Nature contact promotes prosociality: The mediating roles of self-transcendence, nature connectedness, and materialism

Abstract

Current research proposes that nature contact promotes prosociality via enhancing nature connectedness and self-transcendence while decreasing materialism. These hypotheses were examined in five multimethod studies in laboratory and field settings. In Study 1, the self-reported nature contact was positively associated with general prosocial tendencies, and nature connectedness (Study 1a), self-transcendence, and materialism (Study 1b) mediated this relationship. In the lab-based Studies 2 and 3, through manipulating different types of contact, it was found that nature contact led to greater prosociality (i.e., donation willingness, cooperation, and helping behaviors) than urban contact and the control condition. The enhanced self-transcendence (Studies 2 and 3) and reduced materialism (Study 3) mediated the effect of nature contact on prosociality. Finally, in the field study (Study 4), it was found that engaging in nature (vs. urban) contact in daily life led to greater prosocial behavior (i.e., cooperation in the public goods game), and self-transcendence, nature connectedness, and materialism mediated this process. The present findings are valuable for advancing the conceptual understanding of the nature-human behavior relationship.