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Nature Documentaries, Connectedness to Nature, and Pro-environmental

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Article in Environmental Communication · April 2014

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 Environmental Communication, 2014
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Nature Documentaries, Connectedness

to Nature, and Pro-environmental
Behavior
Florian Arendt & Jörg Matthes
Downloaded by [LMU Muenchen], [Florian Arendt] at 01:18 07 January 2015

We investigate the effects of nature documentaries on pro-environmental cognition and

behavior. Of central interest is the concept of connectedness to nature, which describes
an individual’s sense of being connected to nature. Based on previous research showing
that a direct nature experience in zoos can increase connectedness to nature, we
questioned whether watching a nature documentary could increase connectedness to
nature and pro-environmental behavior. An experiment using one control group
(watching a documentary about Einstein’s theory of relativity) and one treatment
group (watching a nature documentary) revealed that a mediated nature experience is
not sufficient to elicit an increase in connectedness to nature. However, we found that
exposure increased actual donation behavior for animal and environmental protection
organizations. It is important to note that nature documentary exposure increased pro-
environmental donation behavior only in those already having a strong sense of
connectedness. We discuss real-world implications for donation-accepting, non-profit
organizations.

Keywords: nature documentary; connectedness to nature; media effects; donation; pro-

environmental behavior

Introduction
We are increasingly presented with growing evidence that human behavior is
detrimentally affecting the natural environment (Schultz, Shriver, Tabanico, &
Khazian, 2004). This has led to a call for individual, societal, and structural changes

Florian Arendt (Ph.D.) is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Communication Science and Media
Research, University of Munich (LMU), Germany. Jörg Matthes (Ph.D.) is a Professor of Communication Science
in the Department of Communication, University of Vienna, Austria. Correspondence to: Florian Arendt,
Department of Communication Science and Media Research, University of Munich (LMU), Oettingenstraße 67,
80538 Munich, Germany. Email: florian.arendt@ifkw.lmu.de

© 2014 Taylor & Francis

 2 F. Arendt and J. Matthes

on a large scale, which has to occur in the near future to enhance sustainability
(Mayer & Frantz, 2004). As environmental sustainability is dependent on human
choices and actions, research targeted at the individual seems to be of great
importance. The assumption is that beside macro-level changes (e.g., the Kyoto
Protocol), changes on the micro level have to occur as well.

Connectedness to nature
Previous research has identified connectedness to nature as a central concept in pro-
environmentalism (Bruni, Chance, Schultz, & Nolan, 2012; Bruni & Schultz, 2010;
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Mayer & Frantz, 2004; Schultz et al., 2004; Verges & Duffy, 2010). Connectedness to
nature describes an individual’s sense about the degree to which he or she is part of
nature. As Bruni and Schultz (2010) argued, theoretically, connectedness to nature
provides a foundation for pro-environmental beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. Indeed,
research has found it to be predictive of attitudes, concerns, intentions to act in a pro-
environmental way, and of broad-based measures regarding pro-environmental
behaviors (see Bruni et al., 2012). Most importantly, it has been argued that if
people see themselves as a part of nature, they will not harm nature (see Mayer &
Frantz, 2004). In other words, individuals with a stronger connection to nature are
less likely to engage in behaviors that negatively affect the environment (Verges &
Duffy, 2010).
Although it is believed that connectedness to nature is a relatively stable concept
(Bruni et al., 2012), researchers have tested its malleability. In fact, it has been found
that self-nature associations are malleable. Experimental evidence has indicated that
after spending a day at a zoo (Bruni, Fraser, & Schultz, 2008), visitors had a stronger
sense of being connected to nature.

Mediated nature experience

There are some factors that make the zoo experience an imperfect “tool” for
increasing connectedness to nature. Zoo visits cost money, which is an important
limitation for low-income families or families with many children. In addition, they
often take up a considerable amount of time (e.g., a whole day). Only a small fraction
of society can visit zoos on a regular basis (e.g., each week with an annual season
ticket). Thus, knowing a more inexpensive, less time-consuming, and always available
alternative to zoos may be a valuable supplement to the researchers and
environmentalists’ toolbox in terms of increasing connectedness to nature. We
questioned whether a mediated nature experience could influence connectedness to
nature in a comparable way as has been shown for direct nature experiences. There
are important similarities between zoos and nature documentaries, which we will
outline below. In the present study, we tested whether exposure to a nature
documentary could increase connectedness to nature.
 Nature Documentaries 3

Donating
We were also interested in the effects on pro-environmental behaviors. One type of
behavior that could be expected to be associated with exposure to nature
documentaries is donating (Besley & Shanahan, 2004; Martin, 2013). By giving
money to animal and environmental protection organizations, an individual can act
in a pro-environmental way. In contrast to previous research using self-report
measures of behavior and cross-sectional data, we measured actual pro-environ-
mental behavior within a lab experiment; thus allowing for more confident causal
claims. We gave real money to our participants, which they could donate to a number
of different causes. In fact, we hypothesized that a mediated nature experience would
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increase the willingness to donate money to animal and environmental protection

organizations.

