The Overview Effect and Nature-Relatedness Provisionally Accepted
- 1Human Factors and Settlement, Kepler Space Institute, United States
- 2Aalborg University, Denmark
- 3Royal Society of Arts, United Kingdom
- 4Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, United Kingdom
Climate scientists increasingly agree that human behavior significantly contributes to global warming and biodiversity decline. Recent research emphasizes the importance of "human-nature connectedness" (HNC) as a reliable predictor of psychological well-being and increased engagement in proenvironmental behavior (PEB). While evidence supports a positive correlation between HNC and PEB, establishing causation remains elusive. Nevertheless, exploring this link is crucial, given its potential to enhance pro-environmental behavior. Considering the complex interplay of factors influencing PEB, developing effective interventions in this area requires a deeper understanding of the psychological and emotional processes involved. Armed with this understanding, stakeholders can design and implement successful sustainability interventions that promote well-being on individual, collective, and planetary levels.One psychological phenomenon believed to have a strong effect on HNC and PEB is "The Overview Effect," a term used to describe the shift in awareness some astronauts experience when viewing Earth from outside its atmosphere. This pilot study explored whether a 360 virtual reality Overview Effect (VROE) experience created by EarthscapeVR® influences human-nature connectedness and whether a correlation exists between participants' average HNC scores and openness to experience scores. 60 student participants took part in the study. The results showed significant increases in questionnaire reports on HNC (p <0.0021) in the experimental condition (VROE condition) compared to the control group (p = 0.97), with no correlation (r = 0.137) between participants' average HNC scores and openness to experience scores. While these results are not conclusive and further research is necessary, the initial findings support translating the Overview Effect into virtual reality to enhance human-nature connectedness.
Keywords: The overview effect1, Virtual Reality2, human-nature connectedness3, VR4Good 4, sustainability5
Received: 29 Mar 2023;
Accepted: 15 Apr 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Nezami, McKeever and Kourtis. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mr. Niall McKeever, University of Stirling, Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Stirling, FK9 4LA, Scotland, United Kingdom