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Mindfulness, Connectedness to Nature, Personal Ecological Norm and ro-environmental Behavior: A Daily Diary Study
Abstract
The concept of mindfulness has been discussed as being a promising pathway to strenghten pro-environmental behavior, that is at the same time related to personal well-being. Several studies identified correlations between trait mindfulness and pro-environmental behavior (PEB) and identified different mediators. To obtain better, fine-grained insights into this connection, the present study investigated mindfulness as a predictor of same-day connectedness to nature, personal ecological norm activation (PENA), PEB and well-being on a within-person level. In a daily diary study (N = 183, days = 1197), multilevel regression analysis showed: (i) positive same-day within-person relationships between mindfulness and PENA, connectedness to nature and well-being; (ii) a significant effect of mindfulness on next-day PEB; (iii) relationships between regular mind-body practices, such as mindfulness meditation, and daily PEB. Path analysis showed, (iv) a path from mindfulness to PEB mediated by connectedness to nature and PENA. The study confirms the significance of mindfulness in every-day life for connectedness to nature, PENA and well-being. Furthermore, the study points out the relevance of investigating predictors of PEB on a within-person level
... Again, hotel crowding, as previously mentioned in this paper, has been conceptualized as promoting the residents' affective identity through the organism, which in this case is the residents' level of mindfulness. At one point, mindfulness improves the feeling of belongingness or connectedness to a particular group or nature (Richter & Hunecke, 2022). Moreover, the possibility that a high level of mindfulness would increase affective identity has been unveiled by (Junça-Silva et al., 2021). ...
... Consequently, individuals with high affective identity would be motivated to identify themselves in a group to augment their satisfaction (Johnson et al., 2012). Furthermore, it is clear that the level of mindfulness, as stipulated by different scholars (Beaumont, 2011;Richter & Hunecke, 2022), increases individuals' understanding of their environment, consequently leading to rational decisions. More importantly, effective identity plays an important role when individuals engage with their environment, such that individuals within their environment show a high level of affective identity and value their environment much better than others (Hinds & Sparks, 2008). ...
... As such, the perceived crowding of hotels does not seem to be a problem among most Zanzibaris. Moreover, our findings demonstrated that mindfulness equally triggers the residents' affective identity since mindfulness increases the affective identity and the feeling of belongingness or mutually connected to others (Junça-Silva et al., 2021;Richter & Hunecke, 2022). ...
Underpinned by Stimulus Organism Response (SOR) theory, this study investigates the role of mindfulness in the relationship between hotels’ crowding perceptions and cognitive and affective dimensions of residents’ social identity. Drawing on a sample of 315 surveys distributed to the residents in Zanzibar, a partial least square structural modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data set. The findings of the study supported all hypotheses. First, crowding perceptions positively affect mindfulness. Second, mindfulness is positively associated with cognitive and affective identities. Thus, the present study's findings provide discussion and lay the foundations for theoretical and practical implications. Finally, the areas for further research are suggested.
... Several studies have also reported a relationship between dispositional mindfulness and pro-environmental behaviours [26,27,[40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]. Most of them explain the positive correlation between mindfulness and pro-environmental behaviour in terms of a higher tendency of mindful individuals to feel connected to the natural and social world of which they are a part, resulting in increased concern about the consequences of the environmental crisis on the ecosystem [41,[45][46][47]. ...
... Several studies have also reported a relationship between dispositional mindfulness and pro-environmental behaviours [26,27,[40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]. Most of them explain the positive correlation between mindfulness and pro-environmental behaviour in terms of a higher tendency of mindful individuals to feel connected to the natural and social world of which they are a part, resulting in increased concern about the consequences of the environmental crisis on the ecosystem [41,[45][46][47]. However, some studies have highlighted a role of self-regulation in explaining such a correlation. ...
... Our findings suggest that different aspects of dispositional mindfulness would affect pro-environmental behaviours through different paths. Observing would contribute to increased engagement in pro-environmental behaviour by enabling stronger humannature bonds and increased concern for the environmental crisis, in line with findings of previous studies [41,45,47,63]. Acting with awareness and nonjudging would affect proenvironmental behaviour by modulating, through increased self-regulation abilities, the effect of pro-environmental attitudes on behaviours. ...
Great scientific effort has been devoted to understanding what drives pro-environmental behaviour, yet the question of the environmental attitude–behaviour gap remains unanswered. Studies have indicated that self-regulation and executive functions may reduce such a gap by increasing individuals’ ability to maintain attention on present actions and to resist goal-conflicting temptations. Given the inherent association of self-regulation and executive functions with dispositional mindfulness, we carried out a cross-sectional study to test the hypothesis of the role of dispositional mindfulness in explaining the phenomenon. Our results showed that higher levels of dispositional mindfulness, measured via the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), are related to a higher tendency to perform pro-environmental behaviour, and that the observing facet of the construct would predict higher pro-environmental behaviour scores. Interestingly, we also found the acting with awareness and nonjudging factors to be moderators of the relationship between pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours, suggesting that enhanced awareness of the present moment may favour higher congruence between attitudes and behaviours, and that higher acceptance may favour more adaptive coping strategies to the climate challenge. Our findings provide a novel contribution to the understanding of the relationship between mindfulness and pro-environmental behaviour and support the perspective that self-regulation skills would contribute to reducing the environmental attitude–behaviour gap.
... Schließlich wird in der internationalen Forschungslite ratur auch das aus dem klinischen Bereich stammende Konzept der Achtsamkeit aufgegriffen (BarraganJason et al., 2022, S. 3; Bezüge in der deutschsprachigen Literatur finden sich z.B. bei Richter & Hunecke, 2022). Achtsamkeit beschreibt einen Be wusstseinszustand, bei dem die Aufmerksamkeit gänzlich auf das aktuelle Erleben gerichtet und hierbei eine offene und ak zeptierende Grundhaltung eingenommen wird. ...
... BarraganJason et al. (2022) berichten einen positiven Ef fekt, sowohl von reinen Achtsamkeitstrainings als auch von Achtsamkeitstrainings kombiniert mit echten Naturerfahrun gen. In ähnlicher Weise ermittelt eine deutsche Studie, dass ein positiver Zusammenhang zwischen Achtsamkeit und Naturver bundenheit besteht (Richter & Hunecke, 2022). ...
Der Erfolg von Umweltbildung hängt wesentlich davon ab, welche pädagogischen Methoden verwendet werden. Um geeignete pädagogische Methoden zu ermitteln, erscheint eine evidenzbasierte Vorgehensweise aussichtsreich, bei der Befunde aus empirischen Wirksamkeitsstudien genutzt werden. Vor diesem Hintergrund wird in der vorliegenden Arbeit ein Überblick über internationale Meta-Analysen gegeben, die die Wirksamkeit von Umweltbildung untersuchen. Im Rahmen der Literaturrecherche wurden fünf Meta-Analysen identifiziert, die Effekte auf ökologisches Wissen, Einstellungen oder Verhalten der Adressat/innen überprüfen. Die Befunde der Meta-Analysen sprechen dafür, dass aktives Lernen/handlungsorientiertes Lernen, Modellieren durch ein Vorbild, Anregen zum Ziele setzen, Selbstverpflichtungen, Erzeugen von kognitiven Dissonanzen, vielfältige Lernaktivitäten, Naturerfahrungen und Achtsamkeitstrainings lernförderliche Effekte haben. Diese Befunde werden abschließend vor dem Hintergrund von Stärken und Limitationen der Forschungsübersicht diskutiert.
... These proposed paths include an orientation along social values, which may ultimately lead to more pro-environmental behavior (Thiermann & Sheate, 2021), defined as a class of behaviors that protect or avoid harm to the environment (Kaiser & Wilson, 2004). Indeed, trait mindfulness is correlated with pro-environmental behavior (for a review, see Geiger et al., 2019), and a daily diary study found that state mindfulness on one day was associated with pro-environmental behavior the next day (Richter & Hunecke, 2022). Furthermore, individuals practicing mindfulness meditation or other mind-body practices show more pro-environmental behavior than non-practitioners (e.g., Loy & Reese, 2019). ...
... Future studies might employ observational, laboratory, or psychophysiological paradigms (e.g., Voss et al., 2020), and include other relevant outcomes. Another interesting route is the use of experience sampling or daily diary approaches, which minimize retrospective biases (Richter & Hunecke, 2022), and may help in discovering the trajectories of change within the program. Next, we will further scrutinize our data to foster our understanding of how changes in the outcomes did or did not occur. ...
