Generativity across adulthood: how nature exposure and future time perspective shape motivation for social and ecological engagement.

Objective: The motivation to leave a legacy for future generations and society's continuity is an important aspect of adult development. However, the shorter time horizon that comes with ageing might lead to prioritising more immediately rewarding goals than long-term society-beneficial (e.g., climate-proactive) goals. This study investigates the role of nature exposure and future time perspective, as well as their joint interplay in the context of social and ecological generativity across adulthood. Method: In total, 115 individuals aged 18–85 years (M = 38.10 years, SD = 16.53 years, age-range 18-85; 67% female) participated in an experience sampling study and reported their future time perspective and social and ecological generativity at the baseline, and nature exposure in their daily situations. Results: The results of the analyses using aggregated data set showed that nature exposure facilitates the concern for future generations and the environment in middle-aged and older (but not in younger) adults with shorter future time perspective. Conclusion: Nature exposure can be used to enhance motivation for societal involvement in middle and older adulthood, which in turn could contribute to the well-being and sustainability of future generations. KEYPOINTS: What is already known about this topic: The motivation to leave a legacy for future generations (generativity) is an important aspect of adult development, with social (care for people) and ecological (care for environment) generativity being prominent not only in midlife but in early and late adulthood as well. Generative feelings towards the environment seem to emerge from direct experiences with nature. Older adults typically have a shorter future time perspective, leading them to prioritise more immediately rewarding goals than long-term goals. What this topic adds: Longer future time perspective positively predicts social and ecological generativity. Nature exposure facilitates the concern for future generations and the environment in older (but not in younger) people with shorter future time perspective. As such, nature exposure could serve as a potential intervention tool for boosting motivation in older adults with shrinking time horizons to protect future generations and the environment, enhancing their unique contributions to the well-being of future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]