The Power of Cultivating Curiosity in Nature Exploration

Nature connectedness is the extent to which individuals include nature as part of their identity. It includes an understanding of nature and everything it is made up of, even the parts that are not pleasing. Characteristics of nature connectedness are similar to those of a personality trait: nature connectedness is stable over time and across various situations. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

Schultz describes three components that make up the nature connectedness construct: (EPA Environmental Resources)

Theory and biophilia

Our relationship with the natural environment can be understood through the concept of biophilia and the biophilia hypothesis. This term is defined as humans' innate need to affiliate with other life such as plants and animals. This essentially means that humans have a desire to be near nature. This built-in desire may be the result of spending the majority of our evolutionary history (over 99%) closely connected to nature. Biophilia is genetic, meaning those humans who were closely connected to nature throughout history would, presumably, have had better access to food and fresh water. For example, someone who lived close to water, near vegetation, or with a pet as a protector (e.g. dog) would have had survival advantages. Although evolutionary theory is difficult to test, the popularity of camping, hiking, and visiting the zoo, provide support for this theory. (University of Minnesota Extension)

In his 1997 book, Kellert proposed that biophilia (or being close to nature) also provides us benefits such as an increase in well-being. Thus, being disconnected from the natural environment should have negative effects on humans' well-being. The construct of nature connectedness is also related to a branch of psychology called ecopsychology. This branch seeks to examine how human well-being is related to the well-being of the natural environment. This theory is based on the idea that the needs of humans and nature are interdependent, so human health will suffer if nature does as well. (Penn State Extension)

Restoration

Many daily activities in contemporary society demand directed attention. In order to sustain that demand, effort is required to gate competing stimuli or thoughts so that one can pay attention. The constant demand of the inhibitory control may cause that directed attention to become depleted and result in attention fatigue. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

Research in environmental psychology suggests that people's desire for contact with nature serves an important adaptive function, namely, psychological restoration. As yet, it remains to be empirically demonstrated that physical and psychological problems of urban living can arouse restoration needs that continuously maintain and reinforce nature-oriented preferences. One of the important aspects that environment can lead to restoration is that it has the potential to generate fascination to people; it is able to captivate so that the demand for involuntary attention of the person is lowered and the restoration can be performed. In addition to this, it should generate the feeling of being away as an escape from a certain environment or situation; extension, referring to the connection properties and environmental accessibility and compatibility between the characteristics of the environment with the goals and preferences of the individual. (EPA Environmental Resources)

As a measurement tool

There are at least seventeen scales which measure how connected an individual feels to nature. The three most commonly used scales are Nature Relatedness, Nature Connectedness, and Inclusion of Nature in Self Scale. (University of Minnesota Extension)

The Nature Relatedness measure is a 21-item scale that measures how connected to nature participants feel at a trait level. Participants indicate their agreement with each statement using a Likert scale. There are three subscales to this measure; NR-self, NR-perspective, and NR- experience. NR-self measures how much individuals identify with nature (e.g., "I feel very connected to all living things and the earth"), NR-perspective measures how concerned individuals may feel about the effect of human actions on the environment (e.g., "Humans have the right to use natural resources any way we want"), and NR-experience measures how comfortable individuals are in nature and their desire to be involved with nature (e.g., "I enjoy being outdoors, even in unpleasant weather"). This scale shows good reliability, alpha = .87 and test-retest stability six months later, alpha = .85. There is also a brief Nature Relatedness Scale made up of six items from the original 21 items. The purpose of this scale is to measure how connected an individual feels to nature but in a shorter way. This scale shows good reliability, alpha = .87 and test-retest stability six months later, alpha = .88. (Penn State Extension)

The Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS). This scale measures how emotionally connected people feel to the natural world, animals, and plants. It also assesses people's perceived equality between nature and themselves. An example of an item is "I recognize and appreciate the intelligence of other living organisms." These items are rated on a Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) where higher scores demonstrate a higher connection to nature. This scale can be used both at the trait and state level. The state version is 13 items and shows acceptable reliability (α = .91,). The trait version is 14 items and also demonstrates good reliability (α = .82). This scale's validity is demonstrated by its positive associations with other environmental scales (such as the New Ecological Paradigm Scale) but is not associated with verbal ability or social desirability. See also Connectedness to nature scale. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

Inclusion of Nature in Self Scale (INS) This single-item question was designed to measure the extent that individuals include nature as part of their identity. This measure uses a pair of circles with one circle labeled self and the other circle labeled nature. Participants are asked to choose the pair of circles that best describes their relationship with the natural environment. There are seven pairs of circles that differ on the extent that they overlap. Individuals who are very connected to nature choose the pair of circles that completely overlap (scored as a 7) while individuals who are not connected to nature choose circles that are non-overlapping (scored as a 1). This scale has been shown to correlate positively with the New Ecological Paradigm Revised Scale, nature relatedness and simply walking in nature. This scale can also be used to measure how connected to nature people feel in the moment (or at a state level) by changing the wording to "how interconnected are you with nature RIGHT NOW." Below is the INS scale. (EPA Environmental Resources)

As a personality trait

In personality psychology, researchers have generally agreed on a five-factor model of personality. The five factors are extraversion (i.e. social, outgoing), agreeableness (i.e. trusting, helpful), neuroticism (i.e. worried, anxious), openness to experience (i.e. imaginative, creative), and conscientiousness (i.e. organized, careful). Nature relatedness (overall) is significantly related to extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. In addition, a subscale of nature relatedness (nature-relatedness experience) is negatively related with neuroticism. These authors describe the nature-relatedness person as someone who is more adventurous, easygoing, and gregarious. It may also be that highly nature-related people are more environmental friendly because of the positive (albeit weak) relationship with conscientiousness. Evidence suggests that people vary in their subjective sense of connectedness with nature much like any of the five factors listed above. Supportive of these results, a recent study has found that environmental engagement (protecting the environment, electricity conservation and environmental values) is related to agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience. Another study found that nature connectedness accounted for (mediated) the relationship between openness and pro-environmental behaviours. (University of Minnesota Extension)

