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Abstract While the life expectancy of older people has increased significantly, this is often related to more long-term care in healthcare residences and nursing homes. Staying in these facilities can lead to a reduction in the sense of connection with others and the world around, as well as in vigor, with significant psychophysical repercussions in the long term. Although previous studies have shown that the virtual nature can benefit both, there are no significant studies that have tested its effect in generating these positive outcomes in the older population. Therefore, our study sought to investigate, in a sample of 53 older people in care at a nursing home or healthcare residence, the indirect effect of a 3D built virtual arctic environment (vs. a 3D built virtual urban environment) exposure in virtual reality on vigor through connectedness. Both the virtual scenarios were designed with a first-person view, with no translation around the environment and only in-situ rotation. Results highlighted that exposure to the 3D built virtual arctic environment leads to higher connectedness than the 3D built virtual urban environment, and this, in turn, leads to an increase in vigor. Findings were discussed based on the potential of adopting virtual nature in facilities to improve older people’s sense of connectedness and, in turn, improve their well-being.

A holistic understanding of human behaviour is considered key for a successful fight against climate change and environmental degradation. In the pursuit of a holistic understanding, empirical research frequently applies the concept of “lifestyle”. The concept, which plays a significant role in segmenting customers in the field of marketing, is increasingly used in the cross-domain analysis of behaviour in the field of sustainability. This increase is tied to the challenge that the meaning and operationalisation of the lifestyle concept are still highly fragmented after decades of empirical studies. While this methodological heterogeneity and pluralism of research traditions bring creativity and dynamic to the field, it makes the orientation and a comparison of studies challenging. Previous attempts to streamline lifestyle oriented research have often aimed for a single mode of operationalisation, but this does not meet the diversity of possible applications of the concept. Therefore, a better understanding of the field seems necessary. To fill this gap, we review the understanding and use of the “lifestyle” concept in 53 empirical studies in the field of sustainability and identify 12 variants of lifestyle related research, differing along three dimensions. According to our results, (I) lifestyle can either be used as a cause or as a consequence, (II) the analytical scope can be on a micro-, meso- or macro level, and (III) the behavioural scope can be either limited to a single behavioural domain or cover multiple domains. The three dimensions allow a mapping of existing and future empirical research using the “lifestyle” concept, improve the orientation in the field, facilitate the identification of relevant studies, and avoid imprecise comparisons due to methodological differences.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant changes to the life of most individuals, worldwide. This study explores the cultural factors influencing decision-making during the pandemic, and is part of the CORNER Project, funded by the Research Council of Norway, aimed at understanding institutional response in the early phases of the Covid-19 emergency in Norway, Sweden, and Italy. Semi-structured interviews with key political-administrative leaders in Italy (N = 35) were conducted and content-analyzed, allowing the identification of the underlying cultural dynamics that played a role in these decisions. Thematic analysis was used to assess the influence of cultural factors on the crisis management and early reaction of institutions and citizens to the spread of Covid. In line with previous studies, and as expected, the individualism vs. collectivism dimension can explain differential health outcomes during the outbreak. In this paper we argue that individualism–collectivism cultural values can also play a pivotal role in public compliance with Covid-19 restrictions, and psychological responses during the pandemic.

IntroductionUrbanization processes are constantly increasing, and most of the European population currently live in urban areas. Nevertheless, evidence is consistent in highlighting the positive association between nature exposure and human wellbeing, although individual differences might affect this association.MethodsThe present study aimed to investigate the association among nature connectedness, conceptualized as Love and Care for Nature, place identity, and physical wellbeing, via restorativeness and positive and negative affect. A total of 312 visitors of an urban green area (i.e., Milan’s Parco Nord) participated in the study. They completed an anonymous questionnaire.ResultsFindings showed that nature connectedness and place identity positively affect physical wellbeing, via restorativeness and positive affect, but not through the negative ones.DiscussionResults highlight the importance of the joint role of exposure to nature and individual differences in promoting wellbeing. This study offers implications for interventions aimed at enhancing individuals’ health through exposure to nature. Limitations of the study and future research developments are discussed.

Flourishing has been identified as a central concept in the new approaches based on the idea of positive psychology emerging at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries. A culture based on the idea of harmony may never have existed among the large public in the history of human thought. An educational system of this type could be based on what we propose here as a «presence-centered» pedagogy (in contrast to the contemporary «information-centered» and «skill-centered» pedagogies). The alternative education process that we propose is also particularly fitted to be conducted amongst nature and outdoor spaces rather than within a classroom, based on the extensive literature on the positive effects of contact with nature for human health and wellbeing. From a philosophical perspective, a presence-centered pedagogy would result in the promotion of a new sense of agency: an identity developed by exercising our co-dependence with the rest of the ecosystemic processes and life-support systems, as opposed to an identity conceived as being separated from the external environment. We argue here that such a revolutionary change of human’s self-definition could result in higher likelihood of changing our lifestyles in the direction of sustainability and collective wellbeing.

