Exposure to awe-evoking natural and built scenes has positive effects on cognitive performance and affect

We investigated the possible restorative effects of exposure to awe-evoking scenes (natural/built) compared with mundane scenes (natural/built). A careful selection of visual stimuli was carried out, followed by an experiment with 250 participants. We included a mentally fatigued condition and a not mentally fatigued condition (i.e., control group). Participants’ performance on an attentional task and positive affect were recorded before (T0) and after (T1) exposure to one of four slideshows (i.e., natural/built, awe-evoking; natural/built, mundane). In addition, participants reported how restored they felt after the slideshow presentation, and how awe-evoking and familiar the slideshow was for them. Our depletion task did not affect participants’ performance on the attentional task at T0, so we cannot claim that psychological restoration took place. Nevertheless, we found positive effects of exposure to awe-evoking scenes, and we provide alternative explanations for these effects

Enhancing nature conservation and health: Changing the focus to active pro-environmental behaviours

Most research about the promotion of pro-environmental behaviours has focused on actions conducted at home (e.g. energy saving). While acknowledging their relevance, the effect of such behaviours on the mitigation of two of the most relevant global environmental problems (climate change and biodiversity loss) is relatively small. We present a literature review with two main objectives. First is to introduce the concept of active pro-environmental behaviours. These are a combination of outdoor physical activities and pro-environmental behaviours. The latter involve behaviours that have a minimum impact on the environment, or even have positive consequences for the environment. Active commuting and tree planting are examples of active pro-environmental behaviours. The second objective is to discuss the relevance of active pro-environmental behaviours for people’s health and sustainability and, thereby, to encourage more research and efforts towards the promotion of these behaviours. We conclude by suggesting how stakeholders can promote active pro-environmental behaviours

Children’s restorative experiences and self-reported environmental behaviors

Positive experiences in nature relate to children’s environmental behaviors. The reasons for this link remain unknown. One possibility is that children behave more ecologically because they obtain benefits from spending time in nature. In the present study, we looked at positive experiences in nature, specifically restoration, as a motivational factor enhancing children’s proenvironmental behavior. Children (N = 832) rated their school yards in terms of restoration and reported their frequency of proenvironmental behaviors as well as their environmental attitudes. Perceived restoration predicted 37% of the variance in reported proenvironmental behavior. Moreover, this relationship was completely mediated by environmental attitudes. In addition, fascination, a component of restoration, was the only direct predictor of proenvironmental behavior.This research has been carried out supported by the Spanish Ministry of Sciences and Innovation (PSI 2009-13422)

Experiencing nature and children’s conceptualizations of the natural world

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Children's Geographies on 27/05/2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/14733285.2016.1190812This paper examines young children’s concepts of nature, paying attention to the role played by types of daily experiences with nature on 832 children’s constructions of the natural world. We observed the roles of three types of experiences, as determined by the children’s place of residence (urban, rural mountain range, and rural agricultural) in Spain. Participants wrote what they thought about when hearing the word ‘nature’. Content analysis revealed a conceptual structure formed with four underlying and interconnected themes: (1) natural and non-natural elements, (2) the human–nature relationship, (3) emotional experience of nature, and (4) actions in natural settings. The type of daily experiences with nature (i.e. urban, rural mountain range, and rural agricultural) accounted for variability in children’s concept of nature. These results reinforce the importance of considering the role played by personal and situational characteristics in shaping children’s constructions of the natural worldThis work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [grant number PSI-2013-44939

Experiencia infantil en la naturaleza: efectos sobre el bienestar y las actitudes ambientales en la infancia

Tesis doctoral inédita, leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Ecología. Fecha de lectura: 15-06-201

Psychological Impact and Associated Factors During the Initial Stage of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Among the General Population in Spain

The outbreak of COVID-19 in Spain started at the end of February. By 9th April 2020 Spain was the second country in confirmed cases and in deaths. On March 14, 2020, the Spanish Government declared the state of alarm to limit viral transmission. During such state, citizens must stay confined at home with few justified exceptions. This whole situation drastically changed the life of the population, which can cause a wide range of psychosocial impacts. This study explored the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general adult population (N = 3055) during the first stages of the outbreak in Spain, as well as their anxiety, stress and depression levels. We also examined the extent to which the following variables were associated to participants’ mental health: (1) demographics; (2) degree of concern about the pandemic; (3) environmental conditions during the home confinement, (4) changes in daily life as a consequence of the pandemic; (5) contact with the COVID-19 disease; (6) actual and perceived severity of the crisis; (7) information about the COVID-19, (8) perceived health status and (9) leisure activities conducted within the last 24 h. Our results show that Spanish consider the current COVID-19 health crisis as fairly severe, and the majority felt that the COVID-19 crisis had greatly impacted on their daily life, including changes in their daily routines and cancelation of important activities. About 36% of the participants reported moderate to severe psychological impact, 25% showed mild to severe levels of anxiety, 41% reported depressive symptoms, and 41% felt stressed. Women, young, and those who that lost their job during the health crisis showed the strongest negative psychological symptoms. What worried Spaniards the most was the likelihood of suffering an economic crisis derived from the pandemic. We found factors associated with better mental health, such as being satisfied with the information received about the health crisis, conducting leisure activities, and the perception of being in good health. These findings can be used to design psychological interventions to help coping with COVID-19 pandemic, both in Spain and other countries

