Nature Connectedness: Associations with well-bring and mindf

Nature Connectedness: Associations with

well-being and mindfulness

CONNECTIONS TO THE TEXT

Chapter 10- Holistic Approaches: Gestalt and Ecopsychology

• Mindfulness section- western culture uses mindfulness to reduce stress, promote healing, and relieve depression.
• Gestalt principle- connection to surrounding ecosystem is enhanced.
• Recognition and growth of one's ecological self.

Study 1 : Method

Future Directions and Limitations

References

• Chapter 4- reduce impact of consumer culture over consumption, reduce materialistic values, increase ecologically friendly behavior, and lower ecological footprint.

Howell, A.J., Dopko, R.L., Passmore, H., and Buro, K. Nature

Connectedness:Associations with well-being and

mindfulness. Personality and Individual Differences

51 (2011) 166-171. Alberta, Canada: Elsevier Ltd.

• Examination of moderators and mediators of the relationship between nature connectedness and mental health, as well as earlier relations to nature connectedness.
• Another possible moderating influence on associations between nature connectedness and well-being is one's immediate environmental context.
• Nature connectedness and well-being could be mediated by physical health.
• Dimensions of experience in nature
• Societal changes (population fluxuations) and on-going environmental degradation need to be taken into account.

Koger, S.M., and Winter, D.D.N. (2010). The Psychology of

Environmental Problems: PSYCHOLOGY FOR

SUSTAINABILITY (3rd Ed.). New York: Psychology Press.

Participants:

• 452 psychology students at an urban Canadian university
• The average age was 22.17
• 81.8% of participants were born and raised in Canada
• 69.4% of participants were females.

Measures:

• Mayer and Frantz (2004) 14-item Connectedness to Nature Scale
• Keys (2005) 40-item measure of well-being
• The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS; Brown and Ryan, 2003)
• Paulhus's (1994) Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding

Results and Discussion:

Study 1

General Discussion

Study 2: Method

• Significant positive associations emerged between nature connectedness and psychological well-being
• Association between nature-connectedness and social well-being also significant.
• Both studies are consistent with the argument that eudaemonic aspects of well-being are associated with nature connectedness.
• Overall, the aspects of well-being that associated with "feeling good" are less reliably related to nature connectedness than aspects of well-being that emphasize "functioning well".
• An attentive mind is more important than an accepting one!

Nature and Well-being

Results and Discussion:

Study 2

• Employed the same measures that were used in the first study, with additional measures that were added.

Also Included

• Nisbet et al.'s (2009) 21-item Nature Relatedness scale
• Leary et al.'s (2008) 16-item Allo-Inclusive Identity Scale
• The Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (Cardaciotto et al., 2008)

• Researchers have manipulated exposure to nature in order to examine nature's impact on well-being.
• Immersion in nature a nature preserve boosted positive affect.
• Exposure to nature oriented slides or plant-laden laboratories increased endorsement of intrinsic goals.
• Immersion in either stimulated or actual nature boosted vitality

"The pursuit of 'the good life' is through our broadest valuational experience of nature"

Nature Connectedness and Mindfulness

Introduction

• Mindfulness is " being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present"
• Mindfulness increases the richness and vitality of moment-to-moment experiences.
• Nature connectedness can enhance human senses.
• Sensitizes individual to intrinsic needs

• Researchers studied Wilson's biophilia hypothesis, which predicts that psychological health is associated with one's relationship to nature.

• The two studies examined associations among nature connectedness, well-being(psychological and physical), and mindfulness.