Wilderness Is the Prototype of Nature Regardless of the Individual’s Connection to Nature. An Empirical Verification of the Solastalgia Effect

Giuseppe Barbiero (), Rita Berto, Giulio Senes and Natalia Fumagalli
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Giuseppe Barbiero: GREEN LEAF—Laboratory of Affective Ecology, University of the Valle d’Aosta, 11100 Aosta, Italy
Rita Berto: GREEN LEAF—Laboratory of Affective Ecology, University of the Valle d’Aosta, 11100 Aosta, Italy
Giulio Senes: Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy
Natalia Fumagalli: Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 14, 1-15

Abstract: (1) Background: Connectedness with Nature is a personality trait that influences our relationship with Nature. But Nature is not all the same. Wilderness is Nature in its original form, the form within which human beings have evolved as a species, while what we refer to as domesticated and urban Nature are relatively recent products of our interaction with the environment. (2) Aim: The main purpose of this study was to verify whether the individual trait “connection to Nature” influences the perception of restoration, preference for and familiarity with three types of Nature: wilderness, domesticated and urban. (3) Results: Regardless of the level of connection to Nature, wilderness is always perceived as more restorative than the domesticated or urban environment. Individuals with higher connectedness prefer wilderness more than others, and they are able to recognise the restorative value of domesticated environments more than those with medium or low levels of connectedness. Less connected individuals tend to prefer domesticated environments, although wilderness is more familiar to them. (4) Conclusions: This study shows that, despite our detachment from Nature, wilderness is the prototype of Nature, and this finding offers a plausible evolutionary explanation of solastalgia.

Keywords: connection to Nature; perceived restorativeness; domesticated Nature; urban Nature; wilderness; solastalgia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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