Connectedness to nature may shape individual reactions to a pandemic crisis

Haasova, S. ., Czellar, S. ., Rahmani, L. ., & Morgan, N. . (2020). Connectedness with nature and individual responses to a pandemic: An exploratory study. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02215

The fact that COVID-19 likely originated in nature (specifically, wild animals) indicates that studies focusing on the human-nature connection may lead to a better understanding of how to contain such a crisis. This study used the lens of the human-nature relationship to investigate individual psychological responses to the pandemic. Two primary aims framed the study. The first aim was to map individual responses to the pandemic in terms of mental representations, behavioral tendencies, and perceived impact, and to explore the relationships of these constructs to individual levels of connectedness with nature. The second aim was to generate a roadmap for further research and theory development regarding the role of human-nature relationships in human reactions to the pandemic. The study was conducted in the United States at two time points during the coronavirus pandemic -- one in late March (2020) soon after a number of COVID-related restrictions were put in place; the other five weeks later. Data were collected through online surveys, with 486 respondents during the first phase and 533 during the second phase. The survey included several measures of nature connection and a series of attitudinal, perceptual and behavioral measures linked to pro-environmentalism, self-concept, and dimensions of psychological distance, all pertaining to the ongoing pandemic.

Responses relating to mental representations indicated that participants clearly perceived the pandemic to be more of an outcome of human activities than of natural causes. While participants generally assessed the pandemic situation negatively, participants with a stronger (vs. weaker) connection to nature tended to have more positive thoughts about the coronavirus, including an appreciation of how movement restrictions benefitted the environment. Responses relating to behavioral tendencies showed that participants generally complied with health security measures, rated their personal self-efficacy in managing the pandemic situation fairly well, and rated their preparedness to act as quite high. Participants with a stronger (vs. weaker) connection to nature, however, reported higher compliance with health safety measures as well as preparedness to act in the time of the pandemic. Participants with stronger connected to nature also estimated a higher likelihood of contracting the virus themselves and a higher likelihood of others in their area contracting it as well.

There were some shifts in pandemic-related attitudes and relationships to nature connection from phase one to phase two. “At time 1, a higher (vs. lower) nature connectedness was associated with a stronger attribution to natural causes without being accompanied by more positive thoughts/attitudes about the pandemic. At time 2, a higher (vs. lower) nature connectedness was associated with a more positive view of the pandemic, despite the lack of its stronger attribution to natural causes.”

While this research suggests that nature connectedness may shape individual reactions to a global pandemic crisis, more research is needed to understand this relationship and potential implications more fully. A series of research propositions and questions are proposed for future inquiry.

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