Nature, nature connection, and well‐being: A review of conceptual issues and opportunities

Nature connection plays an important role in the relationship between nature contact and well‐being, but explanations of how this occurs are sometimes ambiguous while evidence is conflicting. Philosophical tensions in the way we study nature connection make it difficult to clarify these matters: while the idea of nature connection is grounded in an understanding that people are part of nature, conceptual, and empirical strategies used to study it often assume people and environment are separate. We aim to support a more careful conceptualisation of the relationship between nature and well‐being, with a focus on the concept of nature connection.

We ground our analysis in an account of scientific approaches (scientific worldviews) in the study of human–nature relationships. Some psychological research is more mechanistic in approach, treating people and the environment as distinct entities that change through interactions best understood through detached observation. Other research is more holistic or relational, considering humans and nature as mutually defining facets of events or systems, with knowledge assumed to be situated relative to the observer. We argue that a spectrum of scientific approaches is needed to understand human–nature relationships.

We demonstrate the relational assumptions of nature connection and assess how this aligns with its application in studies of nature and well‐being, including the way nature connection is defined and observed. We examine 10 psychological theories of how nature contact influences well‐being, noting that such theories implicitly or explicitly shape how nature connection can be defined and understood to operate. In both analyses, we highlight theoretical aspects that are aligned with more mechanistic or more relational approaches.

We argue researchers need to be alert to scientific worldviews associated with the concept of nature connection, and to define, observe, and theorise nature, nature connection, and well‐being in ways that explicitly address the researcher's purpose and assumptions. To support clarity and alignment in theorisation, we synthesise a list of mechanistic and relational conceptual approaches to studying nature and well‐being, including suggestions regarding definitions, unit of analysis, approach to dynamics and change, and the role of the researcher.