Overview
We start with a short description of the nature documentary genre first. Second, we
will discuss the concept of connectedness to nature. Next, we will present previous
research findings on the influence of direct nature experience on connectedness to
nature. Finally we outline our theoretical assumptions regarding the influence of
mediated nature experience and present and discuss the results of our experiment.

Nature Documentaries
At a most basic level, nature documentaries cover the natural world, and include
topics such as plants, mountains, rivers, and animals. Although nature plays a central
role in many other genres such as blockbuster movies (e.g., Open Range), children’s
films (e.g., Bambi), “green” advertising, or other documentaries (e.g., The Innocent
Truth), nature documentaries have the most obvious resemblance to zoo experiences
that have been investigated in previous environmental psychological research.
Furthermore, as in zoos, the “nature” in nature documentaries is presented mostly
as a benign environment without an exclusive focus on the hostile forces of nature
such as hurricanes or “unromantic” predator–prey relationships (see Deogracias &
Mateos-Perez, 2013; Horak, 2006).
In contrast to other genres such as news, drama, or sitcoms, there is comparably
little empirical evidence with regard to this genre’s effects. Nevertheless, the existing
literature shows that exposure to nature documentaries can influence knowledge and
attitudes. One of the most basic effects of exposure to nature documentaries is that of
gaining knowledge. Fortner (1985) tested whether knowledge effects on the topic of
marine mammals are different when students watch a nature documentary or when
they receive the same content via classroom instruction. The study revealed that both
forms of presentation produced significant increases in knowledge. Interestingly,
attitude change was apparent only in individuals watching the nature documentaries,
but not among individuals receiving the same information from a science teacher’s
 4 F. Arendt and J. Matthes

presentation of the documentary’s script. Comparable effects of nature documentaries

on knowledge gain and attitude change were revealed by Barbas, Paraskevopoulos,
and Stamou (2009). As a final example, Holbert, Kwak, and Shah (2003) found
correlational evidence that nature documentary use is related to environmental
concern and pro-environmental attitudes.

Implicit Connectedness to Nature

Connectedness to nature is conceptualized as the belief about the degree to which a
person sees himself or herself as part of nature. Connectedness to nature is often
described as a “primitive” or “zero-order” belief (Bruni et al., 2012; Dunlap, Van
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Liere, Mertig, & Jones, 2000). It “frames and guides the formation of other beliefs
about nature, environmental programs and policies, and his or her concerns about
environmental problems” (Schultz & Tabanico, 2007, pp. 1221–1222). Thus, a strong
sense of connectedness is generally assumed as beneficial in terms of environmental
protection and thus sustainability.
Research investigating connectedness to nature has often relied on self-report data
(Dunlap et al., 2000; Mayer & Frantz, 2004; Schultz et al., 2004). For example, an
often-used method for measuring connectedness to nature is the Inclusion of Nature
in Self Scale (Schultz et al., 2004). This single-item measure is used to assess the
extent to which an individual includes nature within his or her cognitive
representation of self. It consists of a series of overlapping circles labeled “self” and
“nature.” At one end of the continuum, the two circles of “nature” and “self” do not
touch each other. On the other end of the continuum, both circles are fully
overlapping. The participants are asked to circle the picture that best describes their
relationship with nature. The more the overlap, the stronger their connectedness to
nature.
While using such self-report measures has yielded important insights, these
measures are based on the assumption that individuals have the motivation and
ability to express their beliefs overtly. Most importantly, there is an inherent
assumption in self-report measures that people have introspective access to their
cognitions and the motivation to express them accurately. As already noted,
connectedness to nature is often described as a primitive or zero-order belief (Dunlap
et al., 2000). As Schultz and colleagues (2004) noted, for some individuals, a sense of
connectedness may “not be a conscious one, or at least not a belief that is thought
about on a regular basis or readily available for retrieval” (p. 33). This refers to a low
ability to express accurate judgments. In addition, some individuals may want to
appear “green” because they think it may be rewarded by others. Thus, a social-
desirability bias may be responsible for an inflationary use of pro-nature statements.
Schultz and his colleagues (2004; Schultz & Tabanico, 2007) have been using an
alternative measurement technique based on reaction times to assess the extent to
which an individual automatically associates himself or herself with nature. This new
technique requires no introspective access and individuals cannot systematically fake
responses. The development of this new method led researchers to draw a distinction
 Nature Documentaries 5

between explicit and implicit connectedness to nature. Whereas explicit connected-

