An Individual’s Connection to Nature Can Affect Perceived Restorativeness of Natural Environments. Some Observations about Biophilia

TLDR

Perceived restorativeness may depend on an individual’s connection to Nature and may vary with the biophilic quality of the environment, which is thought to have provided evolutionary advantages. This study investigates how a person’s sense of connection to Nature influences their perception of a natural environment’s restorative value. The authors assessed connection to Nature and perceived restorativeness in individuals visiting three parks differing in naturalness and biophilic quality. Results show that perceived restorativeness is linked to both the level of connection to Nature and the biophilic quality of the environment, indicating that individuals with varying degrees of nature connection seek settings with differing restorative and biophilic attributes.

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between the level to which a person feels connected to Nature and that person’s ability to perceive the restorative value of a natural environment. We assume that perceived restorativeness may depend on an individual’s connection to Nature and this relationship may also vary with the biophilic quality of the environment, i.e., the functional and aesthetic value of the natural environment which presumably gave an evolutionary advantage to our species. To this end, the level of connection to Nature and the perceived restorativeness of the environment were assessed in individuals visiting three parks characterized by their high level of “naturalness” and high or low biophilic quality. The results show that the perceived level of restorativeness is associated with the sense of connection to Nature, as well as the biophilic quality of the environment: individuals with different degrees of connection to Nature seek settings with different degrees of restorativeness and biophilic quality. This means that perceived restorativeness can also depend on an individual’s “inclination” towards Nature.