Scientists have found that contact with nature has an encouraging effect on our psychological state.
A recent study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology suggests that spending time in nature may help us perceive others as fully human. This effect is mainly due to the sense of self-transcendence that nature evokes – a sense of connection to something greater than oneself. Researchers also found that heightened recognition of the humanity of others leads to prosocial behaviors, such as: B. Helping and cooperating with others. Understanding the humanity of others is a fundamental aspect of social interaction. It influences how we treat the people around us – whether we sympathize with them, help them, or avoid harming them.
However, there are many factors that can weaken this recognition and cause what psychologists call “dehumanization.” Dehumanization is associated with many negative outcomes, including increased aggression and reduced empathy. While the causes of dehumanization have been widely studied, less attention has been paid to how to increase the recognition of the humanity of others. Given that maintaining these recognitions is important for healthy social interactions, the researchers wanted to examine whether a commonly accessible experience – contact with nature – could increase the human recognition of others.
“Individuals are prone to overlook the humanity of others because they cannot directly recognize the mental states of others,” said study authors Xijing Wang, assistant professor at City University of Hong Kong, and Lei Cheng, lecturer at Fujian Normal University. “However, ignoring the humanity of others may have negative effects on interpersonal relationships, such as reduced prosocial behavior.” Therefore, we wanted to identify strategies that could improve perceptions of the humanity of others. Our study suggests that contact with nature, a novel and easily implemented approach, could effectively achieve this goal.
” To address this question, the researchers conducted a series of six studies, each aimed to investigate the impact of nature on human perceptions in different contexts. Participants in these studies came from diverse cultural backgrounds, including China, the United States, and the United Kingdom, helping to ensure that the results were not limited to a particular cultural or geographical background. The first study aimed to establish the relationship between contact with nature and increased perceptions of humanity. The researchers recruited 712 undergraduate students from multiple universities in China. Participants were divided into two groups based on their access to natural elements in their immediate living environment.
One group had regular access to nature (plants, trees, parks, etc.), while the other group had no such access. To assess (in)humanity, participants were asked to answer four questions designed to measure the degree to which they perceived humanity in others across society. Among the questions were statements such as “I feel that others are superficial and lacking depth” and “I feel that others are mechanical and cold.” The researchers controlled for variables such as social dominance orientation, the importance of material possessions, and perceptions of social status. The results showed that participants who had regular contact with nature perceived higher levels of humanity in others than participants who had no contact with nature.
This first study provided correlational evidence supporting the hypothesis that contact with nature is positively associated with perceptions of the humanity of others. To establish a causal relationship between contact with nature and perceptions of humanity, the researchers in Study 2 conducted a controlled experiment. They recruited 150 undergraduate students from a Chinese university and randomly assigned them to one of two conditions. In the nature condition, participants were placed in a room decorated with houseplants, whereas in the control condition, participants were placed in a room without any natural elements.
After participants spent five minutes in each environment, they were asked to rate the humanity of others using a questionnaire similar to the one used in Study 1. The results showed that participants in the natural condition perceived higher levels of humanity in others than participants in the control condition. This result provided experimental evidence that direct exposure to natural elements can causally increase perceptions of others’ humanity. Study 3 aimed to improve the ecological validity of the results by placing participants in a real-world environment. The researchers recruited 169 undergraduate students from a Chinese university and randomly assigned them to either the natural or control condition. In the natural condition, participants were taken to a park near the campus, while in the control condition, participants were taken to a busy street outside the campus.
Participants observed their surroundings for five minutes and then completed the same humanity attribution questionnaire. As expected, participants who spent time in the park (nature condition) reported higher humanity than participants who spent time on the street (control condition). This study supported a causal relationship between contact with nature and human perceptions in real-world environments.