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Exposure to nature counteracts aggression after depletion
Yan Wang1, Yihan She1, Stephen M Colarelli2
1School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Aggressive Behavior
|September 1, 2017
Summary
Experiencing ego depletion increases aggression, but exposure to nature can counteract this effect. Nature helps restore self-control, reducing aggression in depleted individuals.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Environmental Psychology
Background:
- Ego depletion, the reduction in self-control capacity after prior exertion, is linked to increased aggression, particularly when provoked.
- Exposure to nature is hypothesized to replenish executive functions and self-control resources.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if nature exposure can mitigate the ego depletion effect on aggression.
- To examine the impact of environmental conditions (urban vs. natural) on aggression following self-control exertion.
Main Methods:
- Participants underwent a self-control depletion task or a control task.
- Following depletion, participants were provoked and their aggression was measured via noise blast intensity in either an urban or natural setting.
Main Results:
- An interaction between depletion and environment was found for provoked aggression.
- Depleted participants in the urban setting showed higher aggression than non-depleted participants.
- In the natural setting, no difference in aggression was observed between depleted and non-depleted participants. Depleted participants in nature showed less aggression than those in urban settings.
Conclusions:
- Brief nature exposure may restore self-control capacity.
- Nature exposure can help individuals regain control over aggressive impulses after self-control exertion.
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