Innovation for environmental sustainability: longitudinal effects of an education for sustainable development intervention on university students’ pro-environmentalism

Purpose Although education for sustainable development (ESD) is a key tool in the transition to a more sustainable society, its integration in higher education remains scarce. One reason for this is that more evidence is needed about the effectiveness of ESD interventions. This study aims to address this gap in the literature by examining the immediate and long-term effects of an ESD intervention on university students' pro-environmental knowledge, personal environmental norm and pro-environmental behaviors. Design/methodology/approach This study used a quasi-experimental design that examined to what extent participating in an ESD intervention influenced university students' self-reported pro-environmentalism (i.e. experimental group), compared to those who did not participate in the ESD intervention (i.e. control group). The authors also examined the longitudinal effects of the ESD intervention by recording students' pro-environmentalism (both in the experimental and control group) 1 year after the intervention. Findings The findings showed that participation in the ESD intervention enhanced students' pro-environmental knowledge, personal environmental norms and pro-environmental behaviors relative to the no-participation control group. The positive effects of the ESD intervention remained 1 year after the program finished. Originality/value This work explores the effects that ESD interventions have on university students. Its findings provide evidence about the effectiveness of the intervention and, therefore, support the inclusion of ESD at higher educational levels

Comparativa del uso de la banca online entre los estudiantes universitarios de España y Finlandia = Comparative of uses of online banking by university students between Spain and Finland

El objetivo de este proyecto es la comparativa del uso de la banca online entre los estudiantes de España y Finlandia. Este trabajo se divide en dos partes principalmente: la descripción del sector bancario en ambos países y el análisis de los datos obtenidos. En la primera parte del trabajo se ha llevado a cabo una contextualización del sector bancario, así como el desarrollo de la banca tradicional a la banca online. Además se ha explicado cada una de las entidades más importantes para cada país, así como los datos más relevantes y actualizados de cada una de ellas en ambos países objetos de estudio. La segunda parte está relacionada con el análisis de los datos obtenidos a partir de las fuentes primarias (entrevistas y encuestas) y el análisis de los mismos para poder realizar la comparativa objeto de este trabajo. Por último se realizan unas conclusiones con todos los resultados e información obtenidos en este trabajo

The utility and limitations of the New Ecological Paradigm scale for children

The New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale adapted for use with children (NEP-C) is one of the most frequently used measures of children’s environmental beliefs. Though widely utilized, the limitations of the NEP-C instrument are often overlooked. Based on a systematic synthesis of existing literature examining the NEP-C, we argue that the scale assesses specific types of beliefs within the larger NEP, that some children have difficulty comprehending items of this scale, and that the one-factor and three-factor models proposed in the original NEP-C did not achieve an exact fit to empirical data. Additionally, the relevance of the NEP-C total score as a predictor of children’s pro-environmental behaviors is questionable. Although the NEP-C is useful for measuring specific types of environmental beliefs, many researchers using this scale may be interested in broader constructs. We highlight potential benefits and drawbacks of using the NEP-C and discuss new directions for environmental education research

Spanish version of the new ecological paradigm scale for children

The New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale has been extensively used to measure adults’ environmental attitudes. However, it has only recently been adapted for use with children. This paper presents a Spanish version of the NEP Scale for Children, examines children’s ecological beliefs according to socio-demographic variables as well as the relationship between children’s ecological beliefs and pro-environmental behavior. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted, followed by confirmatory factor analysis. In addition, the instrument’s internal consistency was studied and links between environmental attitudes, age, and ecological behavior in children were examined through correlation analyses. The results show that children’s ecological worldviews can be described by a dimension called “overall ecocentrism”. Analysis of variance demonstrated that children from rural areas exhibit a more ecocentric worldview than those from urban areas. The results also denote gender differences.This study was conducted thanks to the support of the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PSI 2009-13422)