Summary: Researchers report that spending time in nature supports mental and emotional wellbeing across cultures, with benefits observed regardless of country.
Source: University of Connecticut
Having trouble coping with COVID?
Try stepping outside. Time in nature—whether a walk through a neighborhood park, a hike in the woods, or simply sitting near trees—appears to help people manage stress and support psychological health during the pandemic.
A growing body of research has shown that feeling connected to the natural world can improve mental wellbeing. A new study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences reinforces that finding, showing that the protective effect of a nature-connected worldview remains strong even during a global crisis like COVID-19.
“Viewing the natural world as interconnected and living in harmony with it relates to better mental health, no matter where you live,” says Brian W. Haas, lead author and associate professor in the Behavioral and Brain Sciences Program at the University of Georgia.
Haas led the study with collaborators Fumiko Hoeft, a professor of psychological sciences at the University of Connecticut and director of UConn’s Brain Imaging Research Center, and Kazufumi Omura from Yamagata University in Japan. The team surveyed participants in the United States and Japan to assess individuals’ worldviews about nature, the personal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and current measures of psychological health.
Participants answered questions designed to capture whether they see humanity as living in harmony with the natural world—feeling connected, interdependent, and respectful of nature—or whether they endorse a mastery-over-nature perspective—the belief that humans can and should control nature. The survey also asked about stress, mood, and whether the pandemic had affected their personal lives, work, or finances.
Overall, participants reported higher stress during the pandemic, but those who embraced a harmony-with-nature worldview showed consistently better psychological coping in both Japan and the United States. In other words, a connection to nature was linked to lower negative affect and stronger emotional resilience across these two cultural contexts.
“This pandemic highlights why study of how people relate to nature matters,” Hoeft explains. “Our relationship with nature influences tangible outcomes like mental health, and this study reinforces that connection during a very stressful time.”
Cultural differences emerged, however, when the researchers examined participants who endorsed a mastery-over-nature worldview. In the United States, people who strongly believed humans should master and control nature tended to report worse psychological coping during the pandemic. That pattern did not appear in Japan.
The authors suggest cultural styles of thought may explain the contrast. Naïve dialecticism—a cultural tendency to accept contradiction and hold opposing ideas simultaneously—is more common in some cultures outside the U.S. In those contexts, encountering a natural disaster or disruptive event like a pandemic may not create as much mental conflict for someone who believes humans should influence nature.
“If you believe you are the master of nature and then face a dominant natural event like a pandemic, that contradiction can lead to cognitive dissonance and negative mood,” Haas says. “In cultures where people are more comfortable with contradictions, the same inconsistency may be less psychologically damaging.”
Although the study examined only two countries, the authors believe the link between harmony-with-nature worldviews and better mental health may be broadly applicable. Haas suggests this association could reflect a more universal human tendency—often described by the biophilia hypothesis—to benefit psychologically from connection to the natural world.
Both Haas and Hoeft emphasize practical takeaways for an increasingly technology-driven life: brief, intentional encounters with nature can support emotional wellbeing. Hoeft highlights the popular Japanese practice known as “forest bathing” (shinrin-yoku), which involves spending time among trees to relax and refresh. She notes that such traditional practices can have measurable psychological benefits.
“Stepping away from your screen for a short walk, listening to birds, or simply spending time outdoors can help restore perspective,” Haas adds. “We present empirical evidence that these kinds of simple, nature-based activities can protect psychological health during a difficult period like the pandemic.”
Funding: This study received support from a Global Research Collaboration Grant from the University of Georgia and from the National Science Foundation (NSF #202937).
About this psychology and nature research news
Source: University of Connecticut
Contact: Jaclyn Severance – University of Connecticut
Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Closed access. “The role of culture on the link between worldviews on nature and psychological health during the COVID-19 pandemic” by Brian W. Haas et al., Personality and Individual Differences.
Abstract
The role of culture on the link between worldviews on nature and psychological health during the COVID-19 pandemic
Worldviews about the relationship between humans and the natural world shape psychological health, yet little is known about how those beliefs interact with a severe natural disaster and vary across cultural contexts. This study assessed individual differences in views about nature and measures of psychological health during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in two cultural settings: Japan and the United States.
Across both samples, endorsing a harmony-with-nature worldview was associated with better psychological health during the pandemic. Culture moderated the relationship between a mastery-over-nature worldview and negative affect: the association between mastery-oriented views and negative mood was stronger in the United States than in Japan. These results are consistent with the biophilia hypothesis and with cultural theories that distinguish Japanese and American thought in terms of naïve dialecticism and sensitivity to contradiction.