Connectedness to Nature and Compassion

There is great acknowledgement that there is a distinct connection between nature and compassion. Compassion is an in-depth emotional feeling or concern towards another person who is suffering. Connection with nature has a positive impact on the brain and behavior by helping to minimize stress and anxiety and increase attention and ability to connect with others. The problem in the study: are people or individuals who are more connected to nature also more compassionate. Therefore, to respond to the study problem; the research involved 24 students (14 male and 10 female students) from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Both genders were permitted to take part in the study because the nature of the study impacts on both genders. Both male and female can connect with nature and extend their interaction with nature to portray how compassionate they are. Primary data was collected using Google Forms Link which was sent to the participants via Facebook and email. The mean of compassion was 5.26 while the mean of connectedness to nature was 3.75. The standard deviation of compassion was 0.98 while the standard deviation of connectedness with nature was .55. Based on the results of the survey, there is a significant relationship between connectedness to nature and compassion 

Connectedness to Nature and Compassion 

Introduction 

There is great acknowledgement that there is a distinct connection between nature and compassion. Compassion is an in-depth emotional feeling or concern towards another person who is suffering. The profound impact of nature on compassion is attributed to its psychological benefits. Connection with nature has a positive impact on the brain and behavior by helping to minimize stress and anxiety and increase attention and ability to connect with others. Compassion is an innermost feeling that emerges when you connect with another person in order to help them elevate their mood and cope with the suffering condition ( Pfattheicher, Sassenrath, & Schindler, 2016) . This connection is similar to who individuals connect with nature. 

In the broad sense, nature describes the phenomenon of physical and natural materials of the world that defines human life. It entails the realm of living organisms such as animals and plants and inanimate objects and entities such as weather and geographical features. Depending on the particular context of application, all these objects shape the consciousness of the human mind. The consciousness of human mind on the other hand describes the mental and psychological composition of an individual which determines happiness. Individuals connect with nature using their psychological realm. 

Nature increases sensory awareness of the surrounding through a therapeutic relationship created through the interaction with nature. Exposure to a new or distorted environment leads to a renewed attention and focus since the brain tries to adjust and adapt to the new changes. In this domain, a strong connection with nature leads to a strong connection with other beings ( Cheng & Monroe, 2012) . When an individual is suffering or ailing, others notice the changes easily due to the connection. A relative attempt t understands the interconnectedness between nature and compassion is attributed to the scientific map of the human biological process which adopts the measures of hormones and nerves to connect with the surrounding ( Sprecher, & Fehr, 2005) . When the consciousness of an individual is active and well connected with nature, they are able to notice any slight change within nature. Sheer number of suffering in an individual’s surrounding leads to discomfort and overwhelming feeling to individual. The best way to feel normal is to connect with the person and make them feel comfortable. 

In this context, human beings with a strong connection with nature are able to notice individuals who are suffering. The most common step to take when an individual is suffering is to have an empathetic feeling because they form your world. The same way human beings take care of nature as an entity that makes up their world, it similar to the way they have an empathetic feeling when an individual is suffering (Mayer, & McPherson, 2004). Human beings tend to connect with others psychologically and show the desire to help them cope with the situation by taking action. The action is taken with an aim of ameliorating the person. 

Nature creates a positive self image which is important in creating self esteem. Interaction with natural experiences creates a therapeutic feeling which is a natural based intervention that boosts the psychological heath of human beings and assists them to maintain their behavior. This is important in creating confidence. Nature increases transpersonal flow of positive energy that brings balance of intrinsic motives, merging of awareness, and internal balance ( Sprecher, & Fehr, 2005) . The ultimate benefit is compatibility with the immediate environment which is important in creating empathy and compassion. 

Human connection with nature is associated with variety of psychological elements which are considered to be building blocks for compassion including relaxation, tranquility, peace, and restoration. These psychological benefits impact directly on the empathetic feeling of human beings. These elements are significant in reduction of conflict and faster recovery from stressing conditions ( Pfattheicher, Sassenrath, & Schindler, 2016) . When individuals are well connected with nature, their natural response to stimuli is well built. This is also replicated to compassionate feeing which is a response to external stimuli of other people’s suffering. 

A study by Stephen and Cynthia based on the connectedness to a natural scale used a connectedness to nature scale which was developed in an Environmental Psychology Course based on Leopold’s work to measure the tendency of individual ( Pfattheicher, Sassenrath, & Schindler, 2016) . The scale was designed based on 17 items that measured the extent to which individuals feel a section of natural world. According to the results, in a scale of up to 5-points, 5 participants strongly agreed, 1 participant strongly disagreed. The reliability of the study was alpha=.72 which was fairly low. Based on the results, it is significant that nature increases compassionate among human beings. 

Purpose 

The paper seeks to explore the extent to which nature makes people compassionate. 

