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Biophilic Architecture, Connectedness to Nature, and the Importance of Environmental Issues

Kahl, Sarah Michelle
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1498176149901461

Abstract Details

2016, BA, Oberlin College, Psychology.
In today’s world where climate change consequences are apparent, we need to be searching for ways to encourage more pro-environmental behaviors. Connectedness to nature, which is the sense of kinship and sense of community with the natural world, is one factor that has been shown to promote pro-environmental behavior. While architecture types have been tested with states of well-being, they have never been assessed to examine the effects on one’s connectedness to nature. This study used Seeley G. Mudd Center (Mudd) and the Adam Joseph Lewis Center (AJLC) at Oberlin College to determine whether biophilic types of architecture versus architecture without any natural aspects can heighten or lower ones sense of feeling connected to nature. Our findings suggest that the AJLC can heighten the participants’ connectedness to nature, while Mudd can lower the participants’ connectedness to nature scores. We also found that a person’s state connectedness to nature partially mediates the relationship between building and ranking of environmental issues. Lastly, we found that there isn’t any difference between actively and passively engaging with the architecture. This indicates that architecture with natural aspects can raise people’s kinship with the natural world, which can promote more pro-environmental behaviors and concern for environmental issues.
F. Stephan Mayer (Advisor)
Cindy McPherson Frantz (Committee Member)
Paul H. Thibodeau (Committee Member)
26 p.
Architecture; Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Climate Change; Environmental Science; Environmental Studies; Psychology; Social Psychology
Environment, Sustainability, Architecture, Biophilic, CNS, Connectedness to Nature, Environmental Psychology, Nature; Seeley G Mudd Center; Adam Joseph Lewis Center; Mudd; AJLC; Oberlin College

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kahl, S. M. (2016). Biophilic Architecture, Connectedness to Nature, and the Importance of Environmental Issues [Undergraduate thesis, Oberlin College]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1498176149901461

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kahl, Sarah. Biophilic Architecture, Connectedness to Nature, and the Importance of Environmental Issues . 2016. Oberlin College, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1498176149901461.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kahl, Sarah. "Biophilic Architecture, Connectedness to Nature, and the Importance of Environmental Issues ." Undergraduate thesis, Oberlin College, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1498176149901461

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

oberlin1498176149901461
567
© 2016, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Biophilic Architecture, Connectedness to Nature, and the Importance of Environmental Issues by Sarah Michelle Kahl is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Oberlin College Honors Theses and OhioLINK.