Connectedness to Nature & Pro-Environmental Behaviour (PDF)

Connectedness to Nature and Pro-Environmental Behaviour from Early Adolescence to Adulthood Daniel J. Anderson & Tobias Krettenauer Introduction - Pro-environmental behavior (PEB): Minimize environmental damage, actively restore natural environment, environmental activism in public and private spa...

Connectedness to Nature and Pro-Environmental Behaviour from Early Adolescence to Adulthood Daniel J. Anderson & Tobias Krettenauer Introduction - Pro-environmental behavior (PEB): Minimize environmental damage, actively restore natural environment, environmental activism in public and private spaces Psychological factors influence Pro-Environmental Behavior (PEB). Emotional Connectedness to Nature (ECN) is particularly significant. - Exposure to/contact with nature can influence ECN. - Proximity to nature & nature of relationship matters. - Level of industrialization in the region can influence attitudes & behaviors. - Gender differences in ECN & PEB, with females typically displaying higher mean levels. Goals & Hypothesis - - 1st Goal: investigate age-related differences in ECN and PEB from adolescence into adulthood. Hypothesis: ECN and PEB levels decline between early and late adolescence. 2nd Goal: determine how much unique variance ECN, age and living context contributed towards predicting PEB. Hypothesis: ECN remains the strongest predictor among the three factors being analyzed. 3rd Goal: determine whether the age-related variance found in PEB was mediated by age-related changes in levels of ECN. Hypothesis: ECN mediates the relationship between age and PEB. Participants - total of n=1251 (anglophone and francophone canadians) urban and rural locations in canada four age groups: young adolescence (12–15 years), late adolescence (16–19 years), young adulthood (24–29 years) and adulthood (35–40 years) Measures - - - Same Questionnaire as used by Krettennauer (*this time online) Self-Reported Pro-Environmental Behavior (PEB): participants reported levels of particular behaviors: how often they had engaged in various pro-environmental behaviors (e.g. using public transportation, using refillable water bottles, recycling paper, …) only age relevant behaviors were included Emotional Connectedness To Nature (ECN): 4 aspects of emotional connectedness with nature were included: enjoying nature, hands-on engagement with nature, interest in nature and empathy for living beings participants were asked how much they enjoy different activities that are connected to nature Age of Connection With Nature vs. Amount Of Connection - Study suggests: Amount of actual contact with nature needed might be quite minimal → is it more important that people connect with nature at a young age than quantitatively often? Results - ECN AGE Significant main effect of Age on ECN Significant differences: - young adolescents - young adults - older adolescents - young adults - No real adolescent dip GENDER - Significant main effect of Gender on ECN - Females higher mean levels compared to males LIVING CONTEXT - NO significant main effect of Living Context on ECN Results - PEB AGE - No real significant main effect of Age on PEB GENDER - Significant main effect of Gender on PEB - Females higher mean levels compared to males LIVING CONTEXT - Urban individuals significantly higher PEB levels than rural ones General Results - - Emotional Connectedness To Nature (ECN) linked to Pro-Environmental Behavior (PEB) - Age, ECN, and living context significantly contributed to PEB - Older individuals and those with higher ECN levels reported higher PEB Development of ECN socially moderated Further Research - Which role do gender play? Is it the same across cultures? - Rural participants reported significantly lower levels of PEB compared to urban participants → other factors like level of available infrastructure in an area? - Connection to political viewpoints: are rural people more conservative?