ness to nature is measured with traditional self-report measures, such as the nature–
self circle method mentioned above, implicit connectedness is measured with this
new reaction time-based procedure. It has been argued by these researchers that
implicit connectedness may better correspond to the conception of connectedness as
a primitive or zero-order belief.
Implicit connectedness to nature is conceptualized as the strength of the automatic
association between nature and self in the memory. Thus, for example, if nature and
me are activated simultaneously during nature experiences in zoos, the strength of the
automatic association between both concepts is assumed to increase (Greenwald
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et al., 2002). It is the reactivation of concepts already existing and the accretion of
new experiences (e.g., episodic memories of the specific zoo experience) that can lead
to a greater automatic association between nature and me (Schultz & Taba-
nico, 2007).
The strength of the automatic association can be understood as the potential for
one concept (e.g., nature) to activate another (e.g., me). In a subsequent situation,
cues that activate nature in the memory will also activate me with an increased
likelihood due to the increased strength of the automatic association (Greenwald
et al., 2002). Thus, people having a strong automatic association should feel more
connected to nature (Schultz et al., 2004). The process of activation operates on a
rather automatic level of information processing. This is the reason why we think that
implicit connectedness to nature matches better with the notion of connectedness to
nature as a primitive or zero-order belief compared to traditional self-report measures
(Schultz et al., 2004).

Influence of Direct Nature Experience

Schultz and Tabanico (2007) tested whether implicit connectedness to nature is
malleable. The authors conducted a series of experiments where they manipulated the
intensity of nature experiences. In one experiment (Schultz & Tabanico, 2007: Study
2), participants were randomly assigned to one of three locations: an outdoor public
seating area in a grassed and vegetated courtyard, a lab room, or an indoor public
seating area inside a university building. Participants sat down for five minutes in
their assigned location. They were asked to be aware of their surroundings without
talking or doing any other activity. The participants then took the reaction-time test
measuring implicit connectedness to nature and filled out a questionnaire including
explicit measures. Interestingly, there were no differences between the three locations
in terms of implicit or explicit connectedness. Thus, spending five minutes in an
outdoor seating area did not influence connectedness to nature. It was not sufficient
to alter implicit connections to nature.
In further experiments, the researchers tested whether a visit to a wild animal
park (with its stated mission: to “connect people to animals and conservation”) could
change implicit connections. The rationale for this study was that spending several
hours at the park should be a much more intensive nature experience. In one
 6 F. Arendt and J. Matthes

experiment (Schultz & Tabanico, 2007: Study 3), independent samples of visitors
were obtained from the entry and the exit points to the park. The experiment
revealed that the participants exiting the park had a significantly higher implicit
connectedness to nature when compared to those who were arriving. No effects on
the explicit measure were found. In another experiment (Schultz & Tabanico, 2007:
Study 4), a within-participant design was used. Each participant was tested at the
entry and at the exit to the facility. Participants showed higher implicit and explicit
connectedness on exiting when compared to the levels shown on arrival. This basic
effect of the zoo experience has been replicated in a study using data from three
inner-city zoos (Bruni et al., 2008). The findings of this replication study indicate that
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zoo experiences cause an increase in implicit connectedness to nature, but no changes

were found for self-reported explicit connectedness.
Taken together, these studies found that a low-intensity nature experience (i.e.,
spending five minutes in an outdoor area) was not able to increase connectedness to
nature. In contrast, the more intensive nature experience in zoos is able to produce an
increase in implicit connectedness. Of interest, most studies could not reveal an effect
on explicit connectedness. This adds supporting evidence for operationalizing the
zero-order belief on an implicit level. The influence of nature experiences on
connectedness would have gone unrecognized if the researchers had only used
explicit measures of connectedness.

Influence of a Mediated Nature Experience

As the experiments reported in the last section indicate, a direct nature experience in
zoos can change implicit connectedness. However, zoo attendances cost money,
which is an important limitation (e.g., for families with low incomes or many
children), and take a substantial amount of time (e.g., a whole day). Only some
people are able to visit zoos on a regular basis (e.g., each week with an annual season
ticket). Thus, a more inexpensive, less time-consuming, and always available
alternative may be a valuable supplement to zoo experiences for increasing
connectedness to nature. We questioned whether a mediated nature experience
could influence connectedness to nature in a comparable way to that revealed for zoo
experiences.
There is already relevant research regarding media effects on the strength of
automatic associations. Although there are no studies investigating the effects on the
association between me and nature, there are studies investigating the effects on
automatic associations between me and aggressive (Bluemke, Friedrich, & Zumbach,
2010; Uhlmann & Swanson, 2004) or me and military (Klimmt, Hefner, Vorderer,
Roth, & Blake, 2010) after playing a violent video game, between me and smoking
after watching an action film with a smoking hero (Dal Cin, Gibson, Zanna, Shumate,
& Fong, 2007), and between me and attractive after exposure to unrealistic standards
of female beauty obtained from women’s magazines (Gurari, Hetts, & Strube, 2006).
In addition, there is already some preliminary evidence with regard to the link
between mass-media exposure and implicit connectedness in the environmental
 Nature Documentaries 7

psychological literature. Bruni and Schultz (2010) presented bivariate correlations

