Human well-being and environmental health are both important priorities. The links between them are complex. Although we exploit natural resources to improve well-being, healthy eco-systems and connections with nature seem to foster human health and happiness. Research suggests that spending time in nature and creating subjective connections with nature are associated with both happiness and sustainable behaviour. Recent work has extended these findings in important ways. For example, new data from the Gallup World Poll explore some links with representative samples of most nations on Earth; experience sampling data link these constructs in daily life while minimizing recall biases; and some experimental interventions appear promising. This speaker session will review theoretical ideas and new data to address the hope that treating nature well can also be a path to human happiness.
John Zelenski is a Professor of Psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. Throughout his academic career, Dr. Zelenski has made significant contributions to understanding the interplay between individuals and their surroundings, focusing on how natural environments impact human well-being. Central to his inquiries is the overarching theme of happiness. As a researcher and director of the Carleton University Happiness Laboratory, he studies individual differences in happiness, and how personality manifests itself 'in the moment' as emotional, behavioural, and cognitive processes. Recent work has focused on two areas: the causes and consequences of social behaviour (e.g., in relation to the personality trait of introversion-extraversion), and the links among nature, people's sense of connection to nature (nature relatedness), happiness, and environmentally sustainable behaviour.
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