Setti Annalisa, Lionetti Francesca, Kagari Rachel L, Motherway Liam, Pluess Michael
School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork, Ireland.
Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Ireland.
Heliyon. 2022 Jul 5;8(7):e09861. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09861. eCollection 2022 Jul.
Heightened sensitivity to the environment characterizes approximately 30% of the population and is associated with a higher reactivity, positive or negative, to the surrounding environment. Little attention has been devoted to study the association between this trait and the response to nature and animals, despite the potential benefits of the natural environment for highly sensitive individuals. In the present two studies (N = 241, 83% female, age M = 37.43, SD = 13.5; N = 144, 92% female, age M = 39.9, SD = 13.1) we assessed the association of sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), measured with the Highly Sensitive Person scale, with nature and animal affinity. In both studies, we found SPS to predict higher connectedness to nature. In addition, whilst there was no association between high SPS and attachment to pets in Study 1, in Study 2 SPS was predictive of a higher animal affinity, assessed in terms of stewardship and protection of animals. The present studies provide the first quantitative empirical evidence that highly sensitive individuals are more connected with nature and animals, therefore opening the possibility to explore nature based solutions to improve the quality of life in individuals scoring high in SPS.
约30%的人具有对环境的高敏感性，这表现为对周围环境有更高的反应性，无论是积极还是消极的。尽管自然环境对高敏感个体有潜在益处，但很少有人关注研究这种特质与对自然和动物的反应之间的关联。在目前的两项研究中（第一项研究N = 241，83%为女性，年龄M = 37.43，标准差SD = 13.5；第二项研究N = 144，92%为女性，年龄M = 39.9，标准差SD = 13.1），我们使用高敏感人群量表测量了感觉加工敏感性（SPS），并评估了其与对自然和动物的亲近感之间的关联。在两项研究中，我们都发现SPS能预测与自然的更高连接性。此外，在第一项研究中，高SPS与对宠物的依恋之间没有关联，但在第二项研究中，SPS能预测更高的动物亲近感，这是从对动物的管理和保护方面来评估的。目前的研究提供了首个定量实证证据，表明高敏感个体与自然和动物的联系更紧密，因此开启了探索基于自然的解决方案以改善SPS得分高的个体生活质量的可能性。
