Nat

ure

Rel

ated

ness

and

the

Hap

py P

ath

to S

usta

inab

ility

Eliz

abet

h (L

isa)

Nis

bet

N

atur

e H

eals

Con

fere

nce,

Mar

ch 1

4-15

, 201

3

W

hy p

sych

olog

y?

 En

viro

nmen

tal s

usta

inab

ility

 In

divi

dual

diff

eren

ces i

n na

ture

rela

tedn

ess

 R

esea

rch:

- wel

l-bei

ng/h

appi

ness

- s

usta

inab

le b

ehav

iour

 Im

plic

atio

ns a

nd a

pplic

atio

n

Why

psy

chol

ogy?

 H

uman

beh

avio

ur in

fluen

ces t

he e

nviro

nmen

t

 En

viro

nmen

tal p

robl

ems a

ffec

t hum

an h

ealth

 W

hat m

otiv

ates

env

ironm

enta

l beh

avio

ur

Det

erm

inan

ts o

f Env

iron

men

tal B

ehav

iour

 St

ruct

ural

fact

ors:

SES

, geo

grap

hy, i

nfra

stru

ctur

e

 Ps

ycho

logi

cal f

acto

rs: n

orm

s, gu

ilt, h

elpl

essn

ess

Rai

sing

Aw

aren

ess

Info

rmat

ion

alon

e ≠

beha

viou

r

Do

We

Nee

d N

atur

e?

 E.

O. W

ilson

’s B

ioph

ilia

Hyp

othe

sis

 Ev

olut

iona

ry h

isto

ry

 Su

gges

tive

evid

ence

:

nat

ure

scen

es, p

ets,

outd

oor a

ctiv

ities

, ga

rden

ing,

zoo

s, of

fice

wor

kers

/pla

nts

 Cog

nitiv

e bi

ophi

lia

(e.g

., sm

art a

s a ..

.)

 Adv

ertis

ing,

AA

T, e

mpr

ical

evi

denc

e

 Indi

vidu

al d

iffer

ence

s?

Do

We

Nee

d N

atur

e?

Mea

suri

ng C

onne

cted

ness

: T

he N

atur

e R

elat

edne

ss S

cale

 In

divi

dual

diff

eren

ces i

n su

bjec

tive

conn

ecte

dnes

s

 C

ogni

tive,

aff

ectiv

e, p

hysi

cal r

elat

ions

hip

with

nat

ure

Sam

ple

Item

s:

My

rela

tions

hip

to n

atur

e is

an

impo

rtant

par

t of w

ho I

am

I fee

l ver

y co

nnec

ted

to a

ll liv

ing

thin

gs a

nd th

e ea

rth.

Ani

mal

s, bi

rds,

and

plan

ts sh

ould

hav

e fe

wer

righ

ts th

an h

uman

s (R)

I enj

oy b

eing

out

door

s, ev

en in

unp

leas

ant w

eath

er.

I tak

e no

tice

of w

ildlif

e w

here

ver I

am

.

Val

idity

: Nat

ure

Rel

ated

Act

iviti

es

 N

atur

e re

late

d pe

ople

ow

n pe

ts, b

uy o

rgan

ic,

volu

ntee

r, sp

end

time

outd

oors

 A

bet

ter p

redi

ctor

of b

ehav

iour

Nat

ure

is G

ood

for

Us

 Mod

ern

lifes

tyle

s – Is

dis

conn

ectio

n re

late

d to

un

happ

ines

s?

Nat

ure

Is G

ood

For

You

 Urb

an c

entre

s and

nat

ure

depr

ivat

ion

– in

terv

entio

n re

stor

ed S

E, se

lf-ef

ficac

y, p

erce

ptio

n, a

ggre

ssio

n,

empa

thy

for n

atur

e

 Pla

ygro

unds

and

chi

ld d

evel

opm

ent,

wal

king

to sc

hool

(o

besi

ty/d

rivin

g vs

. opp

ortu

nity

to o

bser

ve w

ildlif

e)

 Pro

xim

ity to

gre

en sp

ace

- mor

talit

y be

nefit

s, re

duce

s A

DH

D sy

mpt

oms

Nat

ure

Con

tact

/Im

ages

and

Hea

lth

 Ph

ysic

al h

ealth

ben

efits

of n

atur

e an

d na

tura

l im

ages

h

ospi

tal,

pris

on st

udie

s, w

all a

rt, e

tc.

