The Experience of Nature: A Psychological Perspective

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Air ions kill bacteria, increase plant and insect growth rate, and cause physiological and behavioral changes in people and other animals [ 273, 274, 275, 276]. About 1/3 of the population is sensitive to air ions, and this portion of the population responds to the change in positive ion concentration that precedes certain warm, dry winds in a number of countries [ 277] by showing elevated symptoms of depression, lassitude, migraine, nausea, insomnia, and respiratory problems when these winds bring a high concentration of positive ions and a low concentration of negative ions [ 278, 279]. Because negative air ions decrease the concentration of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in mice, rabbits and guinea pigs, while positive ions increase it [ 280, 281], and 5-HT in humans has been found to increase with the winds, it is believed that a “serotonin irritation syndrome”, contributes to the symptoms described above [ 277, 282]. Speth, J. G. The Bridge at the End of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability (Yale Univ. Press, New Haven, 2008). United Nations Environment Program Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication (2011). In the case of hearing, it would be interesting to partition different kinds of natural sounds to determine whether the benefits vary with the acoustic properties of the sounds (e.g., biophysical versus animal sounds or different kinds of bird song). Also, running experiments with visually-impaired individuals, such as exposing them to nature sounds, could provide insight into the nature benefits of sound.

I think the volume creates a baseline for anyone interested in the green experience. It provides the scientific basis for inquiry as well as an invitation to think more deeply about this ancient and perhaps too easily accepted role of vegetation as being “good” for people. Everyone who is interested in this relationship will find here an approach that is insightful and widely applicable. They will also find a perspective that they can use as they seek to understand their own nature experiences or to enhance the experiences of others. I am grateful to Rachel and Stephen Kaplan for the exciting and useful synthesis they have achieved in this important volume. But there’s an important caveat, White adds: “If you have a break from work and you’ve only got half an hour, then a wild remote place is no use to you at all.” Urban parks and trees also produce positive outcomes. Just like a little exercise is better than none, we should take­ advantage of green and blue spaces wherever and whenever we can. That’s easier said than done, though, especially for people at a socioeconomic disadvantage. Poorer neighborhoods, White notes, are seldom the ones with leafy groves and ocean views. Niles, D. The charcoal forest: ecology, aesthetics and the Anthropocene. Pre-print at SocArXiv https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/hk5g8 (2018). The research aimed to introduce a new sustainable landscape approach by activating biophilic design patterns, to increase landscape efficiency; this approach was applied to an Egyptian case study, to analyse the possibilities and results and furthermore to suggest a proposed design that activates the biophilic landscape efficiency and achieves pattern integration.

My Book Notes

Norton, B. C. Sustainability: A Philosophy of Adaptive Ecosystem Management (Univ. Chicago Press, Chicago, 2005). Hirsch Hadorn, G. et al. in Handbook of Transdisciplinary Research (eds Hirsch Hadorn, G. et al.) 19–39 (Springer, 2008). Many benefits that people receive from nature accrue through the five senses as well as at least three non-sensory avenues: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, phytoncides, negative air ions, and microbes. Most research focuses on the visual nature benefits, and we have briefly reviewed this as well as examining the other pathways through which nature benefits are delivered, concluding that there is a need to broaden work beyond merely the visual sense and to take some experimental studies into the field. The idea that nature provides benefits beyond the visual has been touched on in the literature looking at some mood benefits derived from feeling connected to nature; this suggests that feeling connected to nature is enough to provide some psychological benefits [ 346, 347]. We do not explore this at length here, but this alternate route should not be overlooked. Additionally, there is clear evidence of the benefits of exercising in greenspace or in simulated nature beyond that of exercising in other environments, implying that there may be another pathway involved here, although we do not yet know whether this is through the senses [ 348, 349, 350]. We have outlined the evidence that viewing nature both in pictures and through windows can improve health and mood; sounds such as birdsong and nature sounds provide restoration and enhance affect; smells provide numerous physical and psychological benefits; taste affects emotion, and traditional, natural diets have health benefits; petting animals can be very therapeutic; phytoncides can have a positive effect on our immune system; negative air ions affect our physical and mental well-being; and microbiota in the gut and the brain influence each other. We have looked at some sensory and non-sensory avenues, and it is possible that these pathways work in tandem or parallel, either synergistically, additively, or sub-additively. Fernando Castrillon, Psy.D., earned a masters in sociology from the University of California where he was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, and a doctorate in clinical psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) and is a licensed clinical psychologist. He is Associate Professor in the Community Mental Health Department at CIIS and is the founding Director of CIIS’ The Clinic Without Walls, an innovative psychotherapy clinic serving mostly working poor and immigrant communities who would otherwise not have access to mental health services.