from a cross-sectional study using child participants. Although not central to their
research endeavor, the authors revealed a significant negative correlation between
implicit connectedness and the hours that children reported watching television and
playing video games. In addition, they found a negative correlation between implicit
connectedness and the hours that children played indoors. Of course, a cross-
sectional study does not permit causal inferences. Even if one assumes that there is a
causal connection between connectedness and total television/video game use, it is
unclear, however, whether the connection relates to the media content, or simply to
the fact that it displaces other (outdoor) activities (in natural environments).
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Furthermore, this correlation is based on a sample of only 30 children. It must be

noted that this finding was only part of the authors’ additional analysis and was not
their central research aim. Nevertheless, this study shows that the basic logic of
possible media effects on connectedness to nature has been acknowledged in previous
research.
Combining the findings from media research and research on the effects of zoo
experiences, we questioned whether exposure to a nature documentary could increase
implicit connections to nature. As already noted, it has been shown that a very low-
intensity nature experience (i.e., five minutes in an outdoor seating area) is not able to
increase connectedness to nature, while intensive nature experiences in zoos can. The
question emerges as to whether exposure to nature documentaries, which have a
stronger correspondence to the zoo experience than to outdoor seating areas, is able
to influence connectedness. Nature documentaries, however, are only able to provide
for a mediated nature experience. The question thus is whether sitting in an indoor
room in front of a screen and watching mediated nature is sufficient to increase
implicit connectedness.
RQ1: Does exposure to a nature documentary increase implicit connectedness to
nature?
We did not expect an effect on explicit connectedness. Our working hypothesis is that
a direct nature experience in zoos provides a much greater “dose” (see Arendt, 2013a)
of nature compared to a mediated nature experience. Thus, if direct zoo experience is
not able to affect explicit connectedness, then neither should mediated experience.

Pro-environmental Behavior
Connectedness to nature is a prime example of environmental cognition. We did not
want to rest at the mere cognitive-effect level, as we also wanted to advance our
investigation toward the possible effects on pro-environmental behavior. Although
there is a bulk of evidence regarding media effects on pro-social behavior such as
organ donation (Feeley & Moon, 2009), helping (Greitemeyer, 2011), or making a
donation to others affected by a natural disaster (Martin, 2013), there is less evidence
of media effects on pro-environmental behavior.
 8 F. Arendt and J. Matthes

We decided to investigate exposure effects on giving behavior. By donating money

to organizations involved in environmental and animal protection, each individual
can make a substantial contribution to the environment. Even if factors such as
income may moderate actual donation behavior (Martin, 2013) most individuals in
developed countries can afford at least small pro-environmental donations. Thus, it is
a highly relevant type of behavior.
A plethora of studies calls attention to the ways in which media may influence
pro-environmental behavior. Ostman and Parker (1987) investigated the effects of
newspaper and television use on pro-environmental behavior, which was measured
using a self-report scale (e.g., “Have you ever joined an environmentally-oriented
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organization?”). Using data from a cross-sectional telephone survey, the authors

found a positive correlation between newspaper exposure and environmental
behavior. Television use was not related to self-reported behavior. The genre-specific
effects of nature documentaries were not investigated.
The genre-specific effects were researched by Holbert et al. (2003). Their study
examined the relationship between five forms of television viewing (public affairs,
nature documentaries, situation comedies, progressive dramas, and traditional
dramas) and self-reported pro-environmental behavior (e.g., “I try to buy products
that use recycled packaging”). Using data from two cross-sectional surveys, the
authors revealed positive correlations between nature documentary use and self-
reported behavior. Public affairs use (i.e., an index consisting of national television
use, local television use, and news interview programs) positively correlated with pro-
environmental behavior as well. None of the entertainment-related television use
variables was consistently linked to behavior.
A cross-sectional study by Besley and Shanahan (2004) investigated media effects
on self-reported donation behavior. Using a secondary data analysis of the 1993,
1994, and 2000 General Social Survey, they examined the extent to which media
variables were related to donating money. Participants were asked whether they had
given a donation to an environmental organization in the year in question. They
found that there was a bivariate negative correlation between television exposure and
donation behavior. Nevertheless, these correlations disappeared in the presence of
controls. In fact, a small positive correlation appeared when controls were in place,
but only in one year (1994). In addition, the authors revealed positive bivariate
correlations between newspaper use and donation behavior, but all of the coefficients
failed to achieve significance when controls were employed. Taken together, neither
total television use nor newspaper use showed a consistent relationship to self-
reported donation behavior when controlling for third variables. The study by Besley
and Shanahan (2004) did not investigate the genre-specific effects of nature
documentaries.
As has become apparent, there are a number of relevant studies that do contribute to
our understanding of media effects on pro-environmental behavior. Nevertheless, the
research reviewed above only used self-report measures of behavior, did not investigate
genre-specific effects of exposure to nature documentaries (Besley & Shanahan, 2004;
 Nature Documentaries 9

