Through the lens of a naturalist: How learning about nature promotes nature connectedness via awe

Environmental educators stress the importance of engaging with the wonders of the Earth in promoting nature connectedness. However, it remains unclear if learning about nature has an incremental effect beyond mere exposure to nature and what psychological mechanism can explain such a learning effect...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: NG, Shu Tian, LEUNG, Angela K. Y., CHAN, Sarah Hian May
Format: text
Language:English
Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2023
Subjects:
Awe
Online Access:https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3844
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/5102/viewcontent/ThroughLensNaturalist_av.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Institution: Singapore Management University
Language: English
Description
Summary:Environmental educators stress the importance of engaging with the wonders of the Earth in promoting nature connectedness. However, it remains unclear if learning about nature has an incremental effect beyond mere exposure to nature and what psychological mechanism can explain such a learning effect if it exists. To fill this gap, we propose a mediation model in which learning about nature promotes a sense of awe—a self-transcendent emotion associated with the recognition of vastness in nature. A sense of awe, in turn, promotes nature connectedness. Study 1 employed a cross-sectional survey and offered preliminary support for the proposed model, with participants who showed greater knowledge about nature (assessed by a species identification quiz) reporting higher levels of dispositional awe and nature connectedness, even after controlling for contact with nature. Study 2 was an experimental study that administered a two-week intervention where participants learned about nature with the help of two smartphone applications, Google Lens and Seek by iNaturalist. Results showed that there was an indirect effect of learning about nature on nature connectedness via awe among participants with higher levels of engagement with the intervention. The practical implications of our findings are discussed.