From the present perspective it is difficult to believe that at the time we began this research program there were virtually no studies on the subject of this book. A great deal has happened since then, and the literature on the importance of nature is growing. In retrospect, we find ourselves surprised by the quantity of research we and our students have done in these two decades. The present volume focuses on this more or less coherent research program. Though we refer to the work of others as it seems pertinent, we have placed a higher priority on coherence and integration th Peters T, D’Penna K (2020) Biophilic design for restorative university learning environments: a critical review of literature and design recommendations. Sustainability (Switzerland) 12(17). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12177064 The last category Nature of the Space includes all spatial aspects which can be found in nature and it expresses our desire to see things above and beyond our instant surroundings, and explore the unknown in a safe manner. A strong experience is achieved by: deliberate and engaging spatial arrangements, combined with patterns from the two other categories: Nature in the Space and Natural Analogues. This category consists of four biophilic design patterns, they are prospect, refuge, mystery, and risk/peril [ 10].Yet another intended audience consists of our professional peers in areas such as environmental psychology, environment/behavior research, behavioral geography, environmental education, recreation behavior, and other assorted disciplines. These groups have no common professional association or single home base. We have been fortunate to have many excellent students from these areas in our classes where they have come to learn from each other and to find out that there are strong underlying themes unifying their apparently disparate directions. Another recent study found that people who are more naturally prone to experiencing awe felt more humility and were rated as more humble by their friends. Stern, N. The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 2007). This paper is intended to be a narrative review of disparate literature designed to provide a reference for wider reading rather than to provide a systematic review of the evidence. As such, no systematic search or synthesis has been attempted and instead, a number of search terms were used and anything considered relevant to senses and nature benefits was included. Multiple study designs were included, as well as research on animals in addition to humans. Some search term examples, for sound, included “sound”, “noise”, “nature benefit”, “wellness”, “health”, “wellbeing”, with similar searches for the other senses. When relevant articles were found, a snowballing method was utilized, searching their references for further relevant articles. In some instances where very few results were found, we included preference studies as well as correlational studies where the effects of possible confounding variables could not be assessed.

How does it work? What lies behind the power of environments that not only attract and are appreciated by people but are apparently able to restore hassled individuals to healthy and effective functioning? It is possible that over the course of our evolution, we came to identify silence with the response of most animals to a predator’s presence. It has been suggested that humans evolved humming as a way to signal safety during quiet times so there would be no silence [ 90]. Other animals perceive and use silence as a danger warning. Many insects, for example, become silent when they detect a predator [ 91], as do tungara frogs, Engystomops pustulosus, which use the silence of neighbours as an alarm cue to silence their own singing [ 92]. In fact, animals frequently detect predators “vicariously” through the alarm response of others [ 93, 94, 95], remaining in “adaptive silence” [ 96]. Some studies suggest that awe may be able to increase our critical cognitive skills. One study found that when people were induced to feel awe, they were less persuaded by weak arguments than people who did a neutral activity (imagining doing their laundry). Acselrad, H. in The Crisis of Global Environmental Governance: Towards a New Political Economy of Sustainability (eds Park, J., Conca, K. & Finger, M.) 96–109 (Routledge, London, 2008).Some limitations of our review are that it was narrative rather than systematic, and we suggest future studies take a narrower, more systematic approach that could focus on particular health or well-being outcomes, although at this stage it seems the literature would be too sparse for this kind of treatment of most questions. We also used correlational or preference studies in cases where there was little experimental research to show some of the potential sensory pathways for nature benefits, even if they have not been shown unequivocally. Our review focused on the benefits from nature interactions, but future studies could also include risks. The natural environment is increasingly a source of interest, fascination, and affection. In a wide range of settings, both at home and abroad, I have found the breadth and intensity of such feelings to be remarkable. Yet until now there has been little material available for individuals who are attempting to understand their feelings toward nature. Though much has been written on this subject, there remains a need for a comprehensive work that is scientifically based, readable, and helpful. Although part I will be challenging for some readers, a detailed understanding of this more theoretical material is not essential to enjoying the book. And, despite the somewhat technical nature of the content, the writing is clear and free of jargon; even difficult concepts are presented in a relaxed, free-flowing style.