Comparing the effect of mindful and other engagement interventions in nature on attention restoration, nature connection, and mood

Abstract

Mindful engagement interventions have been shown to improve psychological benefits of nature experiences but to date there has been little evaluation of their efficacy compared with other forms of engagement. An online experimental study was conducted to compare different forms of engagement with nature. Before and after a 20-min outdoor experience, participants (n = 215) completed surveys on state-mindfulness, connection with nature, and mood, and then the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART). Participants were randomly allocated to one of four engagement intervention groups: mindful engagement, directed engagement, mind wandering, and an unguided control group. The groups did not differ on connection with nature or positive affect after the nature experience, when accounting for the baseline measures, however the mind wandering group reported significantly lower negative affect than the directed engagement group. Overall, SART outcomes indicated that the unguided control group had the greatest level of attention restoration, suggesting that all three engagement interventions taxed the attention system. Mediation analyses indicated that there was an indirect effect of state mindfulness on the psychological outcomes, primarily for the mindful engagement group when contrasted with the unguided control. The findings challenge the idea that all forms of heightened engagement enhance the experience of nature and resulting psychological outcomes. We use these findings to outline considerations for designing and applying engagement interventions in nature for specific outcomes.