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Nature Makes You Nicer

People more focused on others when primed with natural imagery, research shows

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 18, 2009 4:55 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Being around the natural world or representations of it makes you a better person, Miller-McCune reports. A study finds that people shown slides of natural landscapes rated community-oriented goals—such as “to work for the betterment of society”—as more important to them than self-oriented goals—for example, “to be financially successful.” Those shown cityscape slides, by contrast, prioritized selfish goals.

Tests involving a “funds distribution” game also found that nature-primed individuals were more generous than those shown cityscapes. It may be that “nature affords individuals the chance to follow their interests and reduces pressures, fears … and social expectations,” the researchers wrote in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin—while man-made settings have the opposite effect.

Tourists walk in front of Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina's Patagonia region.
Tourists walk in front of Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina's Patagonia region.   (AP Photo)
President Barack Obama and his family tour the Grand Canyon, Aug. 16, 2009.
President Barack Obama and his family tour the Grand Canyon, Aug. 16, 2009.   (AP Photo)
A boy fishes at Rawal Lake in a suburb of Islamabad, Pakistan, Aug. 17, 2009.
A boy fishes at Rawal Lake in a suburb of Islamabad, Pakistan, Aug. 17, 2009.   (AP Photo)
This 1995 file picture shows String Lake with snow-covered mountains in background at Grand Teton National Park, Wyo.
This 1995 file picture shows String Lake with snow-covered mountains in background at Grand Teton National Park, Wyo.   (AP Photo)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 7 comments
rajanKazhmin
Aug 19, 2009 12:26 PM CDT
the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.
Snowleopard
Aug 19, 2009 7:12 AM CDT
so you're suggesting the nicer, more stress-free individuals tend to be more attracted to nature? nah, that's crazy talk.
Unaffiliated
Aug 18, 2009 11:58 AM CDT
Correlation != Causation

 
social responsibility • psychology • nature • generosity • community • social behavior

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