Ostman & Parker, 1987), only used cross-sectional evidence, which impedes causal
inferences (Besley & Shanahan, 2004; Holbert et al., 2003; Ostman & Parker, 1987), and
did not examine giving behavior to environmental organizations (Holbert et al., 2003;
Ostman & Parker, 1987).
Consistent with the research reviewed above, we hypothesized that nature
documentaries would increase giving behavior to pro-environmental organizations.
We argue that exposure to nature documentaries primes the nature-related concepts
in the memory (see Arendt, 2013b, for a model theorizing the link between media
exposure and the strengthening of mental associations). These recently activated,
nature-related memory traces increase the accessibility of nature-related behavioral
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schemata, which, in turn, should increase the likelihood of the execution of pro-
environmental behavior (see Strack & Deutsch, 2004, for a model theorizing the link
between mental associations and actual behavior). We assumed that this process
would increase the likelihood of giving behavior for nature-related organizations (i.e.,
animal and environmental protection organizations).
H1: Watching a nature documentary increases the likelihood that individuals will
donate money to nature-related causes.
The present research contributes to the literature in at least two important ways. First,
previous research regarding media effects on pro-environmental behavior has
exclusively relied on self-report measures. As Potter (2013) noted, we “must be
careful to make a distinction (…). Self-reported behavior is often very different from
actual behavior.” (p. 217) He mentioned two reasons contributing to this fact. One
reason is that behavioral intentions are often too ambitious and we end up with
behavior at a lower level than that intended. A second reason is that we are often
unaware of what our actual behavior is (or was). Both reasons are relevant for the
studies reviewed above. Second, the studies reviewed above are all based on cross-
sectional data. Thus, causality cannot be inferred (e.g., Does “green” exposure
influence “green” behavior or does “green” behavior influence the amount of “green”
exposure?). We used an experimental design so that more confident, causal claims
could be made.

Method
We used a lab experiment with two groups. The participants watched either a nature
documentary or a documentary about Einstein’s theory of relativity. Therefore, one
group was exposed to a mediated nature experience resembling a direct nature
experience in zoos, whereas the second group was not. After watching the
documentaries, the participants took the performance-based test measuring implicit
connectedness to nature and filled out a computer-administered survey.
As we were aware during the planning of the experiment that a mediated nature
experience may not be sufficient to elicit an effect, we had to ensure that our design
had enough power to detect the effect sizes that were found in previous research, or
even slightly lower effect sizes. The zoo studies revealed moderate effect sizes (e.g.,
 10 F. Arendt and J. Matthes

Cohen’s d = 0.51 for inner-city zoos in Bruni et al., 2008). We used a-priori power
analysis, which revealed a minimum required total sample size of n = 156 for d =
0.40, α = .05, and power (1−β) = .80.

Participants
One hundred and seventy-five students who enrolled on an introductory course
participated in the study. Of these students, 86.3% were female. The participants
ranged in age from 19 to 46 (M = 22.25, SD = 3.06). The sample had a moderate
political ideology, leaning slightly to the left (M = 4.49, SD = 0.93) when measured on
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a 7-point scale ranging from extremely right (1) to extremely left (7). Most of the
participants indicated their nationality as Austrian (62.9%), followed by German
(22.9%), and other (14.3%).

Procedure
Participants in groups of up to eight were welcomed in a waiting room. The female
experimenter took them to the lab room. Each participant sat down in front of a
computer in individual research cubicles where the entire experiment took place. All
of the participants wore headphones throughout the entire experiment. After
finishing the data collection, the participants were debriefed and finally dismissed.

Experimental manipulation
We used a part of the nature documentary Saga of the White-tailed Eagle of the
Austrian public broadcaster’s Universum brand, because it is a good example for
mediated nature experience resembling a direct nature experience in zoos. Beginning
with its birth in a lowland forest, the film follows an eagle’s subsequent experiences. We
cut out scenes related to the hostile forces of nature (e.g., predator–prey relationships)
to create a high similarity to zoo experiences. Thus, the film draws a picture of nature as
a benign environment with beautiful landscapes and wild (but “cute”) animals. The
length of the film segment was 7.52 minutes. For the control group, we decided to use a
documentary about Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity published by the media
service of the Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts, and Culture. It had no references
to concepts related to nature and contained no connections to any stimulus words that
were used in the task for the measurement of implicit connectedness—see below. The
length of the documentary was 7.42 minutes.