Objectives: While mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for university students usually aim at stress prevention and reduction, MBIs have the potential to also have societal benefits. In the present study, we introduce an MBI, the Mindful Students Program (MSP), which aims at developing an ethical perspective of interdependence between the individual and its social and ecological environment. We hypothesized that the MSP fosters not only mindfulness and individual stress reduction, but also prosociality and pro-environmental behavior as primary outcomes.Methods: The MSP was delivered to university students as an elective course within their curriculum. Across three semesters, university students (N = 203) were surveyed in a pre-post design, in comparison to two control groups (N = 302), one with an interest in mindfulness, waiting for an online intervention (referred to as waitlist) and a passive control group without any specific interest in mindfulness (referred to as passive). Acceptance and adverse effects were also monitored.Results: In comparison to the control groups, students receiving the MSP experienced decreases in stress, and increases in mindfulness and pro-environmental behavior. Contrary to expectations, levels of prosociality, which were already high at the beginning of the intervention in the MSP group, did not change. Students were highly satisfied with the MSP, even when adverse events occurred, which were, however, mostly mild in nature.Conclusions: The MSP appears to be an effective and safe means of helping individuals to improve their own well-being within the university context, whilst also fostering pro-environmental action which may benefit society at large.
... Because learning is an internal and permanent process and students always search their life environment and discover relationships between phenomena, they expand their cognitive structure (Richter & Hunecke, 2022). In general, the theorists of cognitive theories believe that students cannot learn a new and unfamiliar concept unless they can connect it with the prior knowledge that they have in their minds and obtained from their real experiences (Zylstra et al., 2019). ...
... -Teaching methods and pedagogy in a technology-oriented learning environment (Richter & Hunecke, 2022) -The technical aspect and how to use the required technological tools (Trémeau et al., 2013); -The dimension of evaluation and how to properly benefit from evaluation in technology-oriented education (Yeldham & Gao, 2021); -Ethical dimension and attention to considerations in this field (Järvenoja et al., 2019). ...
Language teachers cannot ignore the role of technology in young language learners’ lives to engage and motivate them. Therefore, the current research investigated the mediating effect of students’ learning and cognitive styles on the relationship between their emotions and situational motivation. 1089 respondents were selected from different colleges and universities, with different ages, genders, and levels. Four questionnaires (Cognitive Scale of the Human–Nature Relationship, Learners’ Emotion Questionnaire, The Situational Motivation Scale, and Learning Style Questionnaire) were employed to collect the data. The researcher used Tencent QQ, a widely used communication platform in China, in conjunction with Wenjuanxing, an online survey tool, to distribute the questionnaire to all participants. The results showed that 54% of changes in students’ situational motivation can be explained by interaction among their emotions, learning, and cognitive styles. In addition, it was revealed that less attention is paid to the mental and psychological aspects of students in technology-enhanced learning environments, and most educational environments do not have the necessary compatibility with the psychological characteristics of students. Implications are presented.
... Beyond openness, other dispositional traits seem to be linked to increased individual abilities to plan and enact the implementation of pro-environmental intentions. For instance, pro-environmental behaviour has been repeatedly found to relate with dispositional mindfulness [156,167,[192][193][194][195][196][197][198][199]. Whilst most of the studies on the topic explain the correlation between mindfulness and pro-environmental behaviour in terms of a higher tendency of mindful individuals to feel empathy for humans and species affected by the environmental crisis [156,167,[197][198][199], some point out that higher present-moment awareness, entailed in mindfulness traits, would predict a lower inclination to act by default [192,200] and a higher ability to regulate one's behaviour to address pro-environmental goals [197,201]. ...
... For instance, pro-environmental behaviour has been repeatedly found to relate with dispositional mindfulness [156,167,[192][193][194][195][196][197][198][199]. Whilst most of the studies on the topic explain the correlation between mindfulness and pro-environmental behaviour in terms of a higher tendency of mindful individuals to feel empathy for humans and species affected by the environmental crisis [156,167,[197][198][199], some point out that higher present-moment awareness, entailed in mindfulness traits, would predict a lower inclination to act by default [192,200] and a higher ability to regulate one's behaviour to address pro-environmental goals [197,201]. Parallelly, pro-environmental behaviour has been also linked to conscientiousness-i.e., the tendency to be diligent, organised, and responsible [171,174,175,202] and to the self-control trait-i.e., the disposition to display ability to inhibit undesired behavioural tendencies and refrain from acting on them [146,147,149,150,[203][204][205], implying that performing proenvironmental behaviour would require individuals to refrain from performing potentially unsustainable automatic and/or hedonistic behaviour. ...
A successful transition to a lower-emission society may require major changes in the patterns of individual behaviours. Yet, whilst awareness and concern about climate change have increased in recent years among the global population, global greenhouse gases emissions have not ceased to rise. This paper discusses potential reasons underlying the gap between individual knowledge of climate change and the actions implemented to contain greenhouse gas emissions. To investigate this phenomenon, we look at the scientific literature exploring the factors influencing pro-environmental behaviour. First, we highlight how an individual’s environmental knowledge is not only approximate but also biased by cognitive, affective, and cultural factors, influencing their appraisal of climate information and their motivation to act. Second, we discuss three major models of pro-environmental behaviour, such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the Norm-Activation Model (NAM), and the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN), to highlight their failure to account for automatic cognitive and affective factors influencing an individual’s ability to implement pro-environmental intentions. Then, we discuss the Comprehensive-Action-Determination Model of pro-environmental behaviour (CADM), and its efforts to overcome the limits of the previous models. Finally, we examine the dispositional traits associated with pro-environmental engagement to highlight how the relationship between dispositions and pro-environmental behaviour performance appears related to self-regulation processes, supported by executive functioning; increased self-regulation would enable alignment of pro-environmental intentions and behaviours, and anticipation of the long-term consequences of present behaviours. We conclude by calling for more research to be carried out on the effect of enhanced self-regulation, and of self-regulation training, on individual reactions to the climate crisis.
... Using a daily diary design, it is revealed that mindfulness improves PEB the following day by facilitating connection with nature and PENA. These findings not only point to the fact that environmental considerations are often addressed in the context of awareness and daily actions but also signify the importance of mindfulness in initiating environmental actions and improving sustainable functioning [23] . ...
This study aims to analyze the relationship between mindfulness, environmental satisfaction, and environmental identity of adults. A sample of 367 adults was recruited using convenient sampling, and data were collected through online surveys. A quantitative analysis was carried out with SMART PLS-SEM to explore the structural relationships between these variables. The results demonstrated that mindfulness is significantly correlated with both environmental satisfaction and environmental identity, with environmental identity serving as a significant mediator between mindfulness and environmental satisfaction. These findings suggest that individuals with higher levels of mindfulness tend to have greater environmental satisfaction and a more robust environmental identity. The study highlights the importance of mindfulness in promoting environmental responsibility and suggests that mindfulness can enhance adults' affinity with nature and pro-environmental behaviors. This research contributes to the current understanding of the psychological determinants of environmental attitudes and behaviors, offering valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners aiming to foster environmental actions.
... Several factors affect the statistical power of multilevel models, therefore, power analyses are difficult to perform (Richter & Hunecke, 2022). In the context of daily diary data analysis, the nesting of days (Level 1) within participants (Level 2) further complicates power considerations. ...
Objectives
Based on the Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT), mindfulness interventions influence psychological wellbeing in two ways: (a) monitoring increases emotional responses (intensifies both positive and negative affect), while (b) acceptance must interact with monitoring to attenuate negative emotions and enhance positive emotions. Yet, cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence supporting these two tenets are inconsistent. Using multilevel structural equation modelling, this study evaluated these tenets by examining the independent mediating effects of monitoring and acceptance on affective and interpersonal outcomes across time.
Method
One hundred six individuals with no prior meditation experience were randomly assigned into a 14-day “Monitoring-Only” brief meditation, 14-day “Monitoring + Acceptance” brief meditation, or no-treatment control group. Multilevel mediation models were conducted to test if changes in monitoring or acceptance across the intervention period (Day 8—Day 21) fully mediated improvements in affect and social connectedness during the same period, while controlling for baseline outcomes (Day 1—Day 7). These models were repeated for follow-up variables (Day 22—Day 28) to examine the same longitudinal relationships.
Results
During both the intervention and follow-up periods, Monitoring and Acceptance skills independently mediated the improvements in positive affect and social connectedness. Monitoring skills mediated reductions in negative affect only at high levels of Acceptance, while Acceptance skills mediated reductions in negative affect only at moderate to high levels of Monitoring.
Conclusion
The present study suggests revision to the existing MAT tenets. In line with MAT predictions, both Monitoring and Acceptance skills interact to reduce negative emotions. However, contrary to MAT predictions, Monitoring skills did not exacerbate negative affect, and Acceptance skills independently improved emotional and interpersonal outcomes.
