Nicoleta Raban-Motounu
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natural environment, positive emotions, negative emotions, needs awareness, goal awareness.
The present study is based on Kaplan and Kaplan’s (1989) theory explaining the restorative effects that nature has on a person’s psychic. According to this theory, nature exerts a “soft fascination” combining the activation of involuntary attention mechanisms with the reflexive awareness, allowing a spontaneous detachment from stress factors and automatic functioning, and also the feeling of compatibility between personal purposes, and the possibilities for action offered by the environment (a sense of meaning). Our objective was to investigate the effects of nature on Self awareness: the immediate, emotional experience; needs awareness and organization; plans for action, and availability of resources, both personal, and external. We conducted an experiment with an experimental group (persons watching a video with life in nature) and an active control group (involved in a psychotherapeutic technique focused on confronting and solving personal difficulties by creative means, accompanied by a short psychological analysis). The effects were assessed in terms of “here and now” emotions and available resources according to a self-evaluation scale, and with open-ended questions regarding personal needs and goals. The results showed that, for the experimental group, the relaxation effects and the awareness of long term goals were stronger, while all the other effects were the same as for the control group. The results suggest that indeed, nature helps a person get in contact with her profound Self, allowing the access to both “here and now” basic needs, and also long term goals (inner sources of meaning), the sense of connection between internal tendencies, personal, and external resources, resulting in increased positive emotions, and decreased negative emotions. Nature contemplation may facilitate a meditative state whit all its positive effects.