Measures
Implicit connectedness to nature
The strength of the automatic association between self and nature was measured
using the Implicit Association Test (IAT), originally developed by Greenwald,
 Nature Documentaries 11

McGhee, and Schwartz (1998), and modified by Schultz and colleagues (2004). This
computerized test measures response times in milliseconds to sort words that are
associated with natural or built environments. Individuals were asked to classify
words that appeared in the middle of the screen into four categories (me, not me,
nature, built). Two of those categories were nature-(un)related concepts (nature,
built) and two were self-(un)related concepts (me, not me). Stimulus words that
appeared in the middle of the screen could be sorted into one of the four categories.
The assumption is that sorting should be faster when the pairing of two concepts
reflects a stronger association in the memory. Therefore, a person who has a stronger
automatic association between nature and self should categorize stimuli words more
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rapidly when “nature” and “me” are paired together as categories, as opposed to when
“nature” and “not me” are paired. A validated scoring algorithm (Greenwald, Nosek,
& Banaji, 2003) was used where higher values indicate a stronger automatic
association between nature and self.
Verges and Duffy (2010) showed that the valence of the stimulus words used in
the IAT moderates implicit connectedness to nature. This is unfortunate, because this
leads to serious interpretational problems. Although a study by Bruni et al. (2012)
could not replicate this finding, we took Verges and Duffy’s findings seriously and
exercised the greatest of care in the selection of the stimulus words. We used the
Berlin Affective Word List Reloaded (Vö et al., 2009)—a German word database that
provides valence and arousal ratings including psycholinguistic indexes—to select
stimuli words that were similar in terms of valence when measured on a 7-point scale
from very negative (−3), through neutral (0), to very positive (3). For the nature
concept, we used animal, bird, forest, tree, and water (M = 1.37, SD = 1.06). For the
built concept we used house, boat, bed, money, and bridge (M = 1.32, SD = 1.04). In
addition, the German words scored very similarly on arousal ratings, the number of
letters, and the number of syllables. The use of stimuli words matched in terms of
valance ensured that the IAT would measure nature–self associations that were not
confounded by valence.1 Consistent with previous research (Schultz et al., 2004), the
sample showed a moderate association between self and nature (M = 0.45, SD = 0.36).

Explicit connectedness to nature

Although our research effort is targeted at connectedness to nature as a “primitive” or
“zero-order” belief, and is thus better operationalized with the implicit measure, we
also included a traditional self-report measure for the sake of completeness. We used
the Inclusion of Nature in Self Scale (Schultz et al., 2004). This single item consists of
a series of overlapping circles labeled as “self” and “nature.” At one end of the
continuum, the two circles do not touch each other (coded as 1). On the other end of
the continuum, both circles are fully overlapping (coded as 7). The participants are
asked to circle the picture that best describes their relationship to nature. The more
overlap, the stronger the explicit connectedness (M = 4.69, SD = 1.29).
 12 F. Arendt and J. Matthes

Donation behavior
At the end of the data collection, we told participants that the “data collection was
now completed.” However, we had “a last request.” We told them that we wanted to
donate 1 euro per participant. As we did not “want to favor one particular cause over
another,” we asked them “to help us with the selection.” The participants had the
chance to give the money to one of eight causes by clicking on the computer screen
on their preferred category. These causes were chosen based on the annual report of
the Austrian Fundraising Association (Fundraising Verband Austria, 2012). These
include (percentage values in parentheses are based on the frequency distribution
within the present study): children (20.6%); disabled persons (5.7%); emergency relief
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for humans (13.7%); animals (15.4%); nature and environmental protection (6.9%);
against hunger in the world (22.9%); development aid (4.6%); and homeless persons
(10.3%). We excluded one cause that was mentioned in the annual report (socially
deprived). This was to ensure that we had two nature-related causes compared to six
“control” causes. This led to a 1/3 probability of choosing a nature-related cause when
making the donation based on pure chance. This is an often-used ratio in studies
measuring the behavioral effects of mass media (e.g., Matthes & Naderer, 2013). We
created a dichotomous variable measuring “nature-related” giving behavior (“ani-
mals” or “nature and environmental protection” = 1; all other = 0). Nearly a quarter
(22.3%) chose the nature-related options.

Control variables
We measured green media use by asking seven questions (e.g., “Do you like to watch
TV documentaries about nature?”) on a dichotomous scale (No = 0, Yes = 1). We
summated all positive answers, which resulted in a measure ranging from 0 to 7 (M =
3.26, SD = 1.73). We measured contact with nature by asking five questions indicating
personal contact with green nature (e.g., “How often do you spend your leisure time
in nature, for example, in parks or in the forest?”) on a scale ranging from never (1)
to very often (7). A factor analysis revealed that one factor explained 50.69% of the
variance. Place of residence was measured using a single item (0 = city, 1 = suburb, 2
= rural area). The selection of these third variables was guided by previous
environmental communication research (Besley & Shanahan, 2004; Holbert et al.,
2003; Martin, 2013; Ostman & Parker, 1987).

Results
Connectedness to nature
Research question 1 asked whether watching a nature documentary increases implicit
connectedness to nature. To answer this question, we compared both experimental
conditions in terms of implicit connectedness to nature. We found that those
watching the nature documentary (M = 0.44, SD = 0.34) did not differ from those
watching the control video (M = 0.45, SD = 0.38) on implicit connectedness to
 Nature Documentaries 13

nature, t(172) = 0.22, d = 0.03, p = .83. In fact, the standardized mean difference
indicated by Cohen’s d approaches zero. For comparative issues, Bruni and colleagues
found a moderate effect size of d = 0.51 for the effect of zoo experience on implicit
connectedness. Due to the huge sample size we utilized based on a-priori power
analysis, we can definitely conclude that watching the nature documentary did not
influence implicit connectedness.
Consistent with previous zoo research, we did not find a difference between those
watching the control video (M = 4.63, SD = 1.28) and those watching the nature
video (M = 4.73, SD = 1.30) on explicit connectedness, t(172) = 0.51, d = 0.08, p = .61.
Of interest, there was a small correlation between implicit and explicit connectedness
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to nature, r(172)= .15, p = .05.

