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Wasting the restorative potential: Influences of plastic and biowaste on psychological restoration after real, virtual, and imagined walks
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This study across three experiments found that plastic litter, especially plastic waste, reduces subjective restoration, positive affect, and scenic attractiveness during nature walks compared to no-litter conditions. Biowaste served as an active control but showed lesser negative effects, while connectedness to nature and pro-environmental behaviors were not significantly altered by plastic presence.
Nature experiences benefit human wellbeing by, for example, increasing subjective restoration and positive affect while reducing negative affect. However, natural environments are threatened by several crises, including pollution. In three preregistered studies, one correlational and two experimental, we investigated the relationship between (plastic) litter and restoration after a walk. In Study 1, participants did a self-selected restorative walk and afterwards reported observed litter. In two experimental studies, we manipulated the presence of plastic waste, biowaste (which served as an active control condition with human-sourced but degradable litter), and no waste in a virtual (i.e., video; Study 2) and an imagined (Study 3) forest walk. In all studies, we assessed subjective restoration, current affect and connectedness to nature, attractiveness and preference of scenery, as well as plastic-related problem awareness, intentions, and policy support. Results showed that litter, especially from plastic, is associated with harmful changes in subjective restoration, affect, and the perception of the scenery. Connectedness to nature, as well as plastic-related problem awareness, intentions, and policy support were not affected by the presence of plastic. Thus, plastic pollution influences human wellbeing negatively, but did not affect factors important to reduce consumption. Therefore, more research on tackling the plastic crisis is needed.
More Papers Like This
Wasting the Restorative Potential: Influences of Plastic and Biowaste on Psychological Restoration After Real, Virtual, and Imagined Walks
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Researchers conducted three studies examining how plastic litter and biowaste in natural environments diminish the psychological restorative benefits of spending time in nature, finding that even imagined or virtually depicted litter reduced positive affect and perceived restoration. The findings highlight pollution as a threat not only to ecological health but also to human mental wellbeing.
Mindfulness promotes pro-environmental behaviors to reduce single-use plastic pollution
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Among 309 university students, mindfulness significantly increased pro-environmental behaviors targeting single-use plastic pollution, primarily by enhancing specific awareness of plastic harms rather than through general cognitive reappraisal, with the effect strongest among nature-connected individuals. These findings support mindfulness-based, issue-specific environmental education as a scalable behavioral intervention for reducing plastic pollution at the community level.
Impact of the citizen science project COLLECT on ocean literacy and well-being within a north/west African and south-east Asian context
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This preregistered study evaluated the impact of the COLLECT citizen science project—in which 410 secondary students from seven African and Asian countries sampled beach plastics—on ocean literacy, pro-environmental intentions, well-being, and nature connectedness using a pretest-posttest design. Participation significantly improved awareness of marine litter and self-reported litter-reducing behaviors, with positive spillover effects on broader pro-environmental intentions found in Benin and Ghana, and higher well-being in Benin.
Explicitly and Implicitly Measured Valence and Risk Attitudes Towards Plastic Packaging, Plastic Waste, and Microplastic in a German Sample
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This psychology study measured both explicit and implicit attitudes toward plastic packaging and microplastics in German consumers, finding that people simultaneously appreciate the convenience of plastic while expressing concern about pollution. The gap between attitudes and behavior helps explain why plastic consumption continues despite public concern about microplastics.
How Nature Connectedness and Mindfulness Moderate University Students' Awareness of Single-Use Plastic Pollution
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Researchers found that university students who feel connected to nature *and* practice mindfulness are much more likely to recognize the dangers of single-use plastic pollution — the combination worked better than either trait alone. This matters because plastic waste breaks down into microplastics that contaminate our food, water, and even our bodies, so understanding what makes people take this threat seriously could help schools and communities design better programs to cut plastic use before it ends up harming our health.
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