IntroductionAs life expectancy increases, more attention needs to be paid to their mental and physical condition. Many older patients are also bedridden, which makes some treatments, like in vivo exposure to natural environments, more difficult to be applied. This study aimed to systematically review articles that include interventions combining virtual reality and forest environment, targeting a sample of older people.MethodsBased on PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a literature search in three databases (EBSCO, PubMed, and Scopus), plus gray literature (OpenGrey). We considered only studies that used forest settings via virtual reality and included a sample with age ≥ 65.ResultsAfter the screening and eligibility stages, 7 articles have been included.DiscussionThe study underlines the need to implement research in this direction to standardize effective procedures that can be used to improve the mental and physical health of the older people and caregivers, while also reducing social costs.

Abstract People who make habitual use of an emotion regulation strategy such as cognitive reappraisal may be more sensitive to the emotion cues coming from a surrounding natural environment and, thus, get more benefits from virtual nature exposure such as enhanced subjective vitality. However, no previous study investigated the moderating role of cognitive reappraisal in the relationship between exposure to different types of natural environments (a national park, a lacustrine environment, and an arctic environment vs. an urban environment) and subjective vitality. We designed a between-subject design (four conditions, one per type of environment) with a sample of 187 university students (Mage = 21.17, SD = 2.55). Participants were exposed to four 360° panoramic photos of the environment for one minute each with a virtual reality head-mounted display. The results of a multicategorical moderation analysis attested that there were two significant interactions, respectively between lacustrine and arctic environments and cognitive reappraisal. More specifically, for participants with low levels of habitual use of cognitive reappraisal, the effects of virtual nature (vs. urban) exposure on subjective vitality were not significant, while for participants with high levels, the effects were significant and positive. Findings show how the potential of virtual nature may be boosted with training aimed at increasing the general use of cognitive reappraisal, supports enhancing the applications of virtual nature, and demonstrates the need to take individual differences into account when determining the benefits of these applications.

IntroductionDespite the well-established evidence supporting the restorative potential of nature exposure, the neurophysiological underpinnings of the restorative cognitive/emotional effect of nature are not yet fully understood. The main purpose of the current study was to investigate the association between exposure to nature and electroencephalography (EEG) functional connectivity in the distress network.MethodsFifty-three individuals (11 men and 42 women; mean age 21.38 ± 1.54 years) were randomly assigned to two groups: (i) a green group and (ii) a gray group. A slideshow consisting of images depicting natural and urban scenarios were, respectively, presented to the green and the gray group. Before and after the slideshow, 5 min resting state (RS) EEG recordings were performed. The exact low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (eLORETA) software was used to execute all EEG analyses.ResultsCompared to the gray group, the green group showed a significant increase in positive emotions (F1; 50 = 9.50 p = 0.003) and in the subjective experience of being full of energy and alive (F1; 50 = 4.72 p = 0.035). Furthermore, as compared to urban pictures, the exposure to natural images was associated with a decrease of delta functional connectivity in the distress network, specifically between the left insula and left subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (T = −3.70, p = 0.023).DiscussionOur results would seem to be in accordance with previous neurophysiological studies suggesting that experiencing natural environments is associated with brain functional dynamics linked to emotional restorative processes.

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of field experiments utilizing social norms, commitment and price-based interventions to promote energy conservation, load shifting, and energy efficiency behaviors. Treatment effects reported in the extant literature, as well as the factors that may strengthen or dampen these effects are reviewed. We find that social norm and incentive-based interventions mostly achieve small reductions in energy consumption, and that the effects of commitment-based interventions are essentially zero for the most part. Incentive effects on energy efficiency investments are mostly non-existent, safe for a few exceptions. One gap that we identify is the almost complete absence of field experiments leveraging social norms or commitment to promote energy efficiency investments. We discuss a broad range of (mostly under-researched) plausible moderators of the interventions' effects. Crucially, a more careful attention to moderators in future research can highlight instances in which interventions can be effective, notwithstanding their modest or non-existent average treatment effects. Our review offers a starting point in this regard.

