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Affective Connection to Nature

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Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research

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Synonyms

Emotional affinity toward nature; Emotional commitment to nature; Love of nature, Inclusion of nature in self; Nature relatedness

Definition

Affective connection to nature is not derived from a single theory, nor is there one accepted definition of it. Instead, in the various models and studies on this construct, slightly different terms have been used, such as emotional commitment to nature, emotional affinity toward nature, nature relatedness, love of nature, or inclusion of nature in self. It is a rather broad and multifaceted construct, which has developed into a new paradigm within environmental psychology with extensive and differentiated active research and even practice on it.

Affective connection to nature can be defined as a positive emotional bond with nature which is more or less consciously experienced by the subject. It typically requires positive experiences with nature, whereas negative experiences, like fear of nature phenomena or disgust, will not result in...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social and Organizational Psychology, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Eichstätt, Germany

    Elisabeth Kals

  2. Department of Psychology, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada

    Elizabeth K. Nisbet

Authors
  1. Elisabeth Kals
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  2. Elizabeth K. Nisbet
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Correspondence to Elisabeth Kals .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Statistiche, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italy

    Filomena Maggino

Section Editor information

  1. Univeristy of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Antonino Galati

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Kals, E., Nisbet, E.K. (2022). Affective Connection to Nature. In: Maggino, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_3964-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_3964-2

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