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Abstract Abundant evidence suggests that pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) is promoted by a subjective sense of oneness with nature—what we conceptualize as "identification with nature." For environmental activist behaviour, however, we hypothesize that a stronger, more direct predictor is "politicized environmental identification"—identification with a group that is engaged in a collective struggle to create pro-environmental social change. Furthermore, we predicted that politicized identification would mediate an indirect relationship between identification with nature and environmental activism. Cross-sectional evidence for these predictions was found in Studies 1 and 2. In Study 3, a longitudinal study, change in politicized environmental identification over a three-month period predicted change in activist PEB, but change in identification with nature did not. Overall results suggest that politicized environmental identification is a proximal predictor of activism that warrants increased attention in theory, research and interventions aimed at motivating PEB. Highlights • We examined predictors of self-reported environmental activism or intentions. • Politicized environmental identification was a direct predictor of activism. • Nature identification predicted activism indirectly via politicized identity. • Change in politicized identification across time predicted change in activism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research has found that spending time in nature fosters increased wellbeing across both physical and mental health (Brymer et al., 2014; Hartig et al., 2011), and many theories suggest that participation in nature is something that carries similar benefits for all people (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of outdoor recreation and leisure increased significantly given that it offered a space for interaction, community, and enjoyment with decreased risk of transmission. Amidst COVID-19, nature offers wellbeing that could help individuals cope with the added anxiety, isolation and uncertainty amongst the pandemic. However, it is likely that not all individuals had similar access to this benefit, but little research has explored if this is the case. This study examines wellbeing outcomes and one's sense of belonging to a natural place as they relate to one's nature relatedness and access to nature. We hypothesized that the highest wellbeing benefit would be associated with those who had both high access to nature and high nature relatedness scores, and lowest for those without access to nature. Survey data from 558 participants was used to test these hypotheses. We implemented two polynomial regressions with response surface analysis to examine the congruent and discrepant effects of nature relatedness and access to nature on both wellbeing and belonging in nature. Findings suggest that those with the most access to nature and higher nature relatedness experience higher rates of wellbeing and a stronger sense of belonging to natural spaces. • There exists a strong relationship between spending time in nature and wellbeing for physical and mental health outcomes. • Discrimination is enacted in natural spaces which create barriers of access to individuals who hold minoritized identities. • During the COVID-19 pandemic, nature became a unique source of wellbeing. Little research has examined access as a factor. • Survey data from 558 participants was examined using polynomial regression with response surface analysis. • Findings show that those with high access to nature experienced higher rates of wellbeing and a stronger sense of belonging to natural spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By relying on various theoretical paradigms, extant research has developed several measurement tools for the assessment of individual environmental identity. One of the most important such tools is the Inclusion of Nature in Self measure (INS; Schultz, 2001). In comparison to other measures, the INS is very concise and easy to administer. However, because of its single-item nature, its psychometric properties and applicability domains are limited in scope. The present research proposes a four-item development of the INS – the Extended Inclusion of Nature in Self (EINS) scale. In Study 1, we explore the relevance of spatial metaphors in the assessment of self-nature connection. Based on the insights from this study, we develop an extended version of the INS and investigate its dimensionality, reliability, and validity across 5 studies. Our studies converge in suggesting that the proposed EINS is psychometrically stronger than the original INS, compares well in criterion-related validity to extant verbal scales, and has broader research applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theory and correlational research suggest that connecting with nature may facilitate prosocial and environmentally sustainable behaviors. In three studies we test causal direction with experimental manipulations of nature exposure and laboratory analogs of cooperative and sustainable behavior. Participants who watched a nature video harvested more cooperatively and sustainably in a fishing-themed commons dilemma, compared to participants who watched an architectural video (Study 1 and 2) or geometric shapes with an audio podcast about writing (Study 2). The effects were not due to mood, and this was corroborated in Study 3 where pleasantness and nature content were manipulated independently in a 2 × 2 design. Participants exposed to nature videos responded more cooperatively on a measure of social value orientation and indicated greater willingness to engage in environmentally sustainable behaviors. Collectively, results suggest that exposure to nature may increase cooperation, and, when considering environmental problems as social dilemmas, sustainable intentions and behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature relatedness is an important construct in environmental psychology and has frequently been measured using the NR-6, a six-item unidimensional short form scale. The NR-6 was developed using exploratory factor analysis on a sample of undergraduates and community members, but subsequent validity evidence is limited. This