Preregistration
This study is not preregistered.
... Engaging in mindful awareness encourages one to find connection to nature, as they become more attuned to the relationship between their internal home, and their home on Earth (Richter and Hunecke 2022). Such orientation invites us to not simply live on the planet, but to interact with it, engendering pro-environmental behaviors, as well as a greater willingness to believe and adapt to climate change (Barbaro and Pickett 2016;Wang et al. 2019). ...
Amidst the eminent, growing, and dire threats of climate change, it is imperative that we as individuals look inward to cope and address the ecological crisis. Mindfulness has demonstrated benefits in research and practical applications for stress and disease management over the past two decades that can apply to climate change adaptation and mitigation. However, the Western view of mindfulness is often stunted from its full potential for supporting a sustainable world, devoid of its holistic, inherently environmental nature. Many think of mindfulness as a concept centered on one’s awareness, yet overlook other fundamental principles founded in compassion, reciprocity, ecology, and connection to the planet. We suggest that full mindfulness reflects its historic Eastern origins engendering a sense of connection to, and compassion for oneself, others, and with Earth as our shared home. By embracing mindful awareness, individuals recognize their inherent interdependence with others and with Earth, and cultivate a deep sense of gratitude and responsibility toward their home. Mindful compassion extends this care to others and inspires prosocial behaviors and environmental stewardship. Finally, mindfulness encourages individuals to find balance and harmony within themselves and their environment, fostering a profound sense of connection and belonging across time. Returning home to the holistic and environmental roots of full mindfulness offers a transformative approach to addressing climate change by promoting a truly sustainable mindset to cope with change, and care for our one and only home.
... The relationship between the general factor of dispositional mindfulness and connectedness to nature has already been proven (Schutte & Malouff, 2018). Besides this, Richter and Hunecke (2022) demonstrated that the relation of mindfulness to pro-environmental behavior is mediated by connectedness to nature and personal ecological norms. ...
The study’s primary goal is to investigate the relationship between different aspects of mindfulness which were carved out by a systematic literature review on sustainability through possible mediators. The relationship between different aspects of mindfulness (acceptance, acting with awareness, decentering, inner awareness, outer awareness, insight) and sustainable attitudes and behavior under the consideration of mediating variables (congruence of attitudes and behavior, values, well-being, connectedness to nature, disruption of routines, pro-socialness) was investigated in 337 participants. The results showed the diverse relation of mindfulness to sustainable attitude and behavior. In a mediation model, sustainable attitude and sustainable behavior were positively predicted by outer awareness and insight via connectedness to nature. Moreover, sustainable attitude and behavior were positively predicted by inner awareness, outer awareness, and insight via pro-socialness. There were no direct effects from any other aspect of mindfulness on sustainable attitude or behavior. Our study hints that connectedness to nature and pro-socialness are the relevant mediators between mindfulness (awareness and insight) and sustainable attitude and behavior. However, further intervention studies should test whether these mindfulness aspects are the most important for changing sustainable attitudes and behaviors.
... To increase sustainability in consumption patterns in buildings, there has been a growing body of research investigating the psychological underpinnings of behavior [9]. Ecopsychologists have paid significant attention to mindfulness as a psychological construct of disrupting automatic routines, reinforcing non-materialistic values, enhancing awareness, and encouraging pro-social values and behavior [10][11][12] as well as pro-environmental behavior [13][14][15][16][17]. ...
Mindfulness is a psychological construct that enhances sustainable behaviors, environmental behavior, environmental consumption, mindful consumption, and water and energy sustainable consumption. The state of mindfulness can be affected by the determinator of the physical environment as architecture via the architectural atmosphere. The previous studies show that the discrete areas of knowledge between architecture and mindfulness are still widely unknown. However, image-centered social media platforms such as Instagram seem to be able to provide big data for studying people’s perceptions of architecture. Thus, this study aims to describe the concept design and characteristics of architectural atmosphere in architecture images tagged mindfulness posted to Instagram. A coding framework developed from a previous systematic literature review was conducted for this content analysis. A total of 354 architectural images were screened, coded, and analyzed by five architects. The results highlight that the Japanese traditional architecture (59.20%) looks to be the most architectural atmosphere concept that influences mindfulness, following by Biophilic Design (33.05%), and Buddhist contemplative space (20.06%). In addition, it was found that the most common architectural atmosphere characteristic fostering mindfulness performed calm space (73.58%), focus object (54.45%), concrete material (85.71%), hue color (78.17%), hard light and shadow (78.98%), and view with a tree (60.11%).
... There is evidence that sustainable behavior is often linked with prosocial behavior (de Groot & Thøgersen, 2018). The study of Richter and Hunecke (2022) showed a relationship between mindfulness and pro-environmental behavior, mediated by connectedness to nature and personal ecological norms. In addition, in the study of Jansen et al. (under review), a relation between prosocialness and both, connectedness to nature and sustainable attitudes was identified. ...
The present study aims to investigate explicit and implicit affective attitudes toward sustainability, aspects of mindfulness, and their related factors. Therefore, different areas of sustainability (e.g., mobility, nutrition, packaging) were considered. We focused mainly on the indirect effects of mindfulness on attitudes through prosocialness and connectedness to nature. Furthermore, heartfulness, as the emotional quality of mindfulness, was considered. 458 subjects answered a series of questionnaires (mindfulness, connectedness to nature, prosocial behavior, gratitude, and self-compassion questionnaire) and completed an explicit affective evaluation task, as well as an affective priming task measuring implicit attitudes. The participants explicitly evaluated sustainable concepts more positively in comparison to non-sustainable ones. There was no significant correlation between implicit and explicit affective attitudes. Furthermore, the results of structural equation modeling revealed inner awareness and insight as predictors for prosocialness, and prosocialness in turn for the explicit affective attitudes toward sustainability. In addition, exploratory analyses showed a significant relationship between self-compassion and explicit attitudes toward sustainable concepts and a significant overall relation between gratitude, prosocialness, and explicit attitudes toward sustainable concepts. None of the relations to the implicit attitudes was significant. Our findings suggest prosocialness as a relevant mediating factor for the relation of explicit attitudes toward sustainability and mindfulness. However, this connection might be more complex, and the differentiation of mindfulness aspects inner and outer awareness seems insightful and should be considered even more in further research.
... Unfortunately, many research documentations about diary studies with feedback generation neither describe the design nor the impact of the generated feedback. The authors then just mention that feedback was provided for the participants, but do not explain more on that (Rentzsch et al., 2021;Richter and Hunecke, 2021;Arslan et al., 2019a;Arslan et al., 2019b;Holzleitner et al., 2017;Pusch et al., 2020;Depp et al., 2015;Kazemi et al., 2019). ...
While the current pandemic amplifies the trend of highly self-responsible and flexible work, many employees still struggle addressing the resulting self-management challenges like balancing strain and recovery. Maintaining health of employees is a major concern of organizations to remain competitive, but in the context of highly individual work, this can hardly be supported with classical occupational health initiatives. Thus, it is crucial to develop tools that provide individuals with personal insights on their everyday work and help them determine applicable health behaviors. Towards this goal, we report on our design and implementation of diary studies with personalized feedback about persons’ energetic wellbeing. Whereas such studies enable to research phenomena at the collective level, they can additionally act as intervention at the individual level. This is especially relevant to 1) provide a motivational incentive for continued participation and 2) raise awareness about recent topics in occupational health and promote healthy behaviors, while advancing research concerns. We provide insights from several studies regarding the generated feedback, the perception of the participants and IT-related improvement potentials. Hopefully, this will inspire further research that takes advantage of the win-win situation conducting studies, which simultaneously provide participants with individual insights.
Recent research suggests that mindfulness, compassion, and self-compassion relate to inner transformative qualities/capacities and intermediary factors that can support increased pro-environmental behavior and attitudes across individual, collective, organizational, and system levels. However, current insights focus on the individual level, are restricted to certain sustainability fields, and wider experimental evidence is scarce and contradictory. Our pilot study addresses this gap and tests the aforementioned proposition in the context of an intervention: an EU Climate Leadership Program for high-level decision-makers. The intervention was found to have significant effects on transformative qualities/capacities, intermediary factors, and pro-environmental behaviors and engagement across all levels. The picture is, however, more complex for pro-environmental attitudes. With due limitations (e.g., small sample size), this preliminary evidence confirms the feasibility and potential of mindfulness- and compassion-based interventions to foster inner-outer transformation for sustainability and climate action. Aspects that should be taken into account in larger confirmatory trials are discussed.