 Em

piric

al e

vide

nce

for s

tress

redu

ctio

n,

rela

xatio

n, a

ttent

iona

l res

tora

tion,

ph

ysic

al h

ealin

g (e

.g.,

bloo

d pr

essu

re,

hear

t rat

e, c

ortis

ol)

Atte

ntio

n R

esto

ratio

n Th

eory

- so

ft (e

ffor

tless

) vs.

hard

(int

ense

, riv

etin

g)

fasc

inat

ion

Nat

ure

Rel

ated

ness

and

Hap

pine

ss

 Li

fe sa

tisfa

ctio

n

 Su

bjec

tive

Hap

pine

ss

 Po

sitiv

e af

fect

 Fa

scin

atio

n, a

we

 N

egat

ive

affe

ct

 D

epre

ssio

n

Nat

ure

Rel

ated

ness

and

Wel

l-Bei

ng

 Pe

rson

al G

row

th

 A

uton

omy

 Pu

rpos

e

 V

italit

y

A b

ette

r pre

dict

or o

f hap

pine

ss th

an e

nviro

nmen

tal

attit

udes

A d

istin

ct c

ontri

buto

r to

wel

l-bei

ng

Nat

ure

Rel

ated

Peo

ple

are

Hap

pier

St

udy

1a

Stud

y 1b

a Po

sitiv

e af

fect

.2

9**

.33*

* N

egat

ive

affe

ct

-.11

-.29*

* A

uton

omy

.28*

* .2

6**

Pers

onal

Gro

wth

.2

9**

.29*

* Pu

rpos

e in

Life

.1

9*

.23*

* En

viro

nmen

tal M

aste

ry

.09

.28*

* Se

lf A

ccep

tanc

e .1

8*

.30*

* Po

sitiv

e R

elat

ions

with

Oth

ers

.10

.22*

* Li

fe S

atis

fact

ion

.13

.24*

* *

p <

. 05,

**

p <

.01

a Pa

rtial

ling

out t

he e

ffect

s of N

EP, N

EC, E

colo

gy sc

ale

(act

ual c

omm

itmen

t/affe

ct).

Dis

tinct

Impo

rtan

ce o

f Nat

ure

Rel

ated

ness

 C

ontro

lling

for C

ompo

site

of C

onne

cted

ness

– 

coun

try, c

ultu

re, f

amily

, mus

ic, h

ome,

frie

nds

Nis

bet,

E. K

., &

Zel

ensk

i, J.

M. (

in p

ress

). H

appi

ness

and

feel

ing

conn

ecte

d: T

he d

istin

ct ro

le o

f na

ture

rela

tedn

ess.

Envi

ronm

ent a

nd B

ehav

ior.

(Sch

ultz

’s In

clus

ion

of N

atur

e in

Sel

f mea

sure

)

NR

’s li

nk w

ith h

appi

ness

is in

depe

nden

t of a

gen

eral

ly

conn

ecte

d pe

rson

ality

Hap

pine

ss a

nd C

onne

cted

ness

Cor

rela

tions

in th

e C

omm

unity

Sam

ple

(n =

415

)

Scal

e C

onne

ctio

n C

ompo

site

IN

S Pa

rtia

l r

INS

NR

P

arti

al r

N

R

Subj

ectiv

e H

appi

ness

.4

6***

.3

4***

.1

4**

.19*

**

.11*

Sa

tisfa

ctio

n w

ith L

ife

.44*

**

.34*

**

.15*

* .1

6**

.07

Posi

tive

Aff

ect

.43*

**

.42*

**

.26*

**

.29*

**

.22*

**

Neg

ativ

e A

ffec

t -.

25**

* -.

16**

* -.

05

-.07

-.

02

Nat

ure

Posi

tive

Aff

ect

.28*

**

.37*

**

.28*

**

.33*

**

.28*

**

Vita

lity

.44*

**

.38*

**

.20*

**

.27*

**

.20*

**

Aut

onom

y .2

5***

.2

7***

.1

7***

.2

5***

.1

9***

Pers

onal

Gro

wth

.3

0***

.3

6***

.2

6***

.3

4***

.2

9***

Purp

ose

in L

ife

.36*

**

.26*

**

.11*

.2

1***

.1

4**

Dep

ress

ion

-.29

***

-.16

***

-.02

-.

