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Connectedness to Nature Through Outdoor Environmental Education: Insights from Psychology

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Outdoor Environmental Education in the Contemporary World

Part of the book series: International Explorations in Outdoor and Environmental Education ((IEOEE,volume 12))

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Abstract

Psychology has many insights to offer in our collective attempts to reconnect individuals with nature. Based upon the literature on the antecedents of connectedness to nature, it is important to consider how any given outdoor environmental education experience influences participants’ affective experiences (e.g., awe, compassion), frames of mind (e.g., mindfulness), and ways of thinking about themselves and nature (e.g., introspection, anthropomorphism). This chapter reviews relevant literature on the psychological understanding of the antecedents of connectedness and points to potential applications of this knowledge in outdoor and environmental education. In doing so, we will emphasize the process through which antecedents increase connectedness to identify specific points of intervention and how they can be leveraged to provide impactful outdoor educational experiences. Further, using this extensive body of literature and incorporating critical perspectives, we will address the question of adapting current research and praxis to increasingly urbanized worlds.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This definition treats connectedness as distinct from what is most aptly referred to as environmentalist identity which instead focuses on whether one views themselves as a person who engages in various forms of pro-environmental behavior, or outright views themselves as an environmentalist (e.g., Kashima et al., 2014).

  2. 2.

    The discrepancy between these two findings is likely because in one study immersion was manipulated via a mental imagery script (Weinstein et al., 2009) whereas in the other immersion was manipulated in the form of the technology used (e.g., video vs. VR; Soliman et al., 2017).

  3. 3.

    Not to be confused with the Buddhist perspective on mindfulness (see Langer, 2000).

  4. 4.

    This effect was primarily true for individuals who held less positive environmental attitudes; individuals with highly positive environmental attitudes experienced similar levels of connectedness in either condition (Frantz et al., 2005) which may be reflective of a ceiling effect for connectedness among individuals who already hold strong pro-environmental attitudes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Durham University, Durham, UK

    Michael L. Lengieza

  2. Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA

    Rosemary Aviste & Janet K. Swim

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  1. Michael L. Lengieza
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  2. Rosemary Aviste
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  3. Janet K. Swim
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Studies, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

    Jan Činčera

  2. College of Education, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Bruce Johnson

  3. Department of Environmental Science and Agriculture, Beit Berl College, Doar Beit Berl, Israel

    Daphne Goldman

  4. Center of Environmental and Sustainability Education, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology and the Arts, Tel-Aviv, Israel

    Iris Alkaher

  5. Department of Environmental Studies, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

    Michal Medek

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Lengieza, M.L., Aviste, R., Swim, J.K. (2023). Connectedness to Nature Through Outdoor Environmental Education: Insights from Psychology. In: Činčera, J., Johnson, B., Goldman, D., Alkaher, I., Medek, M. (eds) Outdoor Environmental Education in the Contemporary World. International Explorations in Outdoor and Environmental Education, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29257-6_4

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