State Mindfulness as a Mediator of the Effects of Exposure to Nature on Affect and Psychological Well-Being

Participants (N = 94) were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions, watching a brief video of a nature scene or of an urban scene. Following the video exposure, participants responded to subjective measures. Those who were exposed to the nature video showed higher scores on connectedness to nature, positive affect, state mindfulness, and well-being than did those exposed to the urban video. State mindfulness mediated the relation between experimentally manipulated exposure to nature and affect as well as psychological well-being. These findings provide further evidence for the specific influence of mindfulness on well-being in conjunction with connectedness to nature. Key Words: Connectedness to nature—Mindfulness—Affect—Well-being.