Pro-environmental Behavior
Hypothesis 1 assumed that watching a nature documentary would increase the
likelihood of individuals donating money to nature-related organizations. A chi-
square statistic was used to investigate whether watching a nature documentary or the
control video differed in terms of the participants choosing a nature-related
organization or not. As can be seen in Figure 1, those watching the nature
documentary and those watching the control video showed a significant difference
regarding whether they chose a nature-related organization, χ² = 7.21, df = 1, N =

Figure 1. Exposure to a nature documentary influences pro-environmental behavior.

Individuals donated more money to nature-related organizations (i.e., animals, nature,
and environmental protection) after watching the nature documentary compared to
nature-unrelated organizations (i.e., children, disabled persons, emergency relief for
humans, against hunger in the world, development aid, and homeless persons).
 14 F. Arendt and J. Matthes

175, Φ = .20, p = .007. Whereas only 13.8% of participants watching the control video
chose to donate the money to a nature-related organization, this value rose in those
watching the nature documentary to 30.7%.
Descriptive statistics indicate that donating to organizations targeted at homeless
persons suffered the most. Taken together, the empirical evidence supports H1.

Additional Analysis: Implicit Connectedness as a Moderator

The absence of a treatment effect on implicit connectedness allows for the use of
connectedness as a moderator and therefore enables a more fine-grained analysis of
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the behavioral effect. Now, we will outline a post hoc hypothesis developed after the
finding of the absence of a main effect on implicit connectedness.
Most media effects are conditional. As Oliver and Krakowiak (2009) noted,
predispositions may “heighten or intensify media influences, or may even provide a
necessary condition for media influence to occur” (p. 525). Over a wide variety of
topics, researchers have found supporting empirical evidence for the disposition-
content congruency hypothesis (Valkenburg & Peter, 2013). Based on this body of
literature, we hypothesized that those already having a strong sense of being
connected to nature would be more susceptible to an effect on pro-environmental
behavior.
We tested the effect of watching nature documentaries on giving behavior on
different levels of implicit connectedness to nature. As a first step, we decided to use a
median split for implicit connectedness because this allowed for the use of the same
statistical procedure that was used for the H1 test. We looked at the behavioral effects
separately for “weakly connected” and “strongly connected” individuals (Mdn = 0.46).
Most importantly, we found that watching nature documentaries only had an effect
on pro-environmental behavior in those already having a strong implicit connected-
ness to nature, χ² = 11.81, df = 1, N = 87, Φ = .37, p = .001. In contrast, there was no
treatment effect in “weakly connected” individuals, χ² = 0.19, df = 1, N = 87, Φ = .05,
p = .67. Table 1 shows the frequency distributions.
This cross-tab analysis allows for an initial intuitive understanding. Of course,
comparing the effect sizes for “weakly connected” and “strongly connected”
individuals on a mere descriptive level is not sufficient to prove moderation. To
formally test for moderation, we used logistic regression analysis. We predicted giving
behavior (1 = nature-related organizations) through the experimental condition,
implicit connectedness to nature (metric), their interaction term (condition × implicit
connectedness), and third variables (green media use, contact with nature, age,
gender, place of residence, and political ideology). Controlling for the third variables
within this additional analysis is necessary, because implicit connectedness to nature
is not an experimentally manipulated factor, but an observed variable. A significant
moderation effect would be indicated by a significant interaction term. This is what
we have found, Coeff. = 2.61, SE = 1.33, p = .049, 95% CI [.012, 5.21]. More
sophisticated data analysis of conditional effects using the Johnson–Neyman
technique (Hayes, 2013) comes to a similar conclusion as the intuitive cross-tab
 Nature Documentaries 15
Table 1. Chi-square Statistic of Prevalence of Giving Money to Nature-Related Organizations
among Participants Watching the Nature Documentary (Treated) or Not (Control).

