Empathy Mediates the Relationship Between Nature Connectedness and Both Callous and Uncaring Traits

Fido, Dean; Richardson, Miles

doi:10.1089/eco.2018.0071

Cited by 18 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Therefore, the physical environment is able to generate responses in individuals and to influence their perception of well-being or discomfort: the environment appears to be a determining factor in the way people feel and act. Fido and Richardson (2019) and Capaldi et al (2014) have demonstrated that the connection with nature, mediated by empathy, is an innate affinity that stimulates people to behave correctly and respect the environment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeling connected to nature: validation of the connectedness to nature scale in the Italian context

Lovati,

Manzi,

Di Dio

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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Environmental issues are at the center of the political and cultural debate, representing one of the greatest challenges of our century. Sustainability and pro-environmental conducts are recognized as increasingly urgent to address the decay of ecosystems. To support the acquisition of attitudes that give greater consideration to environmental issues, experiencing a sense of connection with nature has been acknowledged in psychology as a particularly relevant individual component. Among the most commonly used scales in Anglo-Saxon context to analyses this feeling is the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS) assessing the emotional and experiential bond between humans and nature. To examine the reliability and validity of this scale in the Italian context, a study including 271 Italian adults (44,3% female; 55% males; Mean age = 34.70; SD = 13.584; age-range = 18-65 years) was conducted to establish evidence supporting the internal consistency of the CNS, as well as its ability to measure convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed that CNS in Italian has a single-factor structure as reported in the original version by Mayer and Frantz. Furthermore, as expected, positive correlations were observed between the CNS and pro-environmental attitudes and negative correlations with civic moral disengagement. Finally, as assumed, the CNS positively correlated with mental well-being. A broad vision of this study concerns the idea that individuals who have a stronger connection with nature are likely to exhibit reduced tendencies to cause harm to it.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeling connected to nature: validation of the connectedness to nature scale in the Italian context

Lovati,

Manzi,

Di Dio

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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“…This study also discovered the significant serial mediation of connectedness and empathy. The findings of previous studies suggested that connectedness could positively predict empathy, which jointly predicted prosocial behavior [ 37 ]. The evidence from clinical practice also found that human–animal bond training can increase individuals’ empathy [ 40 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies also confirmed that connectedness positively predicted empathy [ 37 ]. When participants perceived higher levels of connectedness or self-integration with others, they were more empathic toward others’ sufferings [ 30 , 38 , 39 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…On the contrary, stressing the distinction between self and others may decrease empathy [ 11 ]. Fido and Richardson [ 37 ] found that connectedness was positively associated with empathy and inversely associated with callous and uncaring, and empathy mediated the relationship between connectedness and both callous and uncaring traits. In addition, evidence from clinical practice research discovered that individuals increased their empathy after receiving human–animal bond training [ 40 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dispositional Awe Positively Predicts Prosocial Tendencies: The Multiple Mediation Effects of Connectedness and Empathy

Jiao

Luo

2022

IJERPH

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Awe is an emotion frequently experienced by individuals in different cultures. When individuals experience awe, they would feel a sense of connectedness to other people or nature arises, and shift their attention to the outside world, which would increase empathy for others in need and, in turn, improve their prosocial tendencies. To test this proposal, we applied a cross-sectional study using a questionnaire survey to collect a sample of 1545 (Nfemale = 988) in Asia, aged between 16 and 71 years old (M = 22.81, SD = 7.80). The Structural Equation Model and bootstrapping method were used to test the mediation effects of connectedness and empathy between awe and prosocial tendency. Results showed that dispositional awe positively predicted a prosocial tendency, which could be partially explained by the multiple mediation effects of connectedness and empathy, after controlling for the effect of the small self. The findings deepen researchers’ understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the relationship between awe and prosociality and have practical implications for cultivating awe and prosocial behavior.

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“…Moreover, since preliminary research has linked higher emotional intelligence and nature relatedness [71]-the latter being the extent to which an individual is drawn to, has awareness of, and fascination with, the natural world-there is room to explore research pathways. For example, nature relatedness is positively associated with cognitive and affective empathy, and inversely associated with callous and uncaring facets of personality [72]; thus, we might examine how empathy toward all wildlife (including rapidly disappearing invertebrates) is cultivated [73]; interdisciplinary teams can examine how personal connections with nature might influence the creative ideas that otherwise promote planetary health. Researchers have already shown that a 4-day immersion in natural environments can increase scores on the Remote Associates Test, a validated instrument measuring creative thinking and insight problem-solving [74].…”

Section: Imagination Creativity and Innovationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Project Earthrise: Inspiring Creativity, Kindness and Imagination in Planetary Health

Logan¹,

Berman

et al. 2020

Challenges

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The concept of planetary health blurs the artificial lines between health at scales of person, place and planet. At the same time, it emphasizes the integration of biological, psychological, social and cultural aspects of health in the modern environment. Our grandest challenges in the Anthropocene ultimately stem from human attitudes to each other and to our environment. However, solutions rarely confront the underlying value systems that created these interconnected problems, or the attitudes that perpetuate them. Too often, the dominant focus is on the “worst of human nature”, and devalues or neglects the importance of empathy, kindness, hope, love, creativity and mutual respect—the deeper values that unite, empower and refocus priorities of individuals and groups. Here, we call to normalize more creative, mutualistic approaches—including the perspectives of traditional and indigenous cultures—to positively influence normative value systems. We revisit the power of inspiration with the profound example of the Apollo 8 Earthrise photo which galvanized a fledgling planetary health movement over 50 years ago. Through the inaugural Earth Day that followed, we are reminded that its early organizers were not constrained in how they defined the “environment”. They and their primary speakers were as concerned about value systems as they were about pollution—that we cannot hope to solve our problems without addressing the attitudes that created them in the first place. We explore the ways in which the awe of Earthrise—and the contemporary science of creativity and studies of utopian thinking—might reinvigorate imagination, kindness and mutualism. We revisit the fundamental challenge offered by Pulitzer-Prize-winning microbiologist Rene Dubos and others in the afterglow of the Earthrise photo, and the inaugural Earth Day. This is a question of imagination: What kind of world we want to live in?

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Empathy Mediates the Relationship Between Nature Connectedness and Both Callous and Uncaring Traits

Cited by 18 publications

References 56 publications

Feeling connected to nature: validation of the connectedness to nature scale in the Italian context

Feeling connected to nature: validation of the connectedness to nature scale in the Italian context

Dispositional Awe Positively Predicts Prosocial Tendencies: The Multiple Mediation Effects of Connectedness and Empathy

Project Earthrise: Inspiring Creativity, Kindness and Imagination in Planetary Health

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