As crises of biodiversity loss and climate change have intensified, so too have efforts to promote human behaviours that ameliorate these global stressors. Leveraging people's connectedness with nature is proposed as a means of inspiring pro-nature behaviours at a personal and societal scale. However, it is only recently that studies have begun to characterise the specific mechanistic drivers of connectedness and its behavioural outcomes. A separate body of research shows that self-identities motivate pro-environmental behaviours. Here, we simultaneously investigate the effects of affective connection to nature and environmental self-identity on urban children's conservation behaviours. We also evaluate passive exposure, active learning, and nature-focused activities as predictors of connectedness. Using confirmatory composite analysis and path analysis in tandem, we analyse survey responses from 1037 children and adolescents attending 16 schools throughout Sydney, Australia. In this dataset, connection to nature had a large effect on commitment to conservation behaviours, half of which was mediated by environmental self-identity. Time spent in green and blue spaces had a weak direct effect on connection to nature. Most of its impact was mediated by regular engagement with nature-focused activities (e.g., looking for wild animals), which were the strongest predictors of connectedness alongside frequency of outdoor learning and reading about nature. Greenness of school catchment areas was negatively associated with connectedness, likely because children connect with nature at a finer scale and even indoors, as suggested by the moderate positive effect of household biodiversity on connectedness. Overall, we demonstrate that not all forms of contact with nature are equal when it comes to strengthening the kinds of affective bonds that lead urban children to identify with and act for nature.
Contemporary conceptualizations of mindfulness refer to paying attention to the present moment with an open and nonjudgmental attitude. Empirical research is increasingly focusing on mindfulness as a dynamic and multifaceted state that can fluctuate across situations and time. The present study aimed to extend existing knowledge by using experience-sampling methodology to examine state-level mindfulness, pleasant/unpleasant event occurrence, and affective well-being in the everyday lives of middle-aged and older adults. A community-based sample of 157 participants aged 53-86 (M = 69.36, SD = 5.80) was recruited in May-June 2020. Participants completed assessments of multidimensional state mindfulness, hassle and uplift occurrence, and positive and negative affect on their smartphones, four times a day over 10 consecutive days. (Total observations: 4,761; M = 30.32, SD = 8.78.) Multilevel models indicated that the state mindfulness-facets present-moment attention and nonjudgmental acceptance were predictive of greater affective well-being in older adulthood. Furthermore, nonjudgmental acceptance appeared to buffer affective reactivity to daily hassles, and importantly, this effect was stronger at older ages. Mindful states did not appear to provide any further boost to uplift-related mood. The findings suggest that occasions characterized by relatively high present-moment attention and nonjudgmental acceptance may contribute to enhanced emotional well-being in later adulthood. Furthermore, adopting a nonevaluative and accepting orientation toward momentary experiences may be a psychological strategy that has particular utility for mitigating emotional reactivity to daily stressors with increasing age. Future research should investigate multidimensional state mindfulness and affective well-being for middle-aged and older adults participating in mindfulness-based interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Orientations to well-being, including personal values, motives and goals regarding one’s well-being are often related to the experience of well-being. At the same time, studies show positive effects of mindfulness on well-being. It is conceivable, that the strength of the connection between well-being orientations and experiences depend on the degree of dispositional mindfulness. To explore relationships between orientations and experiences of well-being as well as the potential moderation effect of mindfulness, two cross-sectional online studies with German-speaking participants were conducted. In Study 1 ( N = 414) mindfulness moderated the relationship between life of pleasure (measured by the Orientations to Happiness Scale) and life satisfaction (β = −0.10, p = 0.017) as well as the relationship between life of meaning (β = −0.10, p = 0.028). As hypothesized, mindfulness moderated the connection between life of engagement and life satisfaction (β = −0.14, p = 0.001) as well as the negative relationship between search for meaning and life satisfaction (β = 0.15, p < 0.001). In Study 2 ( N = 731) none of those effects were statistically replicated. Yet, mindfulness moderated the relationship between hedonia (measured by the Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motives for Action Questionnaire) and life satisfaction (β = −0.07, p = 0.048) as well as the relationship between search for meaning and psychological well-being (β = 0.07, p = 0.015). Overall, the results show that mindfulness has no substantial moderating effect on the well-being orientations and experiences relationship. Yet, in both studies, mindfulness and well-being orientations were consistently related to well-being experiences. This points out, that both are related to the experience of well-being, but beyond that not as interacting factors.
Mindfulness has emerged as a potential motivator for sustainable lifestyles, yet few studies provide insight into the relationship between mindfulness practice levels and individual engagement in pro-environmental behaviors. We also lack information about the significance of meditators’ behavioral differences in terms of their measurable environmental impact and the motivational processes underlying these differences in pro-environmental performance. We classified 300 individuals in three groups with varying meditation experience and compared their pro-environmental motivations and levels of animal protein consumption. Exceeding prior attempts to compare high-impact behaviors of mindfulness practitioners and non-practitioners, we created the most detailed classification of practice engagement by assessing frequency, experience and type of meditation practice. This nuanced view on mindfulness practice reveals that advanced meditators, who reported high levels of connectedness with nature (CWN), subjective happiness and dispositional mindfulness showed significantly more concern for the environment. They also demonstrated the lowest levels of greenhouse gas emissions, land occupation and water use related to their animal-protein consumption. This study is the first to follow a self-determination theory perspective to deepen our understanding of the motivational differences between meditator groups. We revealed that advanced meditators reported significantly more integrated motivation toward the environment than non-meditators. We also provided preliminary evidence for a new theoretical framework suggesting that experiential strategies such as mindfulness practices could strengthen the relational pathway of pro-environmental behaviors. Using sequential mediation analysis, we confirmed that the negative effect of mindful compassion practice on greenhouse gas emissions from animal-protein consumption is partially mediated by CWN and integrated motivation toward the environment. While our study does not support assumptions of causality, it shows that much can be learned by studying the motivations of advanced meditators for maintaining high levels of pro-environmental behavior.
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.
Recent research found that when asked explicitly, people associate (future) sustainable actions with positive instead of negative emotions. This empirical finding implies that policy makers could harness people's intrinsic motivation to promote sustainable actions. It is however not clear where this association between sustainable actions and positive emotions stems from. Why would people report that going green feels good, given that such actions often require more effort or inconvenience? We argue and show that the previously found relationship between sustainable actions and anticipated positive emotions is not merely a matter of social desirability, but rather a matter of meaning: acting sustainably is often perceived as a moral choice and thus as a meaningful course of action, which can elicit positive emotions. Specifically, we found that participants also associate sustainable actions with positive instead of negative emotions when using an implicit association measure – one that reduces the likelihood of socially desirable responses (Study 1). Moreover, participants anticipated more intense emotions when those actions were meaningful to them: they felt more positive about sustainable actions, and more negative about unsustainable actions, when they chose to engage in those actions and when those actions are considered personally relevant to the individual (Study 2). Together, these studies explain why acting green feels good, and support the notion that sustainable actions are indeed expected (not merely reported) to be intrinsically motivating.
The COVID-19 pandemic has considerably impacted many people’s lives. This study examined changes in subjective wellbeing between December 2019 and May 2020 and how stress appraisals and coping strategies relate to individual differences and changes in subjective wellbeing during the early stages of the pandemic. Data were collected at 4 time points from 979 individuals in Germany. Results showed that, on average, life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect did not change significantly between December 2019 and March 2020 but decreased between March and May 2020. Across the latter timespan, individual differences in life satisfaction were positively related to controllability appraisals, active coping, and positive reframing, and negatively related to threat and centrality appraisals and planning. Positive affect was positively related to challenge and controllable-by-self appraisals, active coping, using emotional support, and religion, and negatively related to threat appraisal and humor. Negative affect was positively related to threat and centrality appraisals, denial, substance use, and self-blame, and negatively related to controllability appraisals and emotional support. Contrary to expectations, the effects of stress appraisals and coping strategies on changes in subjective wellbeing were small and mostly nonsignificant. These findings imply that the COVID-19 pandemic represents not only a major medical and economic crisis, but also has a psychological dimension, as it can be associated with declines in key facets of people’s subjective wellbeing. Psychological practitioners should address potential declines in subjective wellbeing with their clients and attempt to enhance clients’ general capability to use functional stress appraisals and effective coping strategies.
The ecological crisis demands new strategies to rapidly transform our society into a more sustainable one. A growing amount of
research points towards the potential of mindfulness to help transform people’s motivations for sustainability. This article reviews
30 years of research in mindfulness and sustainability and disentangles theoretical knowledge from empirical evidence. We
identified six leading theoretical links between mindfulness and sustainability which find backing in empirical work: reduced
automaticity, enhanced health and subjective well-being, greater connectedness with nature, improved pro-sociality, recognition
of intrinsic values and openness to new experiences. Many of the studies involve considerable methodological caveats, most
importantly a lack of mindfulness practice indicators and environmental impact measures. To reach the point where policy
makers could embrace mindfulness-based policies to promote societal well-being and sustainability, the research must go beyond
the present focus on correlative research. The proof of causality posits the greatest challenge for the next decade of research.