Previous research highlighted that the desire for neighborhood improvement is an antecedent of the citizens’ involvement in green urban areas maintenance. Nevertheless, the topic of civic participation in the maintenance of green areas is not yet well developed in the literature and a link with local legislation is missing. We investigate the intention of participation in such maintenance through a web-based experiment. We hypothesize that stimuli of poor (vs. good) maintenance will be associated with a higher intention of contributing to the upkeep of green areas following the administrative barter law. The administrative barter is a law approved in Italy, which gives citizens the possibility of a reduction of local taxes in exchange for their involvement in the improvement of the territory. One hundred ninety-six participants (Mage = 33.81) were assigned randomly to good maintenance condition (n = 100) or poor maintenance condition (n = 96). The level of maintenance was manipulated through photographs of a neighborhood depicting good or poor maintenance of the urban green ornamentation. Results pointed out that people showed a greater willingness to engage in the improvement of green urban areas in the poor condition as compared to the good condition, according to the administrative barter law. This study suggests that local legislation may provide an incentive fostering citizens’ involvement in green urban areas maintenance.

Learning is a process that involves both cognitive and affective components and that requires appropriate educational strategies. The present study investigates the links between self-efficacy and anxiety in second language learning, and the effectiveness of the singing songs teaching strategy upon students’ speaking performance. In particular, we tested whether singing songs in class during English lessons affects the relationship between self-efficacy, anxiety and performance in a group of Italian high school students learning English as a second language (N = 132; age ranging 16-19 years). The data were collected through a production task in which the vocabulary extension, the number of words, and the fluency of speech were coded and calculated as a general indicator of students’ linguistic competence. In addition, students were asked about their use of singing as an educational activity during English lessons. Results of bootstrapping analyses confirmed our prediction that foreign language self-efficacy is correlated to performance, through the mediation of anxiety. Our results also showed that the use of a singing songs strategy moderates the association of low self-efficacy to anxiety and performance, thus suggesting its plausibility as a positive pedagogical tool in second language learning activities. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Understanding how psychological processes drive human energy choices is an urgent, and yet relatively under-investigated, need for contemporary society. A knowledge gap still persists on the links between psychological factors identified in earlier studies and people's behaviors in the energy domain. This research applies a meta-analytical procedure to assess the strength of the associations between five different classes of individual variables (i.e.,: attitudes, intentions, values, awareness, and emotions) and energy-saving behavioral intentions and behaviors (self-reported and actual). Based on a systematic review of studies published between 2007 and 2017, we estimate the average effect size of predictor-criterion relations, and we assess relevant moderators and publication bias, drawing on data obtained from 102 independent samples reported in 67 published studies (N = 59.948). Results from a series of five single meta-analyses reveal a pattern of significant positive associations between the selected psychological determinants and energy-saving indicators: associations between individual-level predictors and energy-saving outcomes are positive and moderate in size, ranging from large effects for emotions to small-moderate effects for pro-environmental values. Interestingly, moderation analysis reveals, among other things, that attitude-behavior links are not statistically significant when actual behavior is considered as an outcome. Implications for policy interventions are discussed.

Experiences of contact with nature in school education might be beneficial for promoting ecological lifestyles and the wellbeing of children, families, and teachers. Many theories and empirical evidence on restorative environments, as well as on the foundations of classical pedagogical approaches, recognize the value of the direct experience with natural elements, and the related psychological and educational outcomes (e.g., positive emotions, autonomy, self-efficacy, empathy). In this work we present two studies focusing on the contact with nature in outdoor education interventions with primary and secondary school students in Italy. A questionnaire measuring connectedness to nature, psycho-physical wellbeing, pro-environmental attitudes, students’ life satisfaction, pro-social behavior, empathy and anxiety was completed before and after the education program by the participants to the intervention group and by students of a control group. The students in the intervention groups (154 in study 1 and 170 in study 2) participated in environmental education programs consisting in guided activities in contact with the nature during four visits in one of two natural protected areas. The students in the control groups (253 in study 1 and 168 in study 2) attended the same schools as the intervention group but they were not involved in the environmental education program. The students in both the groups completed the questionnaire in the same weeks of the year. Findings show that taking part to the outdoor education program has positive outcomes on psycho-physical wellbeing, on connectedness to nature and on pro-social behavior of students in the intervention group, compared to the control group. The implications related to the effectiveness of outdoor education interventions and future directions of research and practice in environmental psychology and education are discussed.

