whether perceived availability to nearby green areas affects various aspects of well-being in these two noise-condition groups. For both those with and without access to a quiet side, the results show that “better” availability to nearby green areas is important for their well-being and daily behavior by reducing long-term noise annoyances and prevalence of stress-related psychosocial symptoms, and by increasing the use of spaces outdoors. In the process of planning health-promoting urban environments, it is essential to provide easy access to nearby green areas that can offer relief from environmental stress and opportunities for rest and relaxation, to strive for lower sound levels from road traffic, as well as to design “noise-free” sections indoors and outdoors.
Objective To compare the effects on mental and physical wellbeing, health related quality of life and long term adherence to physical activity, of participation in physical activity in natural environments compared with physical activity indoors.
Design Systematic review.
Data sources Medline, Embase, Psychinfo, GreenFILE, SportDISCUS, The Cochrane Library, Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, Arts and Humanities Citation Index, Conference Proceedings Citation Index – Science and BIOSIS from inception to June 2010. Internet searches of relevant websites, hand searches of relevant journals and the reference lists of included papers and other review papers identified in the search.
Methods Controlled trials (randomised and non-randomised) were included. Eligible trials compared the effects of outdoor exercise initiatives with those conducted indoors and reported on at least one physical or mental wellbeing outcome in adults or children. Screening of articles for inclusion, data extraction and quality appraisal were performed by one reviewer and checked by a second with discrepancies resolved by discussion with a third if necessary. Heterogeneity of outcome measures precluded formal meta-analysis.
Results Eleven trials (833 adults) were included. Most participants (6 trials; 523 adults) were young students. Study entry criteria and methods were sparsely reported. All interventions consisted of a single episode of walking or running indoors with the same activity at a similar level conducted outdoors on a separate occasion. A total of 13 different outcome measures were used to evaluate the effects of exercise on mental wellbeing and four outcome measures were used to assess attitude to exercise. Most trials (n=9) showed some improvement in mental wellbeing on one or other of the outcome measures. Compared with exercising indoors, exercising in natural environments was associated with greater feelings of revitalisation and positive engagement, decreases in tension, confusion, anger and depression and increased energy. Participants reported greater enjoyment and satisfaction with outdoor activity and declared a greater intent to repeat the activity at a later date. None of the identified studies measured the effects of physical activity on physical wellbeing, or the effect of natural environments on exercise adherence.
Conclusions The results show some promising effects on self-reported mental wellbeing immediately following exercise in nature which are not seen following the same exercise indoors. However, the interpretation and extrapolation of these finding is hampered by the poor methodological quality of the available evidence and the heterogeneity of outcome measures employed. The influence of these effects on the sustainability of physical activity initiatives also awaits investigation.
There is considerable scientific interest in the psychological correlates of pro-environmental behaviors. Much research has focused on demographic and social-psychological characteristics of individuals who consistently perform such actions. Here, we report the results of 2 studies in which we explored relations between broad personality traits and pro-environmental actions. Using a wide variety of behavior and personality measures, we consistently found moderate positive relations between Openness to Experience and pro-environmental activities in both a community sample (Study 1: N = 778) and an undergraduate student sample (Study 2: N = 115). In Study 2, we showed that the effect of Openness on pro-environmental behaviors was fully mediated by individuals' environmental attitudes and connection to nature. Our findings suggest that high levels of aesthetic appreciation, creativity, and inquisitiveness, but not personality traits associated with altruism, may have motivated the performance of pro-environmental actions among our respondents. Implications for intervention development are discussed.
Stress-relieving effects of gardening were hypothesized and tested in a field experiment. Thirty allotment gardeners performed a stressful Stroop task and were then randomly assigned to 30 minutes of outdoor gardening or indoor reading on their own allotment plot. Salivary cortisol levels and self-reported mood were repeatedly measured. Gardening and reading each led to decreases in cortisol during the recovery period, but decreases were significantly stronger in the gardening group. Positive mood was fully restored after gardening, but further deteriorated during reading. These findings provide the first experimental evidence that gardening can promote relief from acute stress.
This study investigates whether the presence of green space can attenuate negative health impacts of stressful life events. Individual-level data on health and socio-demographic characteristics were drawn from a representative two-stage sample of 4529 Dutch respondents to the second Dutch National Survey of General Practice (DNSGP-2), conducted in 2000-2002. Health measures included: (1) the number of health complaints in the last 14 days; (2) perceived mental health (measured by the GHQ-12); and (3) a single item measure of perceived general health ranging from 'excellent' to 'poor'. Percentages of green space in a 1-km and 3-km radius around the home were derived from the 2001 National Land cover Classification database (LGN4). Data were analysed using multilevel regression analysis, with GP practices as the group-level units. All analyses were controlled for age, gender, income, education level, and level of urbanity. The results show that the relationships of stressful life events with number of health complaints and perceived general health were significantly moderated by amount of green space in a 3-km radius. Respondents with a high amount of green space in a 3-km radius were less affected by experiencing a stressful life event than respondents with a low amount of green space in this radius. The same pattern was observed for perceived mental health, although it was marginally significant. The moderating effects of green space were found only for green space within 3 km, and not for green space within 1 km of residents' homes, presumably because the 3-km indicator is more affected by the presence of larger areas of green space, that are supposed to sustain deeper forms of restoration. These results support the notion that green space can provide a buffer against the negative health impact of stressful life events.
