RESEARCH

The Role of Culture on the Link Between Worldviews on Nature and Psychological Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Across both cultures, holding a harmony-with-nature worldview was significantly associated with reduced perceived stress (e.g., B = -0.229, p < .001 in the US sample). The association between mastery-over-nature worldviews and negative affect was statistically significantly moderated by culture (t = 2.23, p = .026), being strongly positive in the American sample (r = 0.18, p < .001) but not significant in the Japanese sample (r = 0.06, p = .26).

Population Groups: General Population

Health and Wellness Outcomes: Improved Mental Health, Enhanced Emotional Well-being, Improved Stress Management

Allied Profession Intersections: Climate Psychology/Psychotherapy

Evidence Type: Peer-Reviewed Studies, Observational Research, Quantitative Research

Measurement and Evaluation: Patient-Reported Outcomes, Standardized Assessment Tools, Longitudinal Studies

Access: Free

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Summary

This study investigated how people’s worldviews about nature relate to their psychological health during a severe natural disaster, specifically the COVID-19 pandemic, and if this link differs across cultures. Recognizing that interacting and thinking about nature in a harmonious way is often linked to psychological benefits, the research focused on two contrasting perspectives: holding a harmony-with-nature worldview (seeing humans and nature as interconnected) and a mastery-over-nature worldview (believing humans can control and exploit nature). The study was conducted in May 2020, during the height of the pandemic, using an online survey with participants from Japan and the United States. Data on pandemic impact, worldviews on nature, and psychological health measures (perceived stress, negative and positive affect) were collected via self-report questionnaires. For comparison, the study also utilized publicly available psychological health data collected prior to the pandemic from large-scale studies in Japan and the US (MIDJA II and MIDUS II). The analysis involved comparing pandemic data to prior data and using regression analyses to test associations between worldviews and psychological health, controlling for demographics.

The results supported the hypotheses, finding that people generally reported greater psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-pandemic levels in both countries. Crucially, holding a harmony-with-nature worldview was associated with improved psychological health (less stress, less negative affect, more positive affect) across both the Japanese and American samples, supporting the biophilia hypothesis. The study also found that culture moderated the link between mastery-over-nature worldviews and negative affect. Specifically, the association between believing in human mastery over nature and experiencing negative affect was significantly stronger in the United States than in Japan. This cultural difference is discussed in terms of naive dialecticism (tolerance for contradiction) and cognitive dissonance theory, suggesting that the conflict between a mastery belief and the reality of the pandemic’s impact might be more psychologically taxing in cultures less tolerant of contradiction.

Link

Haas, B.W., Hoeft, F., & Omura, K. (2021). The role of culture on the link between worldviews on nature and psychological health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Per Individ Differ, 170, 110336

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