Promoting meaningful and positive nature interactions for visitors to green spaces |
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Authors: | Agathe Colléony Liat Levontin Assaf Shwartz |
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Institution: | 1. Human and Biodiversity Research Lab, Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 32000 Israel;2. Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 32000 Israel |
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Abstract: | The increasing alienation of people from nature is profoundly concerning because people's interactions with nature affect well-being, affinity for nature, and support of biodiversity conservation. Efforts to restore or enhance people's interactions with nature are, therefore, important to ensure sustainable human and wildlife communities, but little is known about how this can be achieved. A key factor that shapes the way people interact with nature is their affinity for nature (often measured as nature relatedness NR]). We explored how using cues to experience nature as a means to induce NR situationally can influence the quality of people's nature interactions on visits to green spaces and their positive affect after the visit. Cues to experience are cues that guide individuals on how to interact with nature. We surveyed 1023 visitors to a nature reserve to examine the relationships between trait (i.e., stable and long-lasting) and state (i.e., temporary, brief) NR, the quality of nature interactions, and positive affect. We also conducted a controlled experiment in which 303 participants spent 30 min outdoors on campus and reported the quality of their nature interactions and positive affect. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 9 cues-to-experience experimental groups (e.g., smell flowers, observe wildlife, turn off your phone) that differed in the psychological distance from nature that they prompted. Participants who received cues of close psychological distance from nature (e.g., smell and touch natural elements) interacted 3 to 4 times more with nature and reported 0.2 more positive affect than other participants. Our results demonstrate that providing cues to experience nature, which bring people closer to nature and potentially induce state NR, can enhance the quality of people's nature interactions and their positive affect. These results highlight the role of NR in high-quality nature interactions and suggest the use of cues to experience as a promising avenue for inducing state NR and promoting meaningful interactions with biodiversity, thus, reconciling conservation and well-being objectives. |
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Keywords: | cues to experience experience of nature extinction of experience happiness inclusion of nature in self nature relatedness nature reserve psychological distance experiencia con la naturaleza extinción de la experiencia distancia psicológica felicidad inclusión de la naturaleza en el ser pautas para la experiencia reserva natural vínculo con la naturaleza   自然联结 心理距离 人与自然相融 幸福 自然保护区 经历的消失 自然经历 引导式自然体验 |
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