PsyEcology: Bilingual Journal of Environmental Psychology

The aim of this study was to encourage inhabitants in a French city to take their trash cans in after they had been collected, in order to not clutter the street during the day. A total of 164 households were approached by city officials and three different interventions were compared: the first was based on binding communication, the second on binding communication coupled with the hypocrisy paradigm, and a third was an informational message. Changes in the mean percentages of trash cans left on the street before and after the interventions indicated that binding communication was significantly more effective than the other two interventions. The fact that the hypocrisy paradigm can block the effect of binding communication is discussed in terms of the dissonance reduction mode.

This study explored urban environments in terms of psychological restorativeness. The aim was to expand the frequently used but conceptually limited dichotomy of natural vs. urban settings by adding a distinction between serene and busy urban environments. In an online study, 381 participants were exposed to natural, calm urban, or busy urban environments. Perceived restorativeness of the environment was evaluated using the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS), in which we explored new compatibility items. Results revealed the hypothesized hierarchical order in which nature was perceived as most restorative, followed by a calm urban environment, whereas a busy urban environment showed the least restorative qualities. Moreover, factor analysis identified a six-factor structure in the PRS, highlighting that the alternative compatibility factor contained comfort and identity facets. Moving research on restorativeness beyond the conventional nature-centric perspective, together this suggests that next to natural environments, serene urban environments may offer easily accessible restorative opportunities.

Urban dwellers spend most of their time indoors, limiting exposure to natural environments known to support psychological well-being. In response, cost-effective biophilic strategies, such as green walls and trompe-l’oeil visual representations of nature, have gained relevance, particularly in restaurants with spatial or budgetary constraints. While the restorative value of real vegetation is well established, the psychological impact of illusory nature remains underexplored. This study employed a within-subject experimental design to assess three ambience conditions — green walls, illusory nature and a no-nature control — on four mood outcomes: Sadness–Depression, Anxiety, Anger–Hostility and Happiness. Mood was measured using the Scale for Mood Assessment (EVEA), and data were collected online via photographic stimuli derived from an actual restaurant interior. Results showed that the trompe-l’oeil condition was the most effective at reducing Anger–Hostility and enhancing Happiness, while the no-nature condition elicited the highest negative moods. Although green walls were beneficial, they were less impactful. Visually rich simulations may serve as viable substitutes for living greenery in certain design contexts.

Nature exposure has presented positive relationships with satisfaction with life and negative relationships with loneliness. Nonetheless, studies on the underlying mechanisms that may mediate these relationships are still limited. Nature restorativeness may be one such mediating variable. This paper reports on the role of nature restorativeness in the relationship between exposure to nature and two mental health outcomes — satisfaction with life and loneliness. The sample included 235 women and 113 men with an average age of 35 years (SD = 16.2 years). They answered scales to measure (1) nature exposure, (2) restorative outcomes, (3) satisfaction with life and (4) loneliness. Nature exposure was positively associated with restorative outcomes and satisfaction with life, and negatively associated with loneliness. Hierarchical regressions and mediation analyses showed that nature restorativeness significantly fully mediated the link between nature exposure and (1) satisfaction with life and (2) loneliness. The findings suggested that restorative experiences in nature are likely to be relevant aspects of people’s experience of nature, and positive mental health outcomes are related to them.

This paper explores the impact of corporate environmental responsibility (CER) motives on employees’ green behaviour within organizations. We conducted two studies to examine whether and how the underlying reasons for a company’s adoption of CER policies influence employees’ environmental actions at work. In the first study, we used an experimental design with 292 university students to investigate the effects of financial versus environmental motives on perceived CER and subsequent employee green behaviour. In the second study, we extended this analysis to a real-world context by surveying organizational employees. Our results reveal that CER motives significantly shape employees’ perceptions of CER and their environmental self-identity, which in turn affects their in-role (job-related tasks) and extra-role (voluntary actions) environmental behaviours at work. Specifically, we found that when CER is perceived to be adopted for environmental reasons, it enhanced employee green behaviour, whereas financial motives for CER adoption diminished this influence. This study contributes theoretically by integrating CER motives, perceived CER and environmental self-identity to explain both extra-role and in-role employee green behaviours. Practically, it highlights how organizations frame and communicate their motives, which is crucial for fostering sustainable workplace practices.