How High Sensitivity Drives Sustainability: the Power of Awe and Nature Connectedness

Study background

Recent research, including our own (1) and that of others (2), has found that highly sensitive people tend to be more connected with nature than those who are less sensitive. This is an important finding given that being connected with nature confers various wellbeing benefits (3).

In addition, if highly sensitive people are indeed more connected with nature, they may be more inclined to care for it, therefore behaving in ways that protect and respect the environment (4). Along with a deeper connectedness to nature, the depth of processing component of high sensitivity might help highly sensitive people to be more considerate of the long-term consequences of their actions, fostering pro-environmental behaviours.

Given the critical importance of preserving and restoring the environment for human and planetary health, this study aims to investigate:

1.  whether awe is a psychological factor contributing to the stronger connection to nature experienced by highly sensitive people.
2. whether individuals with a heightened sensitivity engage in more sustainable (pro-environmental) behaviours and which psychological factors underlie these behaviours.

Method

We surveyed a large sample of 807 people, who answered different sets of questions using validated scales.

In order to address our first hypothesis, participants were asked to report on their nature connectedness, by rating items like ‘I often feel a kinship with animals and/or plants’, and their susceptibility to awe, with items like ‘I feel wonder almost every day’.

For the second hypothesis, we assessed pro-environmental behaviour with questions like ‘How often do you turn off the lights when leaving a room?’, and consideration of future consequences, with questions like ‘I am ready to sacrifice my current happiness or well-being in order to achieve future results’. Additionally, we measured sensitivity with the brief Highly Sensitive Person Scale (5).

We conducted two main analyses. First, we determined whether awe is a key psychological factor leading highly sensitive people to be more connected with nature. Second, we examined whether a strong connection to nature and the consideration of future consequences of one’s actions are determinants in promoting pro-environmental behaviour among highly sensitive people.

Key Findings

Both our initial predictions were supported. In fact, in relation to our first hypothesis, we found that awe is a significant mediator between higher sensitivity and connectedness with nature. Regarding our second, we found that both nature connectedness and consideration of future consequences were mediators between high sensitivity and pro-environmental behaviour.

What does that mean?

In essence, those who score higher on the sensitivity scale experience more awe when it comes to noticing the beauty of nature, which in turn results in feelings of greater connectedness with nature. Experiencing a profound admiration for nature is in line with one of the components of environmental sensitivity, namely aesthetic sensitivity.

More importantly, together with the propensity to consider the consequences of one’s actions for the planet more deeply, the strong connection with nature fosters pro-environmental behaviours. Therefore, highly sensitive people not only connect more with nature but they also report to be more active in protecting the environment.

Main Contribution

This study is the first to show that highly sensitive people are more prone to engage in sustainable behaviours in order to take care of the planet. By elucidating the psychological factors linking high sensitivity with pro-environmental behaviour, we offer new insights about this trait and demonstrate why highly sensitive people can have a crucial role in planetary health.

Future Research

Future studies should focus on using methods other than surveys to explore these factors and develop interventions supporting pro-environmental behaviour in the wider population.