In the last decades, an increasingly prominent role has been given to the motivational factors that can promote pro-environmental behavior. In this contribution, we focus on the role of the individual’s ability to shape the emotions originating from nature in engaging in pro-environmental behavior. In particular, we expect that an emotion regulation strategy as cognitive reappraisal should positively predict pro-environmental behavior, through enhanced perceived restorativeness attributed to the natural environment in terms of the experience of “being away.” One-hundred and fifteen visitors to an urban park (Parco Nord Milano) filled out a questionnaire including measures of cognitive reappraisal, the experience of “being away,” and pro-environmental behavior while in the park. Results confirmed that cognitive reappraisal was positively and significantly related to pro-environmental behavior. Importantly, the indirect effect of cognitive reappraisal on pro-environmental behavior through the experience of “being away” was significant. Findings suggest the importance of implementing interventions aimed at promoting the habitual use of cognitive reappraisal to enhance the experience of “being away” and, thus, sustain pro-environmental behavior.

This paper presents the results of a qualitative study exploring the role of formal social units in the sustainable energy transition process. A small community in North-east Italy was assumed as case study, in the context of a wider EU-funded research project aimed at understanding the individual and collective dimensions of energy-related choices. Starting from a general framework and integrated approach to explain sustainable energy transitions proposed by Steg et al. (2015), the main aim of our study was to identify the psychological and social factors that motivated the key actors to undertake an energy self-sufficiency path in the case-study area. Our analyses aimed at understanding the social, cultural, and socioeconomic dynamics in the energy transition process of the community. The study outlined how these factors contributed to foster collaborative actions between public decision makers, relevant stakeholders, civil society, and citizens. Results of a computer-supported qualitative content analysis using the software MAXQDA helped to shed light on the specific mechanisms and dynamics driving energy choices and energy-related behavior among the community. The implication for best practices and successful implementations of energy transition process in small communities emerging from this case study are discussed.

In this paper, we investigated the contribution of both cognitive and affective factors to mathematical skills. In particular, we looked at the protective role of self-concept for mathematical learning and performance. In a field study, we tested the relation of math self-concept and short-term visuo-spatial working memory to the mathematical abilities of second- grade primary school children in Italy (N = 105). Measures included the "Test for the evaluation of calculating and problem-solving abilities" (AC-MT 6-11), the backward Corsi blocks test (Battery for Visuo-Spatial Memory), and the mathematics self-concept sub-scale of the Self-Description Questionnaire-I (SDQ-I, Italian version). As expected, correlation and moderated regression analyses showed that mathematics self-concept and working memory both positively predict mathematical operations and numeracy, but not accuracy. Simple slope analysis confirmed our moderation hypothesis, with working memory predicting mathematical abilities at low levels of math self-concept, but not at medium and high levels. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Teoria della Valutazione: un Approccio Psicologico Ambientale, Evolutivo ed Evoluzionistico. Implicazioni in Campo Educativo In this paper, we propose a new approach to motivation theory based on a cognitive perspective: the concept of valuation. Motivation and valuation are reviewed and discussed here using an environmental, developmental and evolutionary perspective. We argue that motivation could be approached as one of the various mechanisms that compose cognitive processes, being related to the adaptive value of objects, situations, or settings. Motivation and valuation are proposed as markers of the survival value of perceived, imagined, or conceptualized objects of cognition. In this manner, motivation can be conceived as the product of a complex cognitive computation that determines the adaptive value of our cognitions, and provides an evaluative response. From this perspective, we discuss the perceptual, cognitive, and symbolic dimensions of the valuation process. Finally, we discuss the implications for possible future developments of basic and applied research in the domain of environmental psychology and environmental education.

The increased and stable presence of immigrant children in preschools and in primary schools in Italy in the last twenty years, makes more and more important the study of the attitudes and behaviours in teachers, parents and children. As it is known, attitudes and behaviours can strongly influence school experience (relationships and achievements) of children from native as well as from immigrant families. Several international studies and surveys showed that children from immigrant families are more likely to drop out from school much before getting a diploma or a professional qualification (Anisef et al., 2010; Brunello & Rocco, 2012; De Witte et al., 2013). The reason for it can be found in their socio-demographic conditions, their insufficient knowledge of the host country language and the inadequacy of educational policies for immigrants. Furthermore, the co-existence in the same school of immigrant children and autochthone children creating a constant intercultural and interethnic contact puts forward the need to handle prejudice development, in view of the social integration of the immigrant children. In this paper we present a study exploring the relationship between personality, educational style and prejudice of parents in native and in immigrant families regarding immigrant children’s social integration. Results show important relations among these parents’ characteristics, together with differences between native and immigrant families. These findings could provide a contribution in implementing adequate intervention programmes supporting the school integration of immigrant children.