Inspired by principles from policy evaluation, we propose a research agenda that offers direction for collaborative efforts and
innovative interdisciplinary study designs in a logical model: (how) does the practice of mindfulness contribute to individual
behaviour change and (how) does this individual change translate into societal change?
Open access: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s41465-020-00180-6.pdf
Mindfulness-based interventions are commonly used to reduce psychological symptoms and enhance positive qualities of human functioning. However, the influence of mindfulness practice dosage remains poorly understood, limiting dissemination and implementation efforts. The current study examined the association between practice dosage and several constructs related to psychological functioning (positive and negative affect, state mindfulness) over the course of a standardized mindfulness-based intervention (Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement). Twenty-five participants completed daily diary assessments for 12 weeks. Two-part gamma regression models examined the dichotomous (did practice occur?) and continuous (how much practice?) components of practice minutes. Practice time and outcomes showed same-day relationships in the expected directions. Lagged models, however, showed no evidence that current day practice time predicts subsequent day outcomes. In contrast, higher current day negative affect predicted less subsequent day practice time, and higher current day mindfulness predicted more subsequent day practice time. In a post hoc analysis, practice time moderated the link between day-to-day affect, strengthening the link for positive affect and weakening the link for negative affect. Collectively, these findings suggest that the causal direction linking practice time and outcome may flow from outcome to practice time, rather than the reverse-with potential recursive relationships between these factors. Further examination of lagged relationships between practice time and outcome as well as random assignment of participants to varying practice dosages (e.g., in within-person microrandomized trials) may help clarify the influence of this central treatment ingredient within mindfulness-based interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Many ecological economists advocate the need to evolve beyond capitalism if we want to flourish as a society as well as respect the safe boundaries of our planet. While becoming clearer of the shape and underlying value structure of such a new system, we also need to think about how we can motivate people to take part in such a major social transition. This paper tackles this question by critically evaluating the underlying hedonistic-normative assumptions of current mainstream models for pro-environmental behaviours (PEB). In a self-determination theory perspective on human motivation and well-being, the paper proposes a 2-pathway model of PEB that integrates a relational pathway for environmental motivation. Based on insights from neurobiology and psychology, this paper advances current PEB theories and lays the groundwork for a new category of environmental interventions: experiential strategies. Thus, the 2-pathway model provides important theoretical insights into the link between mindfulness and sustainable lifestyles, as well as the interface between environmental behaviours and well-being. By recognising and investing in the relational capacities of individuals, we might be able to promote a society that prioritises self-actualisation over self-interest.
Objectives
Studies that have examined why people begin to meditate and why they stay with it are few and inconclusive. We looked at these questions in two comprehensive exploratory studies.Methods
In study 1, meditation teachers were asked why participants in their courses might begin to meditate and why they might continue to do so. A qualitative analysis of their responses, together with suggestions from the literature, yielded 77 distinct reasons that were applicable to both beginners and advanced meditators. In study 2, 245 meditators (49 who had practiced for less than 1 year) rated how strongly these reasons applied to themselves. Exploratory factor analyses of the reasons both to begin and to continue meditation were conducted.ResultsWe found a large number of different categories that go beyond those identified in previous research. Reasons changed with increasing meditation practice, although spiritual goals tended to become more important only for practitioners with a spiritual background.Conclusions
Our results indicate that reasons for meditating are much more diverse than previously assumed and that they are influenced by practitioners’ spiritual background and their personality characteristics.
Objectives
The preference of organically grown foods can potentially decrease greenhouse gas emissions, which are related to climate change. Recent empirical studies suggest associations between dispositional mindfulness and self-reported pro-environmental behavior. In order to identify the potential and mechanisms of mindfulness with regard to pro-environmental behaviors, it is necessary to consider theories of action.Methods
The present study examines the relationship between five facets of self-attributed mindfulness and organic food consumption considering a stage model of behavior change that includes different types of intentions and stage-specific predictors adapted from the theory of planned behavior and the norm-activation model. A cross-sectional online study was conducted with a sample of 560 participants. The mean age of the participants was 30 (SD = 10.5) years, and the sample consisted largely of females (76%). A minority reported regular meditation practice (8%).ResultsThe multivariate analyses showed a significant relationship between observing and goal intention (β = .317, p < .000) as well as the indirect effects of observing on goal intention that is mediated by personal norms and attitude. Further, people in the postaction stage have higher levels of observing than those in the predecision stage (p = .003, d = .43). Overall, the mindfulness facets contribute low to the explained variance of the stage model variables.Conclusion
Consistent across the analyses, the mindfulness facet of observing was proved to be a particularly relevant predictor of organic food consumption-related variables. The investigation of the observing facet could be beneficial to understand associated mechanisms and starting points to promote pro-environmental behavior through mindfulness.
Recent research suggests that mindfulness may foster sustainable consumption behavior through the reduction of the so-called attitude–behavior gap, or by weakening material values while increasing subjective well-being. The current controlled longitudinal study tested these propositions by employing a sustainability-adapted mindfulness-based intervention (sMBI) to two different samples ( n = 60 university students; n = 71 employees). Although the intervention successfully enhanced mindful experiences in both samples, we found no evidence for neither direct effects on sustainable consumption behavior or related attitudes, nor for the reduction of the attitude–behavior gap. However, the intervention led to greater well-being in the student sample and suggested a decline of materialistic value orientations in both samples. The results blunt previous claims about potential causal effects of mindfulness practice on sustainable consumption behavior. Nevertheless, they indicate that the sMBI affects behavior-distal variables, such as material values and well-being, which in turn could influence consumption behavior in the long run.
Any scientific attempt to understand, predict, or promote pro-environmental behavior requires an adequate measurement tool for the assessment of pro-environmental behavior. The multidisciplinary interest in pro-environmental behavior has generated a large variety of such tools, ranging from domain-general and domain-specific self-report measures, field observations conducted with the help of informants, trained observers, or technical devices, to behavioral tasks for use in the laboratory. The present review discusses this broad spectrum of existing approaches to the measurement of pro-environmental behavior, their strengths and weaknesses, as well as possibilities to improve upon them. From this review, we deduce several recommendations for the development, selection, and application of measures in pro-environmental behavior research. We conclude by stressing the importance of established and validated measures for a cumulative science of pro-environmental behavior.
Open-source software improves the reproducibility of scientific research. Because existing open-source tools often do not offer dedicated support for longitudinal data collection on phones and computers, we built formr, a study framework that enables researchers to conduct both simple surveys and more intricate studies. With automated email and text message reminders that can be sent according to any schedule, longitudinal and experience-sampling studies become easy to implement. By integrating a web-based application programming interface for the statistical programming language R via OpenCPU, formr allows researchers to use a familiar programming language to enable complex features. These can range from adaptive testing, to graphical and interactive feedback, to integration with non-survey data sources such as self-trackers or online social network data. Here we showcase three studies created in formr: a study of couples with dyadic feedback; a longitudinal study over months, which included social networks and peer and partner ratings; and a diary study with daily invitations sent out by text message and email and extensive feedback on intraindividual patterns.
Mindfulness-based approaches have been suggested as a
potential remedy for an increasingly unsustainable consumption
level in early industrialized countries. This article reviews twelve
current empiric papers (2005–2013) on five different potential
pathways in which mindfulness is thought to unfold its effects on
sustainable behaviors. Unfortunately, robust empiric evidence
on the instrumentality of mindfulness-based interventions to
promote sustainable lifestyles is still rare. Most of the available
data originates from cross-sectional studies evidencing a small,
positive relationship between some facets of dispositional
mindfulness and diverse consumption behaviors. Null-effects of
one prospective study blunt claims on the effectiveness of
mindfulness practice to directly change consumption patterns
though. Nevertheless, indirect effects including promotion of
subjective well-being and decline of materialistic values are
encouraging enough to justify future research on the topic.
Specific recommendations for such future research are given.
Abstract Effect size reporting is crucial for interpretation of applied research results and for conducting meta-analysis. However, clear guidelines for reporting effect size in multilevel models have not been provided. This report suggests and demonstrates appropriate effect size measures including the ICC for random effects and standardized regression coefficients or f 2 for fixed effects. Following this, complexities associated with reporting R 2 as an effect size measure are explored, as well as appropriate effect size measures for more complex models including the three-level model and the random slopes model. An example using TIMSS data is provided.