Research questions 

What is the relationship between nature and compassion? 

Is there any influence that nature has on compassion? 

Hypothesis 

H 1 : There is no significant relationship between nature and compassionate 

H o : There is a significant relationship between nature and compassionate 

Methodology 

Participants 

The majority of participants were students from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Both genders were permitted to take part in the study because the nature of the study impacts on both genders. Both male and female can connect with nature and extend their interaction with nature to portray how compassionate they are. All the participants were 24. 14 of the participants were male while the rest (10) were female. The age bracket of the individuals who took part in the study was 19-70 years. The mean age of the participants was 27 while the standard deviation (SD) age of the participants was 12.01. 

Participants completed the survey on a voluntary basis. They volunteered to take part in the survey based on personal will. There was no any form of compensation. 

Design 

Sampling of samples was done based on personal convenience because the nature of the study ascribes to the general population. 24 participants were selected to represent the entire population. The sample size was not predetermined since the number of participants was taken based on the individuals required to provide adequate information on the fundamental element of the phenomenon relationship between nature and compassion and provide optimum results to the hypothesis of the study. 

The independent variable of the study was compassion while the dependent variable was nature. Intervening variables included age. The ultimate age bracket was 19-70 years. The study was correlation survey because it was aiming a ascertaining whether there is a relationship between nature and compassion. The purpose of the study is to determine the extent to which nature makes people compassionate. In this context the methodology employed will determine if there is a relationship between nature and compassion. 

Measure 

R Studio is the ultimate software that was utilized to measure the study. Social Package for the Social Science (SPSS) was used to analyze the data, specifically to find the cronbach alpha. Cronbach alpha was utilized to measure the reliability and consistency of the survey. It used the connectedness to nature scale and the compassion scale which both ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) up to 5 (strongly agree). The cronbach was intended to measure if the scale was reliable in its internal consistency. 

Considering that Google Forms Link was used in data collection issues of biasness, communication barrier, and dishonesty by the respondent is a common occurrence. Consistency of the Data was measured to review dishonest in data collection. Cronbach alpha was used to measure the reliability of the data. 

Procedure 

Primary data was collected using Google Forms Link which was sent to the participants via Facebook and email. They were designed with 22 questions. The questions were structured to collect data that will assist in providing insight regarding goal of the survey. The Google Forms Link was open ended to provide participants with great ideal of freedom in expressing their opinions. The survey was done online. The two major platforms for data collection were using email and Facebook. 

At the beginning of the survey, an agreement form was provided to the participants to ensure that they acknowledge that it their information was given on a voluntary basis. The participants were notified that the data being gathered is for research purposes and that their feedback will not be shared to a third party. Informed consent lies in situations where an individual’s case is knowingly or voluntarily used in the case study. It should be achieved in a free will that is not connected to harm, intimidation, discomfort, or any form of privacy invasion. It conformed to the ethics of research by not listing the name, contact, or address of participants. This was vital in upholding integrity which is an attribute of a good researcher. 

Results 

Descriptive Statistics 

The mean of compassion was 5.26 while the mean of connectedness to nature was 3.75. The standard deviation of compassion was 0.98 while the standard deviation of connectedness with nature was .55. 

Inferential Statistics 

The correlation of the study was .55. Reliability measure of the study using cronbach was .91> .70 for compassion and .75> .70 for nature. 

The results indicate that there was a positive correlation between the two variables compassion and nature. Based on the outcome of the survey, both variables were moving in tandem. When connectedness to nature increases, the level of compassion also increases. When connection to nature decreases, the level of compassion also decreases. In this context, one variable (connectedness to nature) causes the other variable (compassion). They are inversely related. The standard deviation was low in both compassion and connectedness to nature (below 6). This is a clear indication that there was reliability between data and the statistical average. The cronbach alpha record of 0.91 for compassion scale and 0.75 for the connectedness to nature scale is a transparent indication that the study had a good internal consistency. 

Discussion 

The hypothesis of the study was aimed at proving if there is a significant relationship between nature and compassion. Based on the results of the study, there is a positive correlation of 0.55 between the connectedness to nature and compassion ( Gosling & Williams, 2010) . In this context, we do not accept the null hypothesis. Indeed there is a significant relationship between the variable. Interconnectedness to nature increases the level of compassion. A p-value of 0.004856 is very strong evidence against the null hypothesis because it shows a tong statistical confidence interval that indeed there is a significant relationship between the variable. On variable affects the other. In this sense, the test for hypothesis shows a positive relationship among the variables, hence, we fail to reject the alternative hypothesis (H 1 ). 

