The Role of Social Relational Emotions for Human-Nature Connectedness

Evi Petersen; Alan Page Fiske; Thomas W Schubert

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02759

The Role of Social Relational Emotions for Human-Nature Connectedness

Front Psychol. 2019 Dec 17:10:2759. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02759. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Evi Petersen¹, Alan Page Fiske², Thomas W Schubert³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sports, Physical Education and Outdoor Studies, University of South-Eastern Norway, Bø i Telemark, Norway.
² Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

Abstract

Little is known about the psychological processes through which people connect to nature. From social psychology, we know that emotions play an essential role when connecting to others. In this article, we argue that social connectedness and connectedness to nature are underpinned by the same emotions. More specifically, we propose that social relational emotions are crucial to understanding the process through which humans connect to nature. Beside other emotions, kama muta (Sanskrit: being moved by love) might play a particular crucial role when connecting to nature. Future research should consider the role of social relational emotions in human-nature relationships.

Keywords: awe; connectedness to nature; human-nature relationship; kama muta; social connectedness; social relational emotions; sustainability; well-being.