Nature-related organization?

n No Yes χ² Φ P
Participants scoring low on implicit connectedness to nature
Experimental condition 0.19 .05 .67
Control 45 35 10
Treatment 42 31 11
Total 87 66 21
Participants scoring high on implicit connectedness to nature
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Experimental condition 11.81 .37 .001

Control 41 39 2
Treatment 46 30 16
Total 87 69 18
Note: We tested the effect of watching nature documentaries on giving behavior on different levels of implicit
connectedness to nature. We looked at the behavioral effects separately for “weakly connected” and “strongly
connected” individuals based on a median split (Mdn = 0.46). This effect is presented separately for those
scoring low or high on implicit connectedness to nature.

method reported above: The moderator value defining the Johnson–Neyman

significance region is 0.35. This value is indicative of a low connectedness to nature.
The moderator value suggests that only individuals having a moderate or high
implicit connectedness to nature (i.e., connectedness > 0.35) showed a behavioral
effect. Taken together, the evidence supports the post hoc hypothesis.
The only third variable achieving significance in the logistic regression model was
green media use, Coeff. = 0.51, SE = 0.14, p < .001, 95% CI [.231, .791], showing that
the more someone uses green media, the more likely it is that they will donate the
money to a nature-related organization.2

Discussion
We investigated whether exposure to a nature documentary could influence
connectedness to nature and pro-environmental behavior. Connectedness to nature
has been identified as an important concept for pro-environmentalism and thus
sustainability in previous research. It has been assumed that this concept is a “zero-
order belief,” which provides a foundation for pro-environmental attitudes and
behavior. Thus, it is generally considered as a positive outcome when a factor
increases connectedness. Based on the work by Schultz and colleagues, who found
that a direct nature experience could increase implicit connectedness to nature, we
questioned whether a mediated nature experience was able to alter implicit
connectedness as well. Schultz and his colleagues found that implicit connectedness
could be influenced by zoo experiences, but not through a five-minute stay at an
outdoor public waiting area in a grassed and vegetated courtyard. We argued that
nature documentaries have more resemblance to zoo experiences. Nevertheless, we
 16 F. Arendt and J. Matthes

acknowledged that nature documentaries might only provide a mediated nature

experience, which constrains the possibility of an effect. We found that exposure to a
nature documentary did not increase implicit connectedness. Sitting in front of a
screen in an indoor area and watching mediated nature was not sufficient to elicit an
increase in implicit connectedness.
An important finding, though, is that exposure to the nature documentary
increased giving behavior to non-profit organizations focusing on animals and
environmental protection. Of interest, this behavioral effect was revealed only in
those already having a strong implicit connectedness. Stated differently, if participants
were already “green,” then the “green” media content exerted a “green” behavioral
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effect.
This finding has important implications for the advertising strategies of non-
profit organizations. The willingness to donate to animal and environmental
protection organizations increases after watching a nature documentary. From a
campaigner’s perspective, it makes sense to place advertising spots directly after
nature documentaries (or during the documentary in advertising blocks). It must be
noted that the content of the documentaries must match with the cause of the
advertised organization to maximize giving behavior. The increase in willingness to
donate to nature-related organizations simultaneously decreased the willingness to
donate money to nature-unrelated organizations. Descriptive data indicated that
organizations focused on homeless people suffered the most. As money for non-profit
organizations is limited, it would be ill advised and a waste of money to place spots
for nature-unrelated organizations (i.e., human-related organizations) directly after
nature documentaries. Instead, non-profit organizations should place their advert-
ising in a context that is most congruent to their cause. Therefore, campaigners
should consider the content of the media program as a supplement to traditional
factors such as demographic variables or other factors indicating affinity to the
organization’s main cause. Of course, more research is needed on that issue.
Thus far, we only discussed the beneficial aspects of nature documentaries.
Nevertheless, we want to point to one fact. Nature documentaries present a mediated
construction of reality and can be “perceived to be an expansion of human vision, a
means of entering into a world that was invisible to the human eye, an extension of
the physical body of the subject, allowing for the creation of pleasure by bringing
animals in their natural habitat closer to humans through the act of visualization in
moving image media” (Horak, 2006, p. 459). However, similar to the “nature” in
zoos, the “nature” presented in nature documentaries is often constructed based upon
a “creative production decision which involves reconstructing a reality or event rather
than filming it as it occurs spontaneously” (Deogracias & Mateos-Perez, 2013, p.
570). In addition, as we already noted, the “nature” in nature documentaries is
presented mostly as a benign environment without an exclusive focus on the hostile
forces of nature such as predator–prey relationships. This fact has elicited doubts
about nature documentaries’ legitimacy as a means of representing nature. We think
 Nature Documentaries 17

that mediated nature experience can be a supplement to direct nature experience.

However, it should not be perceived as a direct nature experience substitute.

Conclusion
Limitations
As with every study, this one has its limitations. First, the behavioral decision to
donate was restricted. Participants were not allowed to donate more money than the
1 euro or to donate no money at all and take the money for themselves. Nevertheless,
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we wanted to test whether nature-related organizations are favored over nature-

unrelated organizations after nature documentary exposure. The used-behavior
measure is most sensitive for testing this hypothesis. However, future research could
use other behavior measures as a supplement to the one used in the present
experiment. For example, researchers could give real money to the participants and
ask if they would like to donate everything, a part of it, or nothing at all.
Second, participants only watched an eight-minute segment of the documentary.
We decided to use a segment based on economic reasons. We only had 45 minutes
for the entire experimental