The ecological crisis and the related consequences for societies and nature calls for a change in individual consumption behavior. Empirical evidence has shown correlations between mindfulness and ecological behavior, pointing out the potential of mindfulness to support changes in behavior toward greater sustainability. Due to its ecological impact, the field of individual food consumption constitutes a central domain in environmentally relevant behavior. However, what is presently lacking is a differentiated view on various dimensions of mindfulness and their relation to sustainable food consumption and other important predictors of ecological behavior. The present study tests hypothesized relationships between five dimensions of mindfulness, the construction of meaning in life, sustainability-related meaning, personal ecological norm, and sustainable food consumption. A cross-sectional study was conducted, which included participants with and without the experience of meditation (N = 310). Structural equation modeling shows that only the mindfulness dimension acting with awareness has a direct and weak positive relation to sustainable food consumption (β = .11, p = .04) when construction of meaning, sustainability-related contents of meaning, and personal norms are included. Further, it was seen that observing (β = .45, p < .001) and describing (β = .21, p = .004) are positively related to construction of meaning, while non-judging against expectations has a negative relationship to construction of meaning (β = −.21, p = .004). Also, a serial mediation, with construction of meaning, sustainability-related meaning, and personal norm as mediators between observing and sustainable food consumption, was tested and confirmed. The results demonstrate the value of a differentiated view on the aspects of mindfulness with regard to sustainable food consumption.
This paper examines the nature of the link between mindfulness and ecological behavior. Based on the notion that mindfulness incorporates heightened awareness of bodily sensations, we suggest an indirect path from mindfulness to ecological behavior that is mediated through individual health behavior, such as improved nutrition and increased exercise. This indirect path is corroborated with two online studies (n = 147/n = 239) where mindfulness, personal health behavior and ecological behavior were assessed. We conclude that increased mindful awareness of momentary experience indeed favors more healthy lifestyles, which in turn relate to increased ecological behavior beyond personal health benefits. The findings support an agreeableness of personal and planetary health behavior and open up a path for environmental educational interventions based on mindfulness practices and personal health gains.
Despite widespread scientific and popular interest in mindfulness-based interventions, questions regarding the empirical status of these treatments remain. We sought to examine the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions for clinical populations on disorder-specific symptoms. To address the question of relative efficacy, we coded the strength of the comparison group into five categories: no treatment, minimal treatment, non-specific active control, specific active control, and evidence-based treatment. A total of 142 non-overlapping samples and 12,005 participants were included. At post-treatment, mindfulness-based interventions were superior to no treatment (d=0.55), minimal treatment (d=0.37), non-specific active controls (d=0.35), and specific active controls (d=0.23). Mindfulness conditions did not differ from evidence-based treatments (d=-0.004). At follow-up, mindfulness-based interventions were superior to no treatment conditions (d=0.50), non-specific active controls (d=0.52), and specific active controls (d=0.29). Mindfulness conditions did not differ from minimal treatment conditions (d=0.38) and evidence-based treatments (d=0.09). Effects on specific disorder subgroups showed the most consistent evidence in support of mindfulness for depression, pain conditions, smoking, and addictive disorders. Results support the notion that mindfulness-based interventions hold promise as evidence-based treatments.
During the past two decades, mindfulness meditation has gone from being a fringe topic of scientific investigation to being an occasional replacement for psychotherapy, tool of corporate well-being, widely implemented educational practice, and “key to building more resilient soldiers.” Yet the mindfulness movement and empirical evidence supporting it have not gone without criticism. Misinformation and poor methodology associated with past studies of mindfulness may lead public consumers to be harmed, misled, and disappointed. Addressing such concerns, the present article discusses the difficulties of defining mindfulness, delineates the proper scope of research into mindfulness practices, and explicates crucial methodological issues for interpreting results from investigations of mindfulness. For doing so, the authors draw on their diverse areas of expertise to review the present state of mindfulness research, comprehensively summarizing what we do and do not know, while providing a prescriptive agenda for contemplative science, with a particular focus on assessment, mindfulness training, possible adverse effects, and intersection with brain imaging. Our goals are to inform interested scientists, the news media, and the public, to minimize harm, curb poor research practices, and staunch the flow of misinformation about the benefits, costs, and future prospects of mindfulness meditation.
The Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire’s (FFMQ) Observing facet shows unexpected relationships with psychological symptoms and other mindfulness measures, especially in non-meditators. To address this issue, this study examined the construct validity and reliability of the FFMQ Observing facet together with “observing” items from other mindfulness questionnaires. The study analysed responses of 219 participants to questions about meditation practice, self-report scales designed to measure stress, anxiety, worry, overall mindfulness, and an item-pool of questions measuring the observing construct. An exploratory factor analysis of the observing item pool including all participants (meditators and non-meditators) identified three factors including Body Observing, Emotion Awareness and External Perception. The Emotion Awareness factor was the only one to correlate with psychological symptoms, and did so in the expected direction in both meditators and non-meditators. The FFMQ did not have any items which loaded on this factor. A reliable and valid observing facet should include awareness of emotions, and the results suggest that the absence of this in the FFMQ may explain the anomalous function of the FFMQ Observing facet. These findings have implications for improvement of multi-dimensional mindfulness measures.
Mindfulness, derived from Buddhist origins, refers to deliberate, unbiased and openhearted awareness of perceptible experience in the present moment. With its focus on cultivation of benevolent and clear-headed values and actions to self, others and the world, as well as its possible value in fostering greater coherence between values, attitudes and behavior, the concept of mindfulness has most recently attracted the interest of scholars in sustainable consumption research. So far, however, research on the connection between mindfulness and sustainable consumption is scattered across different disciplines and lacks integration. This paper contributes to a consolidation of the field. Based on a systematic literature review (Ninitial sample=1,137 publications, Npreliminary sample=32, Nfinal sample=7), it represents a stocktaking exercise to evaluate the research methodologies used and findings reported in the emerging field of empirical research relating mindfulness to sustainable consumption. The focus of the review is on four potential mechanisms of mindfulness for sustainable consumption that have been postulated in seminal conceptual works in the field: to disrupt routines, to promote more congruence with regard to the attitude-behavior gap, to nurture non-materialistic values, to enhance well-being, and to foster pro-social behavior. Preliminary evidence suggests support for these assumed potentials. However, the review also reveals that there are serious methodological challenges and shortcomings in existing empirical approaches, namely with regard to definitional issues, the development and use of instruments, selection of samples, study designs and the inclusion of mediating or moderating variables. The paper concludes with a discussion of challenges and recommendations for future work in the field.
In recent years mindfulness has been considered as a potential source of pro-environmental attitudes and behavior. Present research is aimed at consolidating and expanding previous knowledge by proposing that
mindfulness is related to both pro-environmental behavior and belief in global climate change through social dominance orientation. A first study was conducted on undergraduate students (n = 279) and found, as
expected, that trait mindfulness was related to pro-environmental behavior through SDO. A second study using a known groups approach compared practitioners (n = 44) and non-practitioners (n = 53) of Buddhist
meditation, which is known to develop a mindful stance. Moreover, in Study 2 a measure of belief in global climate change was adopted as a further outcome. Again trait mindfulness was related to both pro-environmental outcomes through SDO. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
The idea that human well-being (WB) can be supported and even enhanced by using, producing, buying, selling and consuming less ‘stuff’ is anathema to many living under consumer capitalism. Yet a growing research literature actually finds that frequent engagement in pro-ecological behaviours (PEBs) is positively correlated with personal WB. This paper reviews data relevant to three possible explanations for the apparent compatibility of PEBs and WB: (i) engaging in PEBs leads to psychological need satisfaction, which in turn causes WB; (ii) being in a good mood causes people to engage in more prosocial behaviours, including PEBs; and (iii) personal characteristics and lifestyles such as intrinsic values, mindfulness and voluntary simplicity cause both PEBs and WB. Because each explanation has some empirical support, I close by reflecting on some relevant interventions and policies that could strengthen each of these three pathways and thereby promote living both well and sustainably.
This article is part of the themed issue ‘Material demand reduction’.
One of the frequent questions by users of the mixed model function lmer of the lme4 package has been: How can I get p values for the F and t tests for objects returned by lmer? The lmerTest package extends the 'lmerMod' class of the lme4 package, by overloading the anova and summary functions by providing p values for tests for fixed effects. We have implemented the Satterthwaite's method for approximating degrees of freedom for the t and F tests. We have also implemented the construction of Type I - III ANOVA tables. Furthermore, one may also obtain the summary as well as the anova table using the Kenward-Roger approximation for denominator degrees of freedom (based on the KRmodcomp function from the pbkrtest package). Some other convenient mixed model analysis tools such as a step method, that performs backward elimination of nonsignificant effects - both random and fixed, calculation of population means and multiple comparison tests together with plot facilities are provided by the package as well.