Relationship with well-being

Nature connectedness is related to subjective well-being and other indicators of positive functioning such as solving a problem in one's life. Subjective well-being is defined as feeling pleasant emotions or having pleasant experiences. To assess well-being, participants complete measures of how often they feel positive emotions (an affective measure), how often they feel negative emotions (an affective measure), and how satisfied they are with their lives (a cognitive measure). Individuals with higher levels of well-being typically indicate that they are satisfied with their lives, feel more positive emotions, and less negative emotions. (Penn State Extension)

At a broad level, the construct of trait nature connectedness is associated with well-being. This means that individuals who are highly connected to nature also report higher psychological well-being (i.e., greater acceptance of self), and social well-being (i.e., socially integrated). Emotional well-being (i.e., positive emotions and life satisfaction) is related to nature connectedness but less consistently However, psychological and social well-being are consistently related to nature connectedness suggesting that feeling connected to nature is related to participant's well-being in their personal and social lives. Trait nature relatedness is significantly correlated with psychological well-being and its six dimensions: autonomy, environmental mastery, positive relations with others, self-acceptance, purpose in life, and personal growth. More specifically, nature relatedness relates to all six dimensions (in a sample with undergraduate students), and relates with autonomy, purpose in life, and personal growth (in a sample with businesspeople). It also significantly relates to positive affect in both populations. Finally, nature connectedness is associated with mindfulness. In recent years, a great deal of research has examined the benefits of mindfulness such as increased self-awareness, self-esteem, resilience and reduced maladaptive rumination. The awareness subscale (of mindfulness) correlates with nature connectedness, but the other subscale of mindfulness (the acceptance subscale) does not consistently correlate. As the authors state, this suggests that mindfulness is related to a person's awareness in nature and their experiences in nature but not with whether they accept these experiences or not. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

There are also many benefits from feeling connected to nature at the state level. Simply walking in nature for fifteen minutes (in comparison to walking in an urban environment) increases an individual's subjective connectedness to nature, positive affect, attentional capacity (as measured by the number of errors they made in a cognitive task) and their ability to reflect on a life problem. A life problem could be anything from finding enough time to study to resolving a fight participants had with close friends, significant others, or family members. These relationships were mediated by state nature connectedness (not attentional capacity or self-awareness as previously suggested). State nature connectedness has also been found to relate to vitality. Vitality is defined as having both physical and mental energy and it increases positive affect. In five studies, researchers found that nature exposure relates to vitality at a state level. Nature exposure is also related to other indicators of positive functioning such as aspirations and goals. Nature exposure increases intrinsic aspirations (personal growth, intimacy, and community) and decreases extrinsic aspirations (money, image, fame) at a state level. The achievement of intrinsic goals relates to well-being, whereas the achievement of extrinsic aspirations relates to ill-being. Nature connectedness and autonomy were found to mediate the relation between nature exposure and intrinsic/extrinsic aspirations. Nature exposure also increased participants' generosity as measured by the amount of money they chose to donate to another student. As participants' immersion increased in the nature slides, their intrinsic aspirations and generosity did as well. However, as participants' immersion increased in the non-nature (or built) slides, their extrinsic aspirations increased while their generosity decreased. (EPA Environmental Resources)

Finally, even subtle nature manipulations can increase well-being or other indicators of well-being. For instance, simply having plants in a lab can increase intrinsic aspirations, decrease extrinsic aspirations, and encourage more generous decision-making. These effects were also mediated by nature connectedness and autonomy. Also, virtual nature has been found to provide some psychological benefits (but not as much as real nature). These studies demonstrate the positive relationship between nature exposure, feeling connected to nature, and subjective well-being. (University of Minnesota Extension)

Environmental relationship

Researchers believe that if humans feel a part of nature and are more connected to nature, they will feel a responsibility to care for nature and protect it. As Stephen Jay Gould said: (Penn State Extension)

So far, research has provided support for the assertion that nature connectedness (at a subjective level) is a reliable predictor of environmental behaviors. For instance, nature relatedness was found to relate to concern for the environment, as people who scored high on nature relatedness were also more likely to belong to environmental organizations, and declare themselves environmentalists. High nature-related people at the trait level (or individuals scoring high on one of the subscales of nature relatedness) were also more likely to self-report (USDA National Agriculture Library)

Research has shown that individuals who think ahead and consider future events (individuals with a high consideration of future consequences) are more environmentally friendly. These individuals also show more concern for the environment and are more critical of environmental damage. (EPA Environmental Resources)

Thus, the research mentioned suggests that feeling connected to nature decreases the likelihood that people will harm it because harming nature would be similar to harming oneself. (University of Minnesota Extension)

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most important thing to know about Nature connectedness?

The most important factor is starting with an honest assessment of your current situation and available resources. Effective implementation depends on matching the approach to your specific context — climate, scale, community, and goals all matter. (Penn State Extension)

Conclusion

The Power of Cultivating Curiosity in Nature Exploration represents an important dimension of the larger shift toward sustainable, ecologically grounded ways of living. Whether you are just beginning or deepening existing practice, the resources and knowledge are increasingly accessible. The steps taken today — however modest — contribute to a compounding body of change that matters both locally and globally. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

Additional reference: Wikipedia — Nature connectedness

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