03

.03

*p <

.05,

**p

< .0

1, *

**p

<. 0

01

Nat

ure

Rel

ated

ness

at W

ork

(and

Hom

e)

 Pe

rson

al g

row

th, a

gree

able

ness

, ope

nnes

s  

Gre

ater

qua

lity

and

freq

uenc

y of

out

door

/nat

ure

time

 N

atur

e/ou

tdoo

r tim

e re

late

d to

: po

sitiv

e em

otio

ns

(hom

e A

ND

wor

k), p

rodu

ctiv

ity (w

ork

and

pers

onal

go

als)

, job

and

life

satis

fact

ion

 Sp

illov

er o

f nat

ure

bene

fits f

rom

leis

ure

to w

ork

Can

We

Cha

nge

Nat

ure

Rel

ated

ness

?

 Ec

olog

ical

kno

wle

dge/

liter

acy

 Lo

ngitu

dina

l stu

dy o

f env

ironm

enta

l edu

catio

n st

uden

ts, c

ompa

red

to c

ontro

ls

 C

hang

es in

nat

ure

rela

tedn

ess,

envi

ronm

enta

l atti

tude

s, w

ell-b

eing

, ove

r 3 m

onth

s

Nat

ure

Rel

ated

ness

Ove

r T

ime

2

2.5 3

3.5 4

4.5

Beg

inni

ng

End

Con

trol

Envi

ronm

ent

Cha

nge

in V

italit

y &

Sus

tain

able

Att

itude

s

Cou

rse

(E

nv. v

s. C

ontro

l)

Nat

ure

Rel

ated

ness

Vita

lity

&

Sust

aina

bilit

y

(The

Nat

ure

Rel

ated

Pat

h to

Hap

pine

ss) (

Nis

bet e

t al.,

200

9, 2

011)

But

cle

arly

mor

e w

ork

to b

e do

ne o

n ‘in

terv

entio

ns’

 Tr

ait l

evel

con

nect

ion

is a

ssoc

iate

d w

ith m

ore

natu

re c

onta

ct a

nd (s

ome

type

s) w

ell-b

eing

 N

atur

e ex

perie

nces

link

ed w

ith w

ell-b

eing

 Po

tent

ial b

enef

its o

f “st

ate”

rela

tedn

ess?

 W

hat a

bout

nea

rby

natu

re, d

iffer

ence

s in

built

and

na

tura

l env

ironm

ents

?

Nat

ure

Con

tact

and

Hap

pine

ss

Wal

king

Stu

dy 1

 U

nive

rsity

stud

ents

– “

impr

essi

ons o

f cam

pus”

 R

ando

m a

ssig

nmen

t to

indo

or o

r out

door

wal

k

 A

utum

n, a

ll no

n-ra

iny

days

 Po

st-w

alk

wel

l-bei

ng: “

How

do

you

feel

righ

t now

?”

Peop

le p

refe

r th

e ou

tdoo

r w

alk

(Als

o vi

talit

y, fa

scin

atio

n)

 Si

mila

r met

hodo

logy

as s

tudy

1, b

ut a

dded

...

 Pr

e-w

alk

affe

ctiv

e fo

reca

stin

g - p

redi

ctio

ns o

f ha

ppin

ess (

posi

tive/

nega

tive

affe

ct)

