Mindfulness, connectedness to nature, personal ecological norm and pro-environmental behavior: A daily diary study

Abstract

The concept of mindfulness has been discussed as being a promising pathway to strenghten pro-environmental behavior, that is at the same time related to personal well-being. Several studies identified correlations between trait mindfulness and pro-environmental behavior (PEB) and identified different mediators. To obtain better, fine-grained insights into this connection, the present study investigated mindfulness as a predictor of same-day connectedness to nature, personal ecological norm activation (PENA), PEB and well-being on a within-person level. In a daily diary study (N = 183, days = 1197), multilevel regression analysis showed: (i) positive same-day within-person relationships between mindfulness and PENA, connectedness to nature and well-being; (ii) a significant effect of mindfulness on next-day PEB; (iii) relationships between regular mind-body practices, such as mindfulness meditation, and daily PEB. Path analysis showed, (iv) a path from mindfulness to PEB mediated by connectedness to nature and PENA. The study confirms the significance of mindfulness in every-day life for connectedness to nature, PENA and well-being. Furthermore, the study points out the relevance of investigating predictors of PEB on a within-person level

Keywords

• mindfulness
• connectedness to nature
• pro-environmental behavior
• well-being
• daily diary