is concerning because the NR-6 comprises items from two nature relatedness dimensions, making it unclear whether researchers should use the NR-6 as a unidimensional or multidimensional scale. Poor validity evidence also threatens the interpretability of observed NR-6 scores across groups (e.g., results from t -tests). The purpose of the study was to evaluate the factor structure, measurement equivalence, and reliability of the NR-6 across males and females using an independent sample from the Open-Source Psychometrics Project (n = 1,522). Results revealed challenges when comparing observed NR-6 scores across males and females. Both unidimensional and multidimensional factor structures were plausible specifications for the NR-6, but the multidimensional model demonstrated superior fit. However, regardless of whether the NR-6 was treated as a unidimensional or multidimensional scale, observed mean differences between males and females were inflated. Additionally, the multidimensional NR-6 demonstrated reliability that was unacceptable for research purposes for both males and females. To appropriately use the NR-6 on a case-by-case basis, I recommend that researchers 1) always report structural validity and reliability evidence and 2) adjust analyses accordingly, when necessary, using structural equation modeling techniques. • The NR-6 measures nature relatedness, but its validity evidence is limited. • Analyses of gender differences are unclear with poor validity. • Results indicated challenges with the NR-6's factor structure and reliability. • Gender differences were inflated due to measurement non-equivalence. • Researchers should always report validity evidence for the NR-6 to inform use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tests whether people's sense of connectedness with the natural environment is related to cognitive styles such as Kirton's adaption–innovation (KAI), and analytic-holistic thinking (AHT). We conducted two studies with Singaporean secondary students as participants. Study 1 ( N = 138), using an online survey, established the significant positive relationship between the nature relatedness self subscale and both the KAI and the AHT cognitive styles. Study 2 ( N = 185), using pen and paper surveys, replicated Study 1's findings and found that connectedness with nature was significantly related to both the KAI and the AHT cognitive styles beyond alternative explanations (demographic and well-being status). Students who were more connected with nature preferred innovative and holistic cognitive styles, while controlling for their general emotional status and well-being. These findings are the first to establish the link between connectedness with nature and cognitive styles. Future research and implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored how nature relatedness (NR) was linked with human eye movements in outdoor space. We created a 360-degree virtual reality scene that contained half urban setting of buildings and half nature area of trees, and recorded 112 participants' eye movements (total visit duration and total fixation duration ratio) during 1 min of free viewing. It was found that individuals' NR score correlated with their eye movements on the area of interests (AOIs), i.e., total fixation duration ratio on Trees (r (110) = 0.341, p <.001). Further analyses of the correlations between three subscales of NR scale and eye-tracking data revealed that NR-Self was related to eye movements significantly, but not for NR-Perception and NR-Experience. The paired t-tests result showed that people with Low NR score spent more time looking at buildings than trees, while the High NR group did the opposite. For the medium NR group, no distinct eye movements difference between trees and buildings was detected. The outcomes shed light on the divergence of individual visual attention in a mix of natural and built environment. Our finding also determined the efficacy of NR scale with physical measurements of behavior. • Nature relatedness is associated with eye movements in outdoor space. • NR-self scale is the only scale out of the three NR subscales to be significantly related to the eye-tracking data. • Nature related individuals are more likely to look at trees than buildings. • People low in nature relatedness spend more time viewing buildings rather than trees. • For people with medium nature relatedness, no distinct eye movements difference between trees and buildings was detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using meta-analysis, we examined whether there is evidence consistent with the idea that a subjective sense of "connection to nature" promotes pro-environmental behaviour (PEB; Mayer & Frantz, 2004; Nisbet, Zelenski, & Murphy, 2009). Analysis of correlational data (k = 75) provided compelling evidence for a strong and robust association between nature connection and PEB (r = 0.37). Nature connection was positively associated with PEB across different operationalizations of nature connection, across different PEB measures (i.e., behavioural intentions, self-reports of behaviour, and observed behaviour), and across various sample and demographic characteristics. We found no evidence of publication bias in correlational studies. For experimental manipulations of nature connection (k = 17), however, there was clear evidence of publication bias in favour of studies reporting positive effects. We addressed this bias by including unpublished studies in the meta-analysis, and found a small, significant causal effect of nature connection on PEB (d = 0.21, r = 0.10). We conclude that more experimental data with better quality manipulations of nature connection are needed. Nonetheless, the strong and robust association between nature connection and PEB, as well as evidence that nature connection causes PEB, suggest that nature connection is a promising avenue for promoting PEB. • Nature connection and pro-environmental behaviour strongly correlated. • No evidence of publication bias among correlational studies. • Experimental studies show weaker effects and evidence of publication bias. • When unpublished studies included, find a small significant experimental effect. • Little evidence of moderators in correlational and experimental studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]