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Comparing hedonic, eudaimonic, and social well-being benefits of engaging in noticing nature to benefits of engaging in a common positive psychology intervention

University of British Columbia

The overarching goal of this study is to help establish “Noticing Nature” as a valid Positive Psychology Intervention (PPI). The Noticing Nature PPI is a two-week well-being exercise that involves noticing how everyday natural objects and scenes make you feel. This PPI has been tested in two previous studies (Passmore & Holder, 2017; Passmore & Yang, 2017) with student populations from Canada and China. The current study is unique in several ways. First, in a single study, effects of a two-week Noticing Nature (NN) PPI were compared to one of the most commonly cited PPIs (i.e.,Three Good Things). A control condition employed in previous studies validating PPIs was also utilized. Second, in addition to pre- and post-intervention assessments, the study included a follow-up assessment. Third, a broad array of individual and social well-being indices were employed that previous research has used when assessing the benefits of nature interventions, but that have not been employed when assessing the benefits of common PPIs. This allowed for the determination whether, as a PPI, Noticing Nature has benefits above-and-beyond effects associated with other PPIs. Lastly, four different samples (two from universities in Canada, one from a university in China, and an online sample) were recruited. This allowed for the examination of the generalizability of Noticing Nature as a valid PPI. At the end of the two-week intervention, participants in the Noticing Nature had significantly higher levels of transcendent connectedness, elevation, net-positive affect and significantly lower levels of stress compared to those in the control condition. Compared to participants in the Three Good Things condition, participants in the Noticing Nature condition had significantly higher levels of transcendent connectedness and elevation. One week post-intervention, levels of elevation remained significantly higher for those who noticed nature, compared to both the Three Good Things and the control condition. Participants engaged in the Noticing Nature during the follow-up a significantly greater number of days than did those in the other conditions.

Text

2019-09-11

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/71659

Psychology

University of British Columbia

UBCO

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/