Personally Relevant Indoor Nature Imagery’s Impact on Students’ Well-Being, Connection to Nature, and Eco-Conscious Behaviors

Previous research has shown that experiences in nature are predictive of increased connection to nature, well-being, and pro-environmental behavior. The current study investigated whether daily exposure to indoor nature imagery would also improve wellbeing and eco-conscious behaviors, and whether personally relevant images would enhance this hypothesized effect. Participants completed a test assessing baseline connection to nature and well-being, specifically satisfaction with life, positive and negative emotions, and stress. In the 2 (Nature vs. Built) X 2 (Familiar vs. Unfamiliar) study design, 125 participants either received a poster from a photo that they submitted (a personally-relevant nature scene or personally-relevant built scene) or a poster of an unfamiliar natural or built scene. After four weeks of daily exposure to this new poster in their home, participants completed a post-test which included the same measures of wellbeing and connection to nature, along with a novel eco-conscious behaviors measure involving environmental petitions. The nature intervention significantly improved participants’ satisfaction with life. The personal relevancy of images did not enhance well-being, either alone nor in interaction with image content. The finding that daily exposure could lead to improved well-being has implications for addressing mental health concerns. INDOOR NATURE, WELL-BEING, AND ENVIRONMENTALISM 3 Personally Relevant Indoor Nature Imagery’s Impact on Students’ Well-Being, Connection to Nature, and Eco-Conscious Behaviors People are more disconnected from nature now than at any other time in our evolutionary history. For example, adults in North America spend 90% of their time indoors (Leech, Nelson, Burnett, Aaron, & Raizenne, 2002). Our alienation from the natural environment has led to many unhealthy outcomes, such that it has been proposed that we are suffering from a “nature-deficit disorder” (Louv, 2008). According to Wilson’s biophilia hypothesis, humans have an inherent inclination to affiliate with nature (Wilson, 1984). Even though many have disconnected from nature, and some even fear the outdoors (Herzog & Kutzli, 2002), humans still have an underlying evolutionary desire to feel connected to the natural world and may experience psychological and health benefits from spending time in nature (Keniger, Gaston, Irvine, & Fuller, 2013; Van den Berg, 2005). In response to concerns about our increased separation from the natural world, researchers have explored whether modest exposure to nature-based stimuli might be beneficial. The current study investigated the effect of indoor nature imagery on wellbeing and eco-conscious behaviors. As shown in Figure 1, indoor nature imagery was hypothesized to increase one’s connection to nature. Connection to nature, in turn, was hypothesized to mediate nature imagery’s beneficial impact on participants’ well-being and eco-conscious behaviors. Additionally, personalization was hypothesized to improve well-being. If the nature imagery depicts a personally meaningful scene, it was hypothesized that these images would cause the greatest enhancements in connection to nature, and thus greatest increases in both well-being and eco-conscious behaviors. INDOOR NATURE, WELL-BEING, AND ENVIRONMENTALISM 4 Psychological Correlates of Nature Exposure Well-Being. In response to our increased separation from the outdoors, researchers have begun to address how nature impacts our psychological and physical health and why exposure to nature is often beneficial. Nature can provide us with a wide range of benefits including psychological benefits such as improved well-being, mood, and emotions; cognitive benefits such as improved attention, creativity, and academic performance; and health benefits such as decreased mortality rates, blood pressure, headaches, and healing times from accidents (Keniger et al., 2013; Van den Berg, 2005). Immersing oneself in natural environments helps reduce stress. For instance, people who were randomly assigned to take walks in the forest felt significantly less stressed than those assigned to take walks in urban settings (Lee, Park, Tsunetsugu, Kagawa, & Miyazaki, 2009). Proximity to neighborhood green space is also associated with reduced stress, as assessed by both physiological (salivary cortisol) and self-report measures (Thompson et al., 2011). The natural world also improves our positive affect, well-being, and overall happiness. Taking a walk in nature made people feel happier than taking a walk in an urban setting or passively relaxing indoors (Hartig, Mang, & Evans, 1991). MacKerron and Mourato (2013) had participants download a smartphone application, Mappiness, on which at random times during the day they rated their happiness and a GPS tracked their location. Participants were significantly happier when outdoors in green and natural environments compared to when