Based on the outcome of the study, there is ample evidence that there is a close relationship between connectedness to nature and compassion. Some of the major elements of connectedness to nature that increases compassion entail increasing awareness regarding the immediate environment, boosting the psychological makeup of individuals (building natural reaction to external stimuli) , and enhancement of interaction (ability to connect with others) ( Pfattheicher, Sassenrath, & Schindler, 2016) . All these are components of compassion. When an individual is compassionate they are able to notice another person suffering. This is because of the discomfort caused by another person’s suffering. They tend to assist the person psychologically to get well and cope up with the painful experience. An example is how family members assist the sick or disabled. 

A positive test between the variables indicates that for individuals to be more compassionate and empathetic, they need to spend more time with nature in order to have an in-depth connection with nature. A high cronbach alpha value of 0.91 for compassion and 0.75 for connectedness with nature showed that the response from the participants were honest because their internal consistency was good. In this sense, the significance that nature plays in human life is important. Respondents recognized the fact that connection with nature had a positive impact on their compassionate feeling ( Neff, 2003) . Experience with nature has a natural therapeutic relationship which helps individuals to identify changes such as suffering in another person. 

The study has played a significant role of providing insight about the relationship between nature and compassion. Various professionals such as nursing require compassion as a virtue. Improving the external environment of the hospital to have natural resources is an important way of boosting compassion. A clear example that indicates a new paradigm of adopting nature at workplace is the workplace policies that are now permitting pets in work environment ( Pavlovich, & Krahnke, 2012) . Pets are regarded as part of nature. The human race has embraced pets as members of the households because they act as a source of companion. Pets provide owners and employees with company, humor, and act as a source of entertainment which alleviates nervousness to reduce stress, anxiety and depression. They encourage individuals at workplace to seek more interaction with them through bonding activities such as playing and exercising. Pets promotes social exchange by provide an avenue for strangers in a work environment to communicate. This is an example of how the world has realized the positive impact of nature on compassion. 

Limitations and future directions 

The study provided comprehensive overview of the association between connectedness to nature and compassion; however, it exhibited numerous research limitations. The method of sampling was biased since it was done on personal convenience instead of using simple random sample which would give everyone equal opportunity to participate in the survey. The research was online based, hence, 24 participants was not the ultimate representation of the online population of the college students. Another key limitation attributed to online survey is that is focused on Facebook. Not all students are on the University of Colorado Facebook pages and platforms. Demographic location of participants was an issue because Facebook comprises of individuals across the world and has no geographic boundaries. It was exhibited when two respondents forgot to fill out their demographic location. 

Future directions: 

To effective determine the relationship between nature and compassion, the future studies must consider increasing the number of participants; this will allow the collection of more data and improve the power of this study. Collecting feedback from a large sample of participants can help determine reliability of the tools used to gather information. Gathering data from a wide variety of participants will help in generalizing to the population effectively. Last but not least, future the study should consider collecting data from various parts of the world; this can help improve the power of this study. 

Implication 

In the study, there were high values for Cronbach’s alpha: that is 0.91 for the compassion scale and 0.75 for the connectedness to nature scale. This implies that people have good internal consistency. 

Conclusion 

In summary, future researches should attempt and focus on specific nature. In the introduction of this research, it was acknowledged that there are numerous forms of nature such as living organisms including animals and plants and inanimate objects and entities such as weather and geographical features. Future research should narrow down on specific nature and provide a comprehensive finding on how connectedness with each nature impacts on compassion. Provided that there are numerous natural futures across the world, this will provide a wide scope of research areas. 

Based on the results of the survey, there is a significant relationship between connectedness to nature and compassion. Professional fields and human experiences that depend on compassion are required to improve connection with nature in order to foster compassionate feeling. 

References 

Gosling, E., & Williams, K. J. (2010). Connectedness to nature, place attachment and conservation behaviour: Testing connectedness theory among farmers. Journal of Environmental Psychology , 30 (3), 298-304. 

Pfattheicher, S., Sassenrath, C., & Schindler, S. (2016). Feelings for the suffering of others and the environment: Compassion fosters pro-environmental tendencies. Environmentand Behavior , 48 (7), 929-945 

Sprecher, S., & Fehr, B. (2005). Compassionate love for close others and humanity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships , 22 (5), 629-651 

Neff, K. (2003). Self-compassion: An alternative conceptualization of a healthy attitude toward oneself. Self and identity , 2 (2), 85-101 

Cheng, J. C. H., & Monroe, M. C. (2012). Connection to nature: Children’s affective attitude toward nature. Environment and Behavior , 44 (1), 31-49. 

Pavlovich, K., & Krahnke, K. (2012). Empathy, connectedness and organisation. Journal of business ethics , 105 (1), 131-137. 

Mayer, F.S. & McPherson Frantz, C. (2004). The connectedness to nature scale: A measure of individuals’ feeling in community with nature. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24 , 503-515 

Davis, J. (2004). Psychological benefits of nature experiences: An outline of research and theory. Naropa University and School of Lost Borders (available at: http://www.johnvdavis. com/ep/benefits. htm)