Exploring the effects of outdoor activities and connectedness with nature on cognitive styles and creativity : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
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Date
2017
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Massey University
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Abstract
The natural environment’s potential to improve education, work, and lifestyles is
receiving increasing attention by policy makers and practitioners. Psychological research has
demonstrated that stress reduction, attention restoration, and increased creativity can result
from exposure to nature. Such evidence notwithstanding, the precise psychological
mechanisms explaining these effects remain unclear. This thesis provides a systematic
examination of how contact with nature might affect humans. Four studies were conducted.
Study 1 reports two meta-analyses (N = 10701, k = 100) involving: (i) 66 studies using preand
post-test designs, and (ii) 32 experimental studies that include a control group. Although
outdoor activities have been found overall to affect personal and social outcomes positively,
there has been limited research into the effects on cognitive variables of exposure to outdoor
environments. To address this gap in the literature, I aim to investigate whether contact with
nature (in two dimensions–the psychological attachment to nature and the physical exposure
to it) is associated with processes related to creativity (i.e., cognitive styles and divergent
thinking creativity). Study 2 (N = 138) tests the relationship between connectedness with
nature and cognitive styles and reports a significant positive association between
connectedness with nature and both innovative and holistic thinking styles. Building on this
finding, Study 3 (N = 185) not only replicates the results of Study 2 by controlling for wellbeing
processes, but includes a new creativity test to examine the link between connectedness
with nature and creative processes (connectedness with nature is found to be positively linked
with divergent-thinking creativity). As these three studies employ cross-sectional data where
causality cannot be inferred, the last study involves an experimental design. Study 4 (N = 93)
manipulates active versus passive engagement with nature and examines the mediating
impact of connectedness with nature on the link between outdoor activities and divergentthinking
creativity. Some theoretical explanations as to how nature might affect our creativity
are proposed. Potential limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed. The findings are intended to provide supporting evidence for the relationship between nature and creativity, and hopefully inform educational pedagogy and lifestyle choices likely to enhance creativity.
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Listed in 2017 Dean's List of Exceptional Theses
Keywords
Nature, Psychological aspects, Environmental psychology, Cognitive styles, Creative ability, Research Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES::Social sciences::Psychology::Environmental psychology, Dean's List of Exceptional Theses