A diminishment of desire: Exposure to nature relative to urban environments dampens materialism

Materialism - the ideation and overemphasis of physical possessions, status and image values - is highly prevalent in present-day societies, and is associated with numerous psychological and societal costs. In three studies, we tested whether exposure to nature versus urban environments would be associated with decreased materialism. In Study 1, using consumer data from The United States, we found that a higher state-level prevalence of nature - as measured by the availability of natural amenities (a proxy for the presence of beautiful nature) and percentage of land dedicated to wilderness and forest - was associated with reduced materialism. In Study 2, we found that participants whose attention was directed towards a natural element of their environment - a grove of trees - attached less importance to materialistic values than individuals whose attention was directed towards an urban element - a building. In Study 3, we conceptually replicated this finding: after seeing videos of a forest walk or of grand natural scenes (e.g., soaring mountain peaks), participants became less interested in wealth, status, and image values relative to participants who viewed a video of an urban walk - an effect that was mediated by the activation of altruistic values. These findings testify to the role nature contact can play in devaluating materialism, and in combatting materialism's negative effects on people and planet.