Psychological Restoration and Nature Connectedness in terms of "Bottom-up" and "Top-down" Approaches to Understanding Interaction with Nature

Abstract

Relevance. The article presents an overview of notions about the foreign environmental psychology constructs — psychological restoration and nature connectedness. The constructs represent the effects of person's relationship with nature and are thought of as a resource of health/well-being. Objective. To reveal general characteristics of the constructs and to analyze them from the point of view of the "bottom-up" (evolutionary-psychological) and "top-down" (constructivist) approaches to understanding the salutogenic effects of interaction with nature. Methods. Analysis and generalization of theoretical and empirical research within the framework of foreign and Russian environmental psychology. Results. The constructs are characterized using the following criteria: basic conceptual assumptions, specific constructs, measures, empirical support. The theoretical foundations of constructs and their role in empirical studies are considered from the point of view of "bottom-up" and "top-down" approaches. Based on the review, we identified a trend towards the integration of approaches, and highlighted points that should be taken into account when studying the salutogenic effects of interaction with nature. Among them are mediation and moderation schemes, which include variables of psychological restoration and nature connectedness, they are "predisposed" to support "bottom-up" and "top-down" assumptions, respectively. When studying restorative environments, it is worth predicting the likely influence of “top-down” variables: traits, values, attitudes. In Russian studies, mostly appears the construct of connection with nature