they were in urban environments. Similarly, Richardson and McEwan (2018) required that all participants engage in routine experiences in nature every day for 30 days. Daily interactions with nature included noticing nature, sharing INDOOR NATURE, WELL-BEING, AND ENVIRONMENTALISM 5 nature experiences, doing activities in nature, and connecting to nature, such as naturebased art. Although the study did not have a control group, participants’ happiness was significantly higher after nature intervention in comparison to their baseline happiness levels before the intervention. Given that individuals gain positive psychological benefits from being outdoors in nature, studies have also investigated whether indoor exposure to nature would also induce positive benefits. Having “indoor nature exposure” means encountering a naturebased space within a built environment (McSweeney, Rainham, Johnson, Sherry, & Singleton, 2015). Examples of this include window views of nature, videos of nature, potted plants and flowers, and photographs of nature. Since we are spending the majority of our time indoors, it is relevant to study whether indoor nature exposure will have positive impacts similar to exposure to outdoor natural environments. McMahan and Estes (2015) conducted a meta-analysis of 32 studies in which participants experienced brief exposure to natural environments. They compared the effects of real nature and laboratory simulations of nature, such as viewing nature images, on positive affect. Although exposure to real nature had a larger effect on positive affect, laboratory-based nature exposure significantly improved people’s positive affect. Additionally, general exposure to nature slightly, but significantly, decreased negative affect. Window views of nature have been shown to provide a positive impact. Hospital patients with a window view of nature had faster recovery times and requested less pain medication than patients who viewed a brick wall (Ulrich, 1984). Chang and Chen (2005) had participants view different rooms: either one with a window view of nature, one with a window view of a city, or one without a window view. Both physiological as well as INDOOR NATURE, WELL-BEING, AND ENVIRONMENTALISM 6 state-anxiety measures indicated that participants in the window view of nature condition were the least nervous and tense (Chang & Chen, 2005). A window view of nature also has been shown to increase subjective well-being (Kaplan, 1993). Additionally, individuals’ pleasure and energy level increased, and tensions decreased, when they were exposed to natural elements, including window views of nature or potted plants (Beute & de Kort, 2017). Watching nature videos can have a similar effect on our well-being. Mayer, Frantz, Bruehlman-Senecal, and Dolliver (2009) found that participants’ positive emotions significantly increased after watching a nature video that simulated a walk through an arboretum, and that negative emotions marginally significantly increased when participants watched a city walk video. Nature videos can also reduce stress (Brown, Barton, & Gladwell, 2013; Jiang, Chang, & Sullivan, 2014; Ulrich et al. 1991). For example, participants in Ulrich et al., (1991) first watched a video to elicit stress, which led to increased skin conductance, blood pressure, muscle tension, and higher selfratings of fear and anger. Those who then viewed videos of nature recovered more quickly and completely than those who viewed videos of urban environments. Even something as small as momentarily viewing images of nature can increase positive affect. For instance, Pretty, Peacock, Sellens, and Griffin (2005) had participants run on a treadmill in a lab while they watched a sequence of natural or urban landscapes. Participants’ mood improved while watching natural, but not urban, landscape images. One does not need to be active while looking at images of nature to experience positive benefits: simply viewing a slideshow of nature photos increased the positive affect and INDOOR NATURE, WELL-BEING, AND ENVIRONMENTALISM 7 well-being of mildly stressed college students, while a show of urban photos diminished their subjective well-being (Ulrich,1979) Research has also found that even briefly noticing nature in one’s daily life is beneficial. Passmore and Holder (2017) conducted a two-week intervention in which participants continued their normal routines but were instructed to pay more attention to, as well as photograph, either nature or human-built objects. Participants who were assigned to notice nature had significantly higher positive affect and well-being scores after the intervention compared to those in the human-built and control groups. Thus, simply noticing nature can improve one’s well-being. Since many people may not have the time nor opportunity to spend as much time outdoors as they would like, it is important to test how exposure to long-term indoor nature might impact people’s wellbeing and stress. Eco-Conscious Behavior. In addition to previous research showing tha