Connectedness to nature can facilitate the development of biospheric values, which can then serve as a motivating factor for pro-environmental behaviorsResearchers conducted three different but related studies to investigate the conceptual linkage between connectedness to nature, biospheric values and pro-environmental behavior. Various aspects of these related concepts have been previously studied but, for the most part, independently of each other. While self-nature connection and biospheric values are closely related, they are not the same. Connectedness to nature – also referred to as “self-nature connection” – is the extent to which an individual thinks of nature as a part of self. Connectedness to nature can also mean the feeling of being connected to the natural environment. Biospheric values is a value-based inclination to judge happenings or events based on how they harm or benefit ecosystems or the biosphere. As such, the importance of biospheric values to environmentalism is easily understood.
The three studies included in this research were based on the premise that connectedness to nature may be an important factor in promoting the development of biospheric values. Study 1 was designed to gather preliminary evidence to investigate the alternative paths to the development of sustainable behavior. The Connected to Nature Scale (CNS), a one-item measure of environmental attitude, and a environmentally relevant behavior task requiring participants to list as many environmentally friendly behaviors as they could were used to collect data for Study 1. Results supported a pathway from self-nature connections to biospheric values to pro-environmental behavior. Evidence did not support the opposite – that is, a model predicting that biospheric values facilitate self-nature connections, which lead to pro-environmental behavior. Study 2 used the CNS and the Inclusion of Nature in Self scale (INS) as measures of self-nature connections, along with the multi-item GREEN scale of biospheric values. The measure of pro-environmental behavior was a consumer purchase decision making task. Results of Study 2 were consistent with the results of Study 1, indicating that connectedness to nature facilitates biospheric values which can motivate environmentally friendly behavior. Study 3 used a quasi-experimental design to further test the viability of the alternative mediating pathway models. In addition to completing CNS and INS, Study 3 participants also completed a Love and Care of Nature (LCN) scale, designed to capture more of the emotional element of connectedness with nature. Measures of biospheric values included the GREEN Scale used in Study 2 and the single-item measure used in Study 1. Pro-environmental behavior was assessed using a multi-method approach: the list generating task from Study 1, report of previous engagement in environmentally friendly behaviors, a similar consumer purchasing task, as well as a philanthropic donation task. Results provided further support for the findings of Study 1 and 2.
This research provides evidence that a sense of connection to nature can contribute to the development of biospheric values, and that this value orientation can serve as a motivating factor for environmentally friendly behaviors. This evidence is based on several attitudinal, values, and behavioral tasks and supported by quasi-experimental results (Study 3). Additionally, these findings were found through online and laboratory settings (Study 3) and involved both US and European samples. This research suggests that enhancing opportunities for children and adults to connect with nature may be an effective way to promote pro-environmental behaviors. This research suggest that such efforts may be more important for people living in urban versus rural environments.
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