Communing with nature not only lifts spirits, it helps people behave better, according to a study published this week.
Psychologists at the University of Rochester conducted four experiments with 370 people who were shown computer images of either natural settings, such as landscapes and lakes, or man-made settings, such as buildings and roads.
The subjects were encouraged to look at the surroundings carefully, noting colors and textures and imagining sounds and smells. They then completed questionnaires about the importance of various values, such as wealth, fame, connectedness to community, relationships and the betterment of society.
In all four studies, people exposed to images of nature rated close relationships and community values higher than they had after observing man-made environments.
