Although research in ecopsychology commonly identifies the value of spiritual experiences in nature for psychological well-being and environmental behaviour, previous research has not compared the outcomes of these experiences in natural and human-built settings. In the present study, the relationship between self-reported mystical experiences in natural and human-built environments for psychological well-being and environmental behaviour was investigated. A sample of 305 participants completed an amended version of Hood's Mysticism Scale, a measure of psychological well-being, and brief environmental behaviour scale. Correlations indicated that mystical experiences in natural and in human-built environments both significantly predicted psychological well-being, but only mystical experiences in natural settings predicted environmental behaviour. This study suggests that mystical experiences in natural and human-built environments may be related to different outcomes.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2008a). Australian Social Trends (Cat. No. 4102.0). Retrieved from www.abs.gov.au
2.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2008b). Year Book Australia, 2008 (Cat. No. 1301.0). Retrieved from www.abs.gov.au
3.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2010). Population by age and sex, Australian States and Territories (Cat. No. 3201.0). Retrieved from www.abs.gov.au
4.
BertoR. (2005). Exposure to restorative environments helps restore attentional capacity. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 25(3), 249–259.
5.
BeyerJ. (2014). A phenomenology of intimate relating and identification with the whole (and the tale of the woefully misguided aspirations of the common land barnacle). In VakochD.A., & CastrilliónF. (Eds.), Ecopsychology, phenomenology, and the environment: The experience of nature (pp. 127–140). New York: Springer.
6.
BriggsS., & CheekJ. (1986). The role of factor analysis in the development and evaluation of personality scales. Journal of Personality, 54(1), 106–148.
7.
ByrdK.LearD., & SchwenkaS. (2000). Mysticism as a predictor of subjective well-being. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 10(4), 259–269.
8.
CaseyP., & ScottK. (2006). Environmental concern and behaviour in an Australian sample within an ecocentric-anthropocentric framework. Australian Journal of Psychology, 58(2), 57–67.
9.
DavisJ. (2013). Ecopsychology's niche: Why the transpersonal matters to ecopsychology. Ecopsychology, 5(4), 215–216.
10.
DeMaresR. (2000). Human peak experience triggered by encounters with cetaceans. Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 13(2), 89–103.
11.
DohertyT. (2010). Ecopsychology and environmentally focused psychologies. Ecopsychology, 2(4), 203–204.
12.
DutcherD.FinleyJ.LuloffA., & JohnsonJ. (2007). Connectivity with nature as a measure of environmental values. Environment and Behavior, 39(4), 479–493.
13.
EllisonC., & FanD. (2008). Daily spiritual experiences and psychological well-being among U.S. adults. Social Indicators Research, 88(2), 247–271.
14.
FredricksonL., & AndersonD. (1999). A qualitative exploration of the wilderness experience as a source of spiritual inspiration. Jounal of Environmental Psychology, 19, 21–39.
15.
GarfieldA.DrweckiB.MooreC.KortenkampK., & GraczM. (2014). The oneness beliefs scale: Connecting spirituality with pro-environmental behavior. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 53(2), 356–370.
16.
GaterslebenB.StegL., & VlekC. (2002). Measurement and determinants of environmentally significant consumer behavior. Environment and Behavior, 34(3), 335–362.
Hansen-KetchumP., & HalpennyE. (2010). Engaging with nature to promote health: Bridging research silos to examine the evidence. Health Promotion International, 26(1), 100–108.
19.
HartigT.EvansG.JamnerL.DavisD., & GärlingT. (2003). Tracking restoration in natural and urban field settings. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 23, 109–123.
HoodR. (1975). The construction and peliminary validation of a measure of reported mystical experience. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 14, 29–41.
22.
HoodR. (1977). Differential triggering of mystical experience as a function of self actualization. Review of Religious Research, 18(3), 264–270.
23.
HoodR., & ChenZ. (2012). Mystical, spirituality, and religious experiences. In PaloutzianR.F., & ParkC.L. (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (2nd ed., pp. 422–440). NY: The Guilford Press.
24.
KaiserF. (1998). A general measure of ecological behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28(5), 395–422.
25.
KaplanR., & KaplanS. (1989). The experience of nature: A psychological perspective.Michigan: Ulrich's Bookstore.
26.
KarpD. (1996). Values and their effects on pro-environmental behavior. Environment and Behavior, 28(1), 111–133.
27.
KeutzerC. (1978). Whatever turns you on: Triggers to transcendent experiences. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 18(3), 77–80.
28.
KoenigH. (2008). Concerns about measuring “spirituality” in research. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders, 196(5), 349–355.
MallerC.TownsendM.PryorA.BrownP., & St. LegerL. (2005). Healthy nature healthy people: “Contact with nature” as an upstream health promotion intervention for populations. Health Promotion International, 21(1), 45–54.
31.
MayerF., & FrantzC. (2004). The connectedness to nature scale: A measure of individuals’ feeling in community with nature. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24(4), 503–515.
32.
RoszakT. (2001). The voice of the earth: An exploration of ecopsychology (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids: Phanes Press.
33.
ShepardP. (1982). Nature and madness.Georgia: University of Georgia Press.
34.
SnellT.SimmondsJ., & WebsterR. (2011). Spirituality in the work of Theodore Roszak: Implications for contemporary ecopsychology. Ecopsychology, 3(2), 105–113.
35.
StaceW. (1960). Mysticism and philosophy.Los Angeles: Tarcher.
36.
Stewart-BrownS.TennantA.TennantR.PlattS.ParkinsonJ., & WeichS. (2009). Internal construct validity of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS): A Rasch analysis using data from the Scottish Health Education Population Survey. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 7, 15–22.
37.
StreibH., & HoodR. (2013). Modeling the religious field: Religion, spirituality, mysticism, and related worldviews. Implicit Religion, 16(2), 137–155.