Most empirical studies of emotion regulation have relied on retrospective trait measures, and have not examined the link between daily regulatory strategies and every day emotional wellbeing. We used a daily diary methodology with multilevel modelling data analyses (n = 187) to examine the influence of three emotion
regulation strategies (mindfulness, cognitive reappraisal and emotion suppression) on the experience of daily negative and positive affect. Our results suggested that daily mindfulness was associated with lower negative and higher positive affect whereas the converse pattern was found for daily emotion suppression; cognitive reappraisal was related to daily positive, but not negative affect. When daily mindfulness, suppression and reappraisal were included in the same models, these strategies predicted unique variance in emotional wellbeing. Random slope analyses revealed substantial variability in the utility of these strategies. Indeed the presumably “adaptive” cognitive reappraisal strategy seemed to confer no benefit to the regulation of
negative affect in approximately half the sample. Additional analyses revealed that age moderates the effect of cognitive reappraisal on daily negative affect: Higher use of reappraisal was associated with more negative affect for adolescents (aged 17 to 19) but became associated with less negative affect with increasing age. We interpret these results in line with a contextual view of emotion regulation where no strategy is inherently “good” or “bad”.
The authors propose that mindfulness is an antidote to mindless consumption, which adversely affects individual and collective well-being. The concept of mindfulness is explained and applied to the consumption context. More specifically, the authors examine mindful consumption as an ongoing practice of bringing attention, with acceptance, to inner and outer stimuli, and the effects of this practice on the consumption process. The transformative potential of mindful consumption is reviewed across domains of consumer, societal, and environmental well-being, with suggestions for future research. The article highlights some of the challenges to realizing the transformative potential of mindful consumption and concludes with suggestions for the actions that consumers, institutions, and policy makers could take to promote mindful consumption.
Mindfulness is associated with a host of beneficial outcomes. Increasing evidence suggests
that mindfulness may support adaptive self-regulation. The present research investigates
fluctuations in state mindfulness in everyday life, and links these with desire experiences and
self-regulation. When high in state mindfulness, participants experienced less conflict
between desires and other goals, tried to resist desires less, and enacted desires to a greater
extent than when less mindful. This was accompanied with less use of self-regulatory
strategies including suppression, self-stopping, distraction, and avoidance. In addition, state
mindfulness was associated with greater happiness, less guilt, and less regret after enacting
desires. Importantly, when conflict between desires and other goals was high, participants
exerted as much restraint when reporting low as when reporting high state mindfulness.
These findings suggest that state mindfulness goes along with wise self-regulation as opposed
to strictly higher restraint: Enjoying the benefits of indulgence without risking important
long-term goals.
Much of the research on relationships between gratitude and well-being has concerned between-person level relationships, and this research suggests that increasing people’s feelings of gratitude can increase their well-being. To complement this research, we examined such relationships at the within-person level. Participants (N = 130) in the present study described their well-being and how grateful they felt each day for two weeks. MLM analyses found that at the within-person level, daily feelings of gratitude and hedonic and eudaimonic well-being were positively related. Lagged analyses found that feelings of gratitude on one day were positively related to hedonic (but not eudaimonic) well-being on the next day, and well-being on one day was not related to gratitude on the next day. These results complement existing research and suggest that causal relationships between gratitude and well-being may vary as a function of whether gratitude is measured in more affective or cognitive terms.
The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of mindful walking in nature as a possible means to maintain mindfulness skills after a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) or mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course. Mindful walking alongside the river Rhine took place for 1, 3, 6, or 10 days, with a control period of a similar number of days, 1 week before the mindful walking period. In 29 mindfulness participants, experience sampling method (ESM) was performed during the control and mindful walking period. Smartphones offered items on positive and negative affect and state mindfulness at random times during the day. Furthermore, self-report questionnaires were administered before and after the control and mindful walking period, assessing depression, anxiety, stress, brooding, and mindfulness skills. ESM data showed that walking resulted in a significant improvement of both mindfulness and positive affect, and that state mindfulness and positive affect prospectively enhanced each other in an upward spiral. The opposite pattern was observed with state mindfulness and negative affect, where increased state mindfulness predicted less negative affect. Exploratory questionnaire data indicated corresponding results, though non-significant due to the small sample size. This is the first time that ESM was used to assess interactions between state mindfulness and momentary affect during a mindfulness intervention of several consecutive days, showing an upward spiral effect. Mindful walking in nature may be an effective way to maintain mindfulness practice and further improve psychological functioning.
Previous research has shown that mindfulness and spending time in nature are both related to perceived self-nature interconnectedness, with implications for environmental and psychological well-being. More research is needed to better understand the relative influence of mindful meditation and nature exposure on self-nature interconnectedness. In study 1, we replicated evidence for a relationship between mindfulness and self-nature interconnectedness in a sample of Buddhist meditators attending a nature and meditation retreat. In study 2, undergraduate students participated in 3-day nature trips that were randomly assigned to either a meditation condition (which included formal meditation in the mornings) or a non-meditation condition (which did not include formal meditation practices). The results from pre- and post-trip surveys showed that the combined influence of mindful meditation in nature on self-nature interconnectedness is greater than nature exposure that does not include mindful meditation. One focus of the present research was to examine cognitive dimensions of nature connectedness, given that mindfulness meditation is based on cognitive processes such as selective attention. Study 2 revealed three types of concepts underlying self-nature interconnectedness: (1) mental models for behaviors in nature, (2) self-nature categorization, and (3) self-nature associations. In addition, participants who meditated in nature were more likely to foreground nature in their memories of the trip by emphasizing nature rather than other aspects (such as social interactions). Together, the results from the present research suggest that mindful meditation in nature can be used to reestablish or strengthen concepts of self-nature interconnectedness nature for urban adults.
Trait mindfulness, or the capacity for nonjudgmental, present-centered attention, predicts lower aggression in cross-sectional samples, an effect mediated by reduced anger rumination. Experimental work also implicates state mindfulness (i.e., fluctuations around one’s typical mindfulness) in aggression. Despite evidence that both trait and state mindfulness predict lower aggression, their relative impact and their mechanisms remain unclear. Higher trait mindfulness and state increases in mindfulness facets may reduce aggression-related outcomes by (1) limiting the intensity of anger, or (2) limiting rumination on anger experiences. The present study tests two hypotheses: first, that both trait and state mindfulness contribute unique variance to lower aggressiveness, and second, that the impact of both trait and state mindfulness on aggressiveness will be uniquely partially mediated by both anger intensity and anger rumination. Eighty-six participants completed trait measures of mindfulness, anger intensity, and anger rumination, and then completed diaries for 35 days assessing mindfulness, anger intensity, anger rumination, anger expression, and self-reported and behavioral aggressiveness. Using multilevel zero-inflated regression, we examined unique contributions of trait and state mindfulness facets to daily anger expression and aggressiveness. We also examined the mediating roles of anger intensity and anger rumination at both trait and state levels. Mindfulness facets predicted anger expression and aggressiveness indirectly through anger rumination after controlling for indirect pathways through anger intensity. Individuals with high or fluctuating aggression may benefit from mindfulness training to reduce both intensity of and rumination on anger.
The Covid-19 pandemic profoundly changed the way we live and consume. One open ques-tion is whether the crisis provides an opportunity to increase alternatives to materialistic con-sumption. We characterize these alternatives as sustainable leisure behaviour. In this context, Time Wealth and Meaning Construction in the form of Life Reflection might be important variables. In our study we aimed: (i) To investigate changes in behaviour frequency of con-sumption and sustainable leisure before and during lockdown. (ii) Analyse how potential changes in behaviours are appraised and if there are intentions to keep changed behaviour fre-quencies. (iii) Analyse whether Time Wealth and Life Reflection can be related to reduced consumption behaviours and increased sustainable leisure behaviours during lockdown.We collected data from 947 participants in a Germany-wide online survey using questionnaires. Participants reported behaviour frequency of consumption and sustainable leisure before and during lockdown. In cases where behaviour frequencies changed participants evaluated this change and indicated future intentions.Main findings: (i) Pairwise t-tests revealed reduced consumption behaviour in Electronics and Clothes. All sustainable leisure behaviours increased during lockdown. (ii) The increase of sustainable behaviour was positively correlated with evaluation and future intentions and we found mixed results concerning consumption behaviour. (iii) In multiple regression analysis, Time Wealth was positively related to sustainable leisure behaviours as well as Life Reflection except for Outdoor Activities. Explorative analysis revealed small but significant positive correlations of sustainable leisure behaviours with Life Satisfaction and Presence of Meaning.In section 4.3 we discuss how findings can inform future actions towards sustainability.
