Ecopsychology 

About: Ecopsychology is an academic journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Ecopsychology & Psychology. It has an ISSN identifier of 1942-9347. Over the lifetime, 502 publications have been published receiving 5520 citations.

Loss and Climate Change: The Cost of Parallel Narratives

Abstract: Climate change discourses present two parallel narratives—one about the problems of climate change and the other about the solutions. In narratives about the problem of climate change, loss features dramatically and terrifyingly but is located in the future or in places remote from Western audiences. In narratives about solutions, loss is completely excised. This article suggests that this division into parallel narratives is the result of a defensive process of splitting and projection, which protects the public from the need to truly face and mourn the losses associated with climate change. Its effect is to produce monstrous and terrifying images of the future accompanied by bland and ineffective proposals for change now. A more sophisticated understanding of the processes of loss and mourning, which allowed them to be restored to public narratives, would help to release energy for realistic and lasting programmes of change. Psychoanalytic models of grief and loss may be particularly helpful in achievin...

Mindfulness and Sustainable Behavior: Pondering Attention and Awareness as Means for Increasing Green Behavior

Abstract: Ecopsychologists have suggested that mindful awareness of our interdependence with nature may not only help us regain our lost, ecologically embedded identity (Roszak, 1992) but may also help us behave more sustainably, closing the documented gap between proenvironmental attitudes and behaviors. We suggest more specifically that, in contemporary consumer culture with its dearth of proenvironmental norms and cues, mindful attentiveness may be necessary to develop sustainable habits. To explore the connection between mindfulness and sustainable behavior, we measured 100 adults attending a Midwestern sustainability expo on two mindfulness factors: acting with awareness and observing sensations. As predicted, acting with awareness was significantly positively correlated with self-reported sustainable behavior. This finding is consistent with the idea that, until sustainable decisions become the societal default, their enactment may depend on focused consideration of options and mindful behavior. In contrast, ...

Experiencing Connection With Nature: The Matrix of Psychological Well-Being, Mindfulness, and Outdoor Recreation

Abstract: Ecopsychological theory and practice underscore the vital importance of realizing the interdependence between human beings and the diverse living universes that they inhabit. This article focuses on the mental health implications of the shift toward a more ecologically rooted identity by examining relationships between psychological well-being and the personal experience of connection with nature. Three separate surveys conducted with undergraduate and community samples assessed relationships between the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS), psychological well-being, mindfulness, and outdoor recreation. Higher CNS scores were consistently associated with greater trait mindfulness, more participation in appreciative outdoor activities, and higher scores on multiple measures of both hedonic and eudaimonic aspects of psychological well-being. Discussion focuses on informing optimal strategies for nature-based interventions.

Psychological Need Satisfaction, Personal Well-Being, and Ecological Sustainability

Abstract: This article presents a need-based theory to explore the potential compatibility of ecological sustainability and personal well-being. Relevant theoretical and empirical evidence is reviewed to demonstrate how ecological degradation can interfere with the satisfaction of needs for safety/security, competence, relatedness, and autonomy, thus causing lower well-being, and how ecologically sustainable environments and behavior can promote satisfaction of these four needs and thus higher well-being. Three avenues for interventions and policy change are then described, each of which has empirical evidence suggesting it holds promise for simultaneously promoting higher personal well-being and greater ecological sustainability. These include shifting individuals’ values from extrinsic, materialistic aims to intrinsic aims, helping individuals live voluntarily simple lifestyles, and supporting people’s desires for “time affluence.”

Conservation Volunteers’ Connection to Nature

Abstract: A better understanding of conservation volunteers' motivation can provide insight into the relationship between humans and nature and help conservation programs increase their effectiveness. We used surveys and interviews of Minnesota Master Naturalist volunteers to explore conservation volunteers' psychological connection to nature. Almost all volunteers felt a connection to nature, and for most of them, this connection began in childhood. Their desires to learn about, benefit, and teach others about nature were important motivators in their decision to take part in conservation volunteer programs, and volunteering helped them to stay connected to nature. Their volunteer activities addressed these motivations and also provided other personal benefits, including stress reduction, relaxation, and exercise. It is important that conservation volunteer programs share information about the environmental benefits that result from volunteers' work, helping them understand the results of their collective...