Nature connection, as the term is used in this paper, refers to a sense of “oneness” with nature. This “oneness” is viewed as an overlap between nature and self. Some research suggests that people who feel connected to nature engage in more pro-environmental behaviors (PEB). Some research even suggests that nature connection causes PEB. Single studies and even narrative reviews of the literature, however, are generally not enough to definitively state that people who feel connected to nature do more to protect it. Another concern relating to the published literature is the possibility of bias in favor of studies reporting positive effects. This meta-analysis aimed to address these concerns.
This meta-analysis analyzed the data from 92 studies -- 75 correlational, 17 experimental -- all conducted between 1998 and 2018 utilizing samples from childhood through older adulthood. Some of the included studies were unpublished. The rationale for including unpublished research relates to the concern that studies with null effects are less likely to be published and the fact that there were only a small number of published experimental studies. For the correlational studies, the combined total sample size was 27,120; the mean sample size 362. For the experimental studies, the combined sample size was 2039; the mean sample size 120. The correlational and experimental studies were analyzed separately.
Data from the correlational studies showed “exceptionally good evidence for a strong association between nature connection and PEB.” The estimated correlation was similar in published and unpublished studies. The association was robust across all the commonly-used measures of nature connection and remained strong across different variables, such as age, gender, ethnic diversity, or nationality of the populations studied. The relationship between nature connection and PEB differed significantly, however, across university student samples, non-student samples, and mixed samples, with the strongest association found in the university student samples. There was no evidence of publication bias in the correlational studies.
Data from the experimental studies showed some evidence of publication bias. The inclusion of unpublished studies addressed this concern. Of the 17 experimental studies, 8 were unpublished. Overall results of the data analysis of the experimental studies showed a small, significant causal effect of nature connection on PEB. This small effect may be due to the poor quality of manipulations of (i.e., exposure to) nature connection used in these studies. Most of the studies used brief artificial exposure to nature (images and videos) as the form of manipulation. This may not be a strong enough manipulation to promote a sense of oneness that fully captures nature connection.
“Overall, results of the meta-analyses of correlational and experimental studies suggest that connecting people with nature may be a promising avenue for promoting action to protect the environment and prevent harm to nature.” Recommendations for future research call for more experimental data with better quality manipulations of nature connection.
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