Humanity is facing global environmental challenges and a global identity has been found to predict pro-environmental engagement. As the origins of a global identity are not broadly understood, we aimed to contribute to investigating its predictors. One way to cultivate a global identity might be through the mind-body practices of yoga and meditation that an increasing number of people pursue, as it is one traditional goal of these practices to evoke a sense of connectedness with all humans. In our online survey study, we compared 113 mind-body practitioners with 145 non-practitioners and found that mind-body practice positively predicted one of two dimensions of a global identity – namely global self-definition –, pro-environmental behaviour, and climate policy support. Moreover, mind-body practice positively and indirectly predicted pro-environmental behaviour as well as climate policy support through a stronger global self-definition. We thus suggest that mind-body practices might bear the potential for contributing to a sustainable society and that their causal effects on global identity should be examined in future research.
Using meta-analysis, we examined whether there is evidence consistent with the idea that a subjective sense of “connection to nature” promotes pro-environmental behaviour (PEB; Mayer & Frantz, 2004; Nisbet, Zelenski, & Murphy, 2009). Analysis of correlational data (k = 75) provided compelling evidence for a strong and robust association between nature connection and PEB (r = 0.37). Nature connection was positively associated with PEB across different operationalizations of nature connection, across different PEB measures (i.e., behavioural intentions, self-reports of behaviour, and observed behaviour), and across various sample and demographic characteristics. We found no evidence of publication bias in correlational studies. For experimental manipulations of nature connection (k = 17), however, there was clear evidence of publication bias in favour of studies reporting positive effects. We addressed this bias by including unpublished studies in the meta-analysis, and found a small, significant causal effect of nature connection on PEB (d = 0.21, r = 0.10). We conclude that more experimental data with better quality manipulations of nature connection are needed. Nonetheless, the strong and robust association between nature connection and PEB, as well as evidence that nature connection causes PEB, suggest that nature connection is a promising avenue for promoting PEB.
Effect sizes are underappreciated and often misinterpreted—the most common mistakes being to describe them in ways that are uninformative (e.g., using arbitrary standards) or misleading (e.g., squaring effect-size rs). We propose that effect sizes can be usefully evaluated by comparing them with well-understood benchmarks or by considering them in terms of concrete consequences. In that light, we conclude that when reliably estimated (a critical consideration), an effect-size r of .05 indicates an effect that is very small for the explanation of single events but potentially consequential in the not-very-long run, an effect-size r of .10 indicates an effect that is still small at the level of single events but potentially more ultimately consequential, an effect-size r of .20 indicates a medium effect that is of some explanatory and practical use even in the short run and therefore even more important, and an effect-size r of .30 indicates a large effect that is potentially powerful in both the short and the long run. A very large effect size (r = .40 or greater) in the context of psychological research is likely to be a gross overestimate that will rarely be found in a large sample or in a replication. Our goal is to help advance the treatment of effect sizes so that rather than being numbers that are ignored, reported without interpretation, or interpreted superficially or incorrectly, they become aspects of research reports that can better inform the application and theoretical development of psychological research.
Fostering nature connection may promote psychological well-being and enhance proenvironmental attitudes. However, there is limited understanding of what factors influence a person’s nature connection. Using survey responses from 1,000 residents of a large Australian city, we describe the relationship between nature connection and nature experiences at different stages in life, that is, past nature experiences that occurred during childhood, and current, everyday nature experiences. Both past childhood nature experiences and duration of current nature experiences significantly predicted nature connection. The positive relationship between duration of current nature experiences and nature connection was not significantly moderated by past childhood nature experiences. Hence, current nature experiences are associated with high levels of nature connection, even among those lacking childhood nature experiences. This research empirically demonstrates the positive relationship between nature connection and nature experiences, and suggests that it may be equally important to promote nature experiences at any life stage if increasing nature connection is the goal.
The traits of mindfulness and connectedness to nature may have a reciprocal relationship. Mindfulness, which consists of non-evaluative awareness, may allow individuals to feel more connected to nature, and connection to natural environments may help foster mindfulness. A number of studies have investigated the association between trait mindfulness and connectedness with nature. The current meta-analytic investigation consolidated the findings from these studies. Across 12 samples, which included 2435 individuals, there was a significant relationship between mindfulness and connectedness to nature, with a weighted effect size of r = 0.25. Moderator analyses indicated that studies with older participants and studies with community participants rather than students found significantly stronger associations between mindfulness and connectedness to nature. Associations between mindfulness and connectedness with nature varied significantly depending on measures of mindfulness used. These meta-analytic findings provide a foundation for (1) future intervention programs aimed at drawing on nature exposure to increase mindfulness and (2) intervention programs intended to enhance connectedness to nature through mindfulness.
While extant research suggests that holding biospheric values may foster environmentally friendly behavior, we need to learn more about the development of such values at an individual level. Our conceptual framework proposes that individual environmental identity could play a role in the formation of a biospheric value orientation. We conducted two cross-sectional surveys (N = 494, N = 107) and a quasi-experimental study (N = 271) in the US and Europe and with demographically different samples to investigate this conceptual linkage. Our findings show that stronger (vs. weaker) self-nature connections in individuals are related to stronger (vs. weaker) biospheric value orientations, which in turn are associated with various forms of sustainable behavior. Our research links two major literature streams in environmental and conservation psychology (i.e., research on self-nature connections and biospheric values) by proposing a developmental account of the relations between environmental identity and relevant values.
Popular and academic press alike have concluded that mindfulness significantly benefits healthy individuals as well as those suffering from physical and psychological problems. Workplace interventions, clinical therapies, and popular self-help programs aimed at enhancing mindfulness abound, and research has demonstrated the efficacy of such mindfulness interventions in enhancing mindful states. It is of importance to note that research also suggests the average frequency with which individuals experience states of mindfulness varies from person to person, underscoring the existence of a dispositional tendency toward mindfulness—trait mindfulness. We meta-analytically cumulate the results of 270 independent studies (N = 58,592 adults from nonclinical samples) of trait mindfulness in order to explore its personal and professional correlates. Results suggest the benefits of trait mindfulness extend to both personal and professional domains. With regards to personal benefits, trait mindfulness was found to be positively correlated with confidence (ρ = .39), mental health (ρ = .38), emotional regulation (ρ = .40), and life satisfaction (ρ = .36), and negatively correlated with perceived life stress (ρ = –.43), negative emotions (ρ = –.40), anxiety (ρ = –.34), and depression (ρ = –.38). Professionally, results suggest trait mindfulness may benefit job satisfaction (ρ = .29), performance (ρ = .34), and interpersonal relations (ρ = .31), while also reducing burnout (ρ = –.48) and work withdrawal (ρ = –.17). Meta-analytic regressions also suggest trait mindfulness adds incremental predictive variance over more traditional predictors of employee burnout and work performance.
Are individuals able to self-assess the environmental impact of their behavior? To answer this question, we first analyze the different behavioral determinants of the ecological footprint (EF), an often used measure of an individual’s environmental impact. Second, we compare the individuals’ EF with self-assessments of their own environmental impact (self-assessed environmental sustainability [SAES]). We use survey data from Belgium and find that people are largely unaware of the environmental impact they have, as the correlation between the EF and the SAES is small. Finally, we find that SAES reflects, to a large extent, individuals’ attitudes toward the environment, whereas the EF is mainly explained by sociodemographic characteristics.
Zusammenfassung. Achtsamkeit hat fur die Gesundheitspsychologie eine immer starkere Bedeutung, da achtsamkeitsbasierte Interventionen in der Pravention und Rehabilitation das korperliche Wohlbefinden und die Lebensqualitat steigern konnen. Wie valide lasst sich selbstberichtete Achtsamkeit mit der deutschen Ubersetzung des „Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire“ (FFMQ) erfassen? Der 39 Items umfassende FFMQ wurde ins Deutsche ubersetzt. An einer Stichprobe von 550 studentischen Versuchspersonen wurde die dimensionale Struktur, Reliabilitat und Validitat der funf Skalen bestimmt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen eine hohe Ubereinstimmung mit den Validierungsstudien zur englischsprachigen Originalfassung des FFMQ. Die funf-faktorielle Struktur konnte weitestgehend repliziert werden. Hypothesenkonform fanden sich korrelative Zusammenhange zur psychopathologischen Symptombelastung und zu Indikatoren der psychischen Gesundheit. Mit der deutschen Version des FFMQ liegt ein valides Instrument vor, das die Erfassung der von ...