Contact with Nature: Favoring Connectedness to Nature and Well-being
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21615/cesp.14.1.8Keywords:
Nature, Natural Environments, Wellbeing, Connectedness, Positive Affect, Negative AffectAbstract
Humans relate to nature at a physical, cognitive, and emotional level, and scientific research has shown how this relation impacts on people’s well-being. Two studies were carried out to determine whether contact with nature is related to higher levels of connectedness and well-being; one consisted of adolescents (n = 283) and the other of adults (n = 447), who responded to a questionnaire aimed at assessing connectivity with Nature and well-being. A greater connectedness and well-being were observed in people with frequent contact with nature. In the second study (n = 63), this relationship was studied in people after taking a tour through an artificial natural environment. The results show that the people who took the tour had higher levels of connectedness and positive affect, with levels increasing with respect to the baseline. In this study, the advantages of psychological intervention through contact with nature are evident.
Downloads
References
Aragonés, J. I., Olivos, P., Lima, M. L., & Loureiro, A. (2013, junio). Connectedness, wellbeing and nature. Sesión de posters presentado en 22 Conference IAPS, Glasgow.
Beery, T. H., & Wolf-Watz, D. (2014). Nature to place: Rethinking the environmental connectedness perspective. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 40, 198-205.
Berman, M. G., Jonides, J., & Kaplan, S. (2008). The cognitive benefits of interacting with nature. Psychological Science, 19, 1207-1212. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02225.x
Bratman, G. N., Hamilton, J. P., Hahn, K. S., Daily, G. C., & Gross, J. J. (2015). Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation. Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences, 112(28), 8567-8572. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1510459112
Brooks, A. M., Ottley, K. M., Arbuthnott, K. D., & Sevigny, P. (2017). Nature-related mood effects: Season and type of nature contact. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 54, 91-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2017.10.004
Capaldi, C. A., Dopko, R. L., & Zelenski, J. M. (2014). The relationship between nature connectedness and happiness: a meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 976. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00976
Carrus, G., Passiatore, Y., Pirchio, S., & Scopelliti, M. (2015). Contact with nature in educational settings might help cognitive functioning and promote positive social behaviour Psyecology, 6(2), 191-212. https://doi.org/10.1080/21711976.2015.1026079
Carrus, G., Scopelliti, M., Panno, A., Lafortezza, R., Colangelo, G., Pirchio, S., ... Semenzato, P. (2017). A Different Way to Stay in Touch with ‘Urban Nature’: The Perceived Restorative Qualities of Botanical Gardens. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 914. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00914
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Hedonia, eudaimonia, and well-being: An introduction. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-006-9018-1
Descola, P. (2005). Par-delà la nature et culture [Entre la Naturaleza y Cultura]. Paris: Gallimard.
Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national indicator. American Psychologist, 55, 34-43. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066X.55.1.34
Dutcher, D. D., Finley, J. C., Luloff, A. E., & Johnson, J. B. (2007). Connectivity with Nature as a Measure of Environmental Values. Environment and Behavior, 39, 474-493. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916506298794
Greenwald, A. G. (1980). The Totalitarian Ego Fabrication and Revision of Personal History. American Psychologist, 35, 603-618.
Kellert, S. R., & Wilson, E.O. (Eds.) (1993). The Biophilia Hypothesis. Washington DC: Island Press.
López-Gómez, I., Hervás, G., & Vázquez, C. (2015). Adaptación de las “escalas de afecto positivo y negativo" (PANAS) en una muestra general española. Psicología Conductual, 23, 529.
Marselle, M. R., Irvine, K. N., & Warber, S. L. (2014). Examining group walks in nature and multiple aspects of well-being: A large-scale study. Ecopsychology, 6, 134-147. https://doi.org/10.1089/eco.2014.0027
Mayer, F. S., Frantz, C., Bruehlman-Senecal, E., & Dolliver, K. (2009). Why Is Nature Beneficial?: The Role of Connectedness to Nature. Environment and Behavior, 41, 607-643. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916508319745
Mena-García, A., Olivos, P., Loureiro, A., & Navarro, O. (2019). Effects of contact with nature on connectedness, environmental identity and evoked contents. Psyecology, 11(1), 21-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/21711976.2019.1643663
Olivos, P., & Ernst, R. (2018). Feel good or be happy. Distinctions between emotions and psychology research of wellbeing. En N. J. L. Brown, T. Lomas y F. J. Eiroa-Orosa (Eds.), International Handbook of Critical Positive Psychology—a Synthesis for Social Change. (pp. 546–564). London: Routledge.
Pasca, L. (2018). Naturaleza, Conectividad y Bienestar (Tesis doctoral). Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
Pasca, L., Aragonés, J. I., & Coello, M. T. (2017). An Analysis of the Connectedness to Nature Scale Based on Item Response Theory. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 1330. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01330
Perkins, H. E. (2010). Measuring love and care for nature. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30, 455-463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2010.05.004
Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1069. https://doi.org/0022-3514/89/SOO. 75
Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 719. https://doi.org/0022-3514/95/S3.00
Schnell, I., Harel, N., & Mishori, D. (2019). The benefits of discrete visits in urban parks. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 41, 179-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2019.03.019
Tyrväinen, L., Ojala, A., Korpela, K., Lanki, T., Tsunetsugu, Y., & Kagawa, T. (2014). The influence of urban green environments on stress relief measures: A field experiment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 38, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2013.12.005
Ulrich, R. S. (1979). Visual landscapes and psychological well‐being. Landscape research, 4, 17-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397908705892
Ulrich, R. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery. Science, 224, 224-225. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.6143402
Waterman, A. S. (1993). Two conceptions of happiness: Contrasts of personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 678. https://doi.org/OO22-3514/93/S3.OO
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063. https://doi.org/G022-35l4/88/S00.75
White, M. P., Pahl, S., Wheeler, B. W., Depledge, M. H., & Fleming, L. E. (2017). Natural environments and subjective wellbeing: Different types of exposure are associated with different aspects of wellbeing. Health & Place, 45, 77-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2017.03.008
Zelenski, J. M., & Nisbet, E. K. (2014). Happiness and feeling connected: The distinct role of nature relatedness. Environment and Behavior, 46, 3-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916512451901
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 CES Psicología
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Each manuscript is accompanied by a statement specifyingThat the materials are unpublished, that have not been previously published in printed formatElectronic and that they will not be presented to any other means before knowing the decision of the magazine. ThroughoutIn case, any previous publication, sea in printed or electronic form, must be made known to the editorial staffWriting The authors attach a signed statement stating that, and the manuscript is acceptedFor publication, the rights of reproduction are the exclusive property of the Journal CES Psychology.
| Article metrics | |
|---|---|
| Abstract views | |
| Galley vies | |
| PDF Views | |
| HTML views | |
| Other views | |
