Connecting to Nature: Mindfulness and Desire to Engage in Pro-Environmental Behaviors

The present set of studies used a brief mindfulness induction with an active control group to examine how mindfulness affects connectedness to nature and desire to engage in pro-environmental behaviors. Additionally, phone use was included as another variable to test how technology may change the effect of mindfulness practice. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions in a 2(mindfulness vs. control) x 2(phone use vs no phone use) design. Results indicated that participants in the mindfulness condition experienced higher levels of mindfulness than those in the control condition. Correlational analyses showed an association between state mindfulness and being more connected to nature and desire to engage in pro-environmental behaviors. However, the mindfulness practice did not lead to a direct increase in connection to nature or pro-environmental behaviors. The participants who used a phone also reported higher levels of connection to nature and pro-environmental behaviors, opposite of the original hypothesis. These results suggest that individuals may need extended mindfulness practice in order to see any change in behavior.