Clinically depressed persons suffer from impaired mood and distortion of cognition. This study assessed changes in depression severity and perceived attentional capacity of clinically depressed adults (N=18) during a 12-week therapeutic horticulture program. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Attentional Function Index (AFI) were administered at baseline, twice during (4 and 8 weeks), and immediately after the intervention (12 weeks), and at a 3-month follow-up. Experiences of being away and fascination related to the intervention were measured at 4, 8, and 12 weeks. The mean BDI score declined 9.7 points from pretest (27.3) to posttest (p < .001) and were clinically relevant (deltaBDI > or =6) for 72% of the cases. The mean AFI score increased 10.2 points from pretest (68.8) to posttest (p = .06). The greatest change in BDI and AFI scores occurred in the initial weeks of the intervention. The reduction in BDI scores remained significant and clinically relevant at the 3-month follow-up (N=16). The decline in depression severity during the intervention correlated strongly with the degree to which the participants found that it captured their attention. Therapeutic horticulture may decrease depression severity and improve perceived attentional capacity by engaging effortless attention and interrupting rumination.
The Varieties of Religious Experience : a Study in Human Nature / William James Note: The University of Adelaide Library eBooks @ Adelaide.
In this article, we examine subjective vitality, a positive feeling of aliveness and energy, in six studies. Subjective vitality is hypothesized to reflect organismic well-being and thus should covary with both psychological and somatic factors that impact the energy available to the self. Associations are shown between subjective vitality and several indexes of psychological well-being; somatic factors such as physical symptoms and perceived body functioning; and basic personality traits and affective dispositions. Subsequently, vitality is shown to be lower in people with chronic pain compared to matched controls, especially those who perceive their pain to be disabling or frightening. Subjective vitality is further associated with self-motivation and maintained weight loss among patients treated for obesity. Finally, subjective vitality is assessed in a diary study for its covariation with physical symptoms. Discussion focuses on the phenomenological salience of personal energy and its relations to physical and psychological well-being.
Mindfulness is an attribute of consciousness long believed to promote well-being. This research provides a theoretical and empirical examination of the role of mindfulness in psychological well-being. The development and psychometric properties of the dispositional Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) are described. Correlational, quasi-experimental, and laboratory studies then show that the MAAS measures a unique quality of consciousness that is related to a variety of well-being constructs, that differentiates mindfulness practitioners from others, and that is associated with enhanced self-awareness. An experience-sampling study shows that both dispositional and state mindfulness predict self-regulated behavior and positive emotional states. Finally, a clinical intervention study with cancer patients demonstrates that increases in mindfulness over time relate to declines in mood disturbance and stress.
Recently, the psychological construct mindfulness has received a great deal of attention. The majority of research has focused on clinical studies to evaluate the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions. This line of research has led to promising data suggesting mindfulness-based interventions are effective for treatment of both psychological and physical symptoms. However, an equally important direction for future research is to investigate questions concerning mechanisms of action underlying mindfulness-based interventions. This theoretical paper proposes a model of mindfulness, in an effort to elucidate potential mechanisms to explain how mindfulness affects positive change. Potential implications and future directions for the empirical study of mechanisms involved in mindfulness are addressed.
Theory and research dealing with self-regulation have focused primarily on instances of self-regulation that involve high levels of self-reflection and effortful self-control. However, intentionally trying to control one's behavior sometimes reduces the likelihood of achieving one's goals. This article examines the process of hypo-egoic self-regulation in which people relinquish deliberate, conscious control over their own behavior so that they will respond more naturally, spontaneously, or automatically. An examination of spontaneously occurring hypo-egoic states (such as flow, deindividuation, and transcendence) suggests that hypo-egoic states are characterized by lowered self-awareness and/or an increase in concrete and present-focused self-thoughts. In light of this, people may intentionally foster hypo-egoism via two pathways-(a) taking steps to reduce the proportion of time that they are self-aware (such as repeating a behavior until it is automatic or practicing meditation) or (b) increasing the concreteness of their self-thoughts (such as inducing a concrete mindset or practicing mindfulness). In this way, people may deliberately choose to regulate hypo-egoically when effortful control might be detrimental to their performance.
To determine the association between the percentage of greenspace in an area and the standardised rate of self-reported "not good" health, and to explore whether this association holds for areas exhibiting different combinations of urbanity and income deprivation.
Cross-sectional, ecological study in England.
All residents of England as at the 2001 Census.
Age and sex standardised rate of reporting "not good" health status.
A higher proportion of greenspace in an area was generally associated with better population health. However, this association varied according to the combination of area income deprivation and urbanity. There was no significant association between greenspace and health in higher income suburban and higher income rural areas. In suburban lower income areas, a higher proportion of greenspace was associated with worse health.
Although, in general, higher proportion of greenspace in an area is associated with better health, the association depends on the degree of urbanity and level of income deprivation in an area. One interpretation of these analyses is that quality as well as quantity of greenspace may be significant in determining health benefits.