 St

ate

happ

ines

s mea

sure

d af

ter w

alk

Wal

king

Stu

dy 2

Peop

le u

nder

-pre

dict

the

bene

fits o

f ou

tdoo

r w

alks

 R

eplic

ated

resu

lts fr

om st

udie

s 1 a

nd 2

with

diff

eren

t de

sign

 R

ando

m a

ssig

nmen

t to

wal

k lo

catio

n

 R

ando

m a

ssig

nmen

t to

eith

er p

redi

ct o

r exp

erie

nce

 M

ood

bene

fits o

f nea

rby

natu

re a

re u

nder

estim

ated

; Fo

reca

stin

g er

rors

occ

ur b

oth

betw

een

and

with

in

pers

on

Wal

king

Stu

dy 3

Fore

st e

colo

gy w

alk

- a lo

ok a

t for

est e

colo

gy

patte

rns a

nd p

roce

sses

Moc

k ca

noe

trip

- pad

dle

and

porta

ge th

roug

h a

5 da

y ca

noe

trip

in 2

hou

rs, a

ctiv

ities

Eve

n ou

tdoo

r ed

ucat

ors e

rr in

aff

ectiv

e fo

reca

stin

g

Pred

ictio

n Pr

edic

tion

Expe

rienc

e Ex

perie

nce

3

3.5 4

Posi

tive A

ffec

t V

italit

y

Rating

Hap

pine

ss o

f nat

ure

imag

es a

lso

unde

rest

imat

ed

Cha

ngin

g N

atur

e R

elat

edne

ss (i

n th

e sh

ort t

erm

)

 C

ampu

s wal

k st

udie

s

(The

hap

py p

ath

to su

stai

nabi

lity)

(IN

S)

Loca

tion

(In

vs. O

ut)

Posi

tive A

ffect

Nat

ure

R

elat

edne

ss

Fish

ing

Beh

avio

ur

Futu

re D

irec

tions

and

App

licat

ions

 

Inte

rven

tions

(min

imum

dos

e, la

stin

g ef

fect

s)

 Ex

perim

enta

l Met

hods

(ele

men

ts/m

echa

nism

s, an

tece

dant

s)

 U

rban

Des

ign

(act

ive

com

mut

ing,

hea

lth p

rom

otio

n an

d po

licy,

inte

rdis

cipl

inar

y co

llabo

ratio

n)

 M

essa

ging

(fra

min

g, h

ealth

)

Nat

ure

Rel

ated

ness

Res

earc

h

Doe

s bei

ng a

‘citi

zen

scie

ntis

t’ af

fect

moo

d an

d co

nnec

tedn

ess w

ith n

atur

e?

Nat

ure

Rel

ated

ness

Res

earc

h N

ON

-IN

VA

SIV

E G

RIZ

ZL

Y B

EA

R T

RA

CK

ING

ST

UD

Y

Mor

e na

ture

rel

ated

, and

ha

ppie

r ci

tizen

scie

ntis

ts

1 2 3 4

Posi

tive A

ffect

N

egat

ive A

ffect

Fa

scin

atio

n V

italit

y

Mean

Wel

l-Bei

ng

Pre-

Trip

Post

-Trip

Nat

ure

Rel

ated

ness

Res

earc

h Ec

olog

y +

Psyc

holo

gy =

WIL

DL

IFE

DE

TE

CT

IVE

S

C

SI S

TU

DY

Ben

efits

of C

onne

cted

ness

 C

ompl

emen

tary

, not

com

petin

g go

als

 H

ealth

of p

eopl

e an

d th

e pl

anet

are

in

terc

onne

cted

(e.g

., ac

tive

com

mut

ing)

 So

lutio

ns n

eed

inte

rdis

cipl

inar

y co

llabo

ratio

n

Hap

py P

eopl

e, H

appy

Pla

net

Jass

andr

e Ada

myk

Rob

ert H

ill

Rae

lyne

Dop

ko

M

ira L

egau

lt M

ary

Gic

k

Ste

ven

Mur

phy

Meg

an G

raha

m

L

ogan

Nea

lis

Zsuz

sa G

rand

pier

re-N

agy

Ste

phan

ie P

inea

u Je

nnife

r Rou

se

S

cott

Smed

ley

John

Zel

ensk

i So

cial

Sci

ence

s and

Hum

aniti

es R

esea

rch

Cou

ncil

Tha

nks t

o

Con

tact

: el

izab

ethn

isbe

t@tr

entu

.ca

Psyc

holo

gy D

epar

tmen

t Tr

ent U

nive

rsity

D

NA

C10

4 Pe

terb

orou

gh, O

ntar

io

Can

ada

K9J

7B

8 (7

05) 7

48-1

011

ext.

7855

fa

x: (7

05) 7

48-1

580

nat

urer

elat

edne

ss.c

a

Tha

nk Y

ou!