August 3rd

By Mutt Mulligan

Outdoor time makes us more caring

We wanted to share a 2009 study from the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin that highlights another benefit of getting outdoors and into Nature.

According to the coauthor:

“Stopping to experience our natural surroundings can have social as well as personal benefits,” says Richard Ryan, coauthor and professor of psychology, psychiatry and education at the University of Rochester.

In other words, while we read often about the physical health aspects of getting oudoors, this study shows that the benefits extend to a person’s values and actions. Exposure to natural settings leads people to value community and close relationships and to be more generous with money.

How, you ask?  The authors note that the richness and complexity of natural environments may encourage introspection and the lack of man-made structures provide a safe haven from the man-made pressures of society. “Nature in a way strips away the artifices of society that alienate us from one another,” says Przybylski.

To read more about this interesting study, go here.