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Lisa Nisbet, Ph.D. "Assistant Professor of Psychology"Trent University""CASIOPA Healthy Parks Healthy People May 7, 2015!

THE NATURE CONNECTION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING!

Why psychology?!

•  Human behaviour influences the environment!

•  Environmental problems affect human health!

•  Promoting environmental behaviour!

•  Promoting human well-being!

Do we need nature?! Nature is Good for Us!

•  Physical health benefits!

•  Hospital recovery, healing (Ulrich, 1984)!

•  Mortality rates (Mitchell & Popham, 2008)!

•  Depression (Berman et al., 2012)!

Forest Medicine!•  Shinrin-yoku!•  stress response differs by environment!•  blood pressure, HRV, NIRS, cortisol, NK activity,

mood (Tsunetsugu, Park, & Miyazaki, 2010)!

Neighbourhood Nature!•  Community

cohesion, crime!

•  Self-regulation, ADHD!

(Kuo & Sullivan, 2001; Kuo & Faber Taylor, 2004) !

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Why do we feel good in nature?! Human evolution!

We need nature!

•  E. O. Wilson’s Biophilia Hypothesis !

•  Evolutionary history!

•  Suggestive evidence: !!nature scenes, pets, outdoor activities, gardening, zoos, office workers/plants!!attention restoration (hard vs. soft fascination)!

Restorative Environments!

The view from a window matters!

•  Psychological benefits (Kaplan, 1993; Ulrich, 1984)!

•  Lower frustration, increased job satisfaction and mood!

Beyond Restoration: Happiness!

•  What about nearby nature, differences in built and natural environments?!

•  Nature immersion research (Ryan et al., 2010; Nisbet & Zelenski, 2011)!

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Walking Studies!

•  University students – “impressions of campus”!

•  Random assignment to indoor or outdoor walk!

•  Autumn, all non-rainy days!

•  Post-walk well-being: “How do you feel right now?”!

People prefer the outdoor walk"!

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Negative Affect Positive Affect

Rat

ing

Indoor Outdoor

(Also vitality, fascination)!

Walking Studies + Affective Forecasting! People under-predict the benefits of outdoor walks"!

Forecast

Forecast

Experience

Experience

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Outdoor Indoor

Posi%v

e(Aff

ect(

Got nature?!

•  Disconnect due to modern living!

Measuring Connectedness!

or ‘Nature Relatedness’ !(Mayer & Frantz, 2004; Nisbet et al., 2009; Nisbet & Zelenski 2013; Schultz, 2001)!

•  Individual differences in subjective connectedness!

•  Cognitive, affective, physical relationship with nature!

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Measuring Connectedness!

“My relationship to nature is an important part of who I am”!

“I enjoy being outdoors, even in unpleasant weather.”!

“I take notice of wildlife wherever I am.”!

“I don’t often go out in nature.” (R)!

Individual Differences...!

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Env Educators

Students

Middle Mgrs

Community

Summit Pps

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Linked to Differences in Happiness!

•  Life satisfaction!

•  Subjective Happiness!

•  Positive affect!

•  Fascination, awe!

•  Negative affect!

•  Depression!

•  Personal Growth!

•  Autonomy!

•  Purpose!

•  Vitality!

and more nature contact!

•  Connected Australians use backyards, travel to parks, stay longer, and seek more vegetation (Lin et al., 2014; Shanahan et al., 2015)!

and more diverse nature!

How to encourage nature contact?!

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Changing Connectedness (in the short term)!

• Campus walk studies!

(The happy path to sustainability)!

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Indoor Outdoor

(Con

nect

edne

ss)

Location!(In vs. Out)!

Positive Affect!

Nature !Connectedness!

Interventions to Increase Contact!

DSF website, email list, employer toolkits, national media, blogs!

30x30 Nature Challenge Intervention! 30x30 Nature Challenge!

•  Commit to 30 minutes of nature contact for 30 days in May!

•  Promotes the scientific evidence of nature’s health benefits!

Intervention Tips! Change in Weekly Nature Contact!

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Change in Nature Relatedness!

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NR-self

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Changes in Well-Being!

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positive affect

negative affect

fascination vitality

Ave

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(Mea

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Time 1

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This summer ... 30x30 Ontario Parks! Nature-Based Interventions!

•  Educational walking programs!

•  Older adults!

Why Connectedness?!

Information alone � behaviour!

Why connectedness?!

Intrinsic motivation!

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Research Directions! FISH Microworld!

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Built Nature

Seasons!

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Fish/Season!

Fishing Behaviour! Research Directions!

•  Ongoing research (elements/mechanisms)!

•  Urban Design (active/green commuting, health promotion and policy)!

•  Messaging (framing, health)!

Citizen Science Interventions!

Does being a ‘citizen scientist’ affect mood and connectedness with nature?!

adventurescience.org!

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Citizen Science Research!NON-INVASIVE GRIZZLY BEAR TRACKING STUDY!

More connected, and "happier citizen scientists!

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Positive Affect Negative Affect Fascination Vitality

Mea

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Well-Being!

Pre-Trip

Post-Trip

Citizen Science Research!WORLDWIDE PIKA PROJECT!

7th graders from West Oakland Middle School!

Citizen Science for veterans!

Ecology + Psychology = WILDLIFE DETECTIVES!! ! ! ! ! CSI STUDY!

Citizen Science for veterans!Higher PTSD veterans showed greater reduction in anxiety!!(Smedley, Evancha, Marinchak, & Nisbet, 2014)!

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Happy People, Happy Planet!

•  Nature contact – benefits for well-being!

•  Foster trait connectedness conservation!!

Jassandre Adamyk ! ! !Robert Hill!Raelyne Dopko ! ! !Steven Murphy!Mary Gick ! ! ! !Logan Nealis!Megan Graham ! ! !Stephanie Pineau!Zsuzsa Grandpierre-Nagy ! !Scott Smedley!Jennifer Rouse! ! ! !Rob Toynbee!Jessica Pasinetti ! ! !Aryne Sheppard!Gregg Treinish! ! ! !John Zelenski!!

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council!!!

Thanks to!

Or questions later:!

!elizabethnisbet@trentu.ca!Psychology Department!Trent University!!

! !naturerelatedness.ca!

Questions now? Here I am ...!