L’architetto Mario Panizza ha esposto all’Ambasciata del Brasile in Roma dall’8 al 29 Aprile 2016 una serie di opere raccolte in una mostra dal titolo: «Sotto ogni passo: figure, sagome e tombini». Viene illustrata una selezione di riproduzioni grafiche di tombini di diversi Paesi del mondo: si tratta di dipinti, acrilico su tela, che riproducono con accuratezza esemplari realizzati su ghisa, opere di maestri pittori o anche incisioni con decorazioni, simboli e geometrie astratte.

Research on restorative environments has showed the healthy outcomes of nature experience, though often by comparing attractive natural to unattractive built environments. Some studies indeed showed the restorative value of artistic/historical settings. In a quasi-experimental study involving 125 participants in Rome, Italy, a natural and a built/historical environment, both scoring high in restorative properties, were evaluated in a natural, built/historical, or neutral setting. In accordance with the Biophilia hypothesis and the Attention Restoration Theory (ART), we hypothesized: a higher restorative potential of nature also when compared to built/historical environments; a moderation effect of on-site experience on perceived restorative potential (PRP) of both environmental typologies; higher levels of restorative properties of the environment for on-site vs. not on-site respondents; and a mediation effect of the restorative properties of the environment in the relationship between time spent on-site and PRP. Results supported the hypotheses. In addition, different psychological processes leading to restoration emerged for the natural and the built/historical environment. Theoretical implications for ART and practical applications for an integrative urban design with natural and historical elements are discussed.

In this paper, we provide an overview of research highlighting the relation between cultural processes, social norms, and food choices, discussing the implication of these findings for the promotion of more sustainable lifestyles. Our aim is to outline how environmental psychological research on urban affordances, through the specific concepts of restorative environments and walkability, could complement these findings to better understand human health, wellbeing and quality of life. We highlight how social norms and cultural processes are linked to food choices, and we discuss the possible health-related outcomes of cultural differences in food practices as well as their relation to acculturation and globalization processes. We also discuss the concepts of restorative environments and walkability as positive urban affordances, their relation to human wellbeing, and the possible link with cultural processes and sustainable lifestyles. Finally, we outline issues for future research and areas for policy-making and interventions on the links between cultural processes, healthy and sustainable food consumption and urban affordances, for the pursuit of public health, wellbeing and environmental sustainability.

Several studies have underlined how chronic exposure to environmental noise may have negative effects on performance, wellbeing, and social relations. The present study (N = 90 employees of a motor factory who are chronically exposed to environmental noise) investigated whether the negative effects of chronic exposure of noise-sensitive individuals to noise in the workplace may be moderated by the need for cognitive closure (i.e., an epistemic tendency to reduce uncertainty; NFCC, Kruglanski, 2004). As NFCC has been shown to enhance protection of the focal goal by reducing interference (Kossowska, 2007; Pica et al., 2013), we hypothesized that people with high NFCC should be able to manage the interference coming from environmental noise and concentrate on their tasks more than their low-NFCC counterparts. The results confirm that the negative effects of noise sensitivity on job satisfaction, state anxiety, and turnover intent were higher among low (vs. high)-NFCC individuals.

The increasing flow of immigrants in many European countries and the growing presence of children from immigrant families in schools makes it relevant to study the development of prejudice in children. Parents play an important role in shaping children’s values and their attitudes toward members of other ethnic groups; an intergenerational transmission of prejudice has been found in a number of studies targeting adolescents. The present study aims to investigate the intergenerational transmission of ethnic prejudice in 3- to 9- year-old children and its relations to parenting styles. Parents’ blatant and subtle ethnic prejudice and parenting style are measured together with children’s explicit and implicit ethnic prejudice in pupils and parents of preschool and primary schools in the region of Rome, Italy (N = 318). Results show that parents’ subtle prejudice predicts children’s implicit prejudice regardless of the parenting style. Findings indicate that children might acquire prejudice by means of the parents’ implicit cognition and automatic behavior and educational actions. Implications for future studies and insights for possible applied interventions are discussed.

Botanical gardens represent interesting arenas for research in environmental psychology and environment-behavior relations. They can be considered a very particular type of restorative environment and also have a relevant social function for the promotion of a more sustainable lifestyle in current societies. In this paper, we present a study assessing the relationship between the perceived restorativeness, the psychological and physical benefits experienced, and the subjective well-being reported by visitors of botanical gardens in four different cities in Italy (N = 127). As expected, a bootstrapping mediation model supported the idea that perceived restorativeness of botanical gardens significantly predicts visitors’ subjective well-being, both directly and indirectly through perceived physical and psychological benefits of the visit. A moderation model also revealed that the relationship between restorativeness and well-being varies across respondents with different socio-demographic characteristics, being stronger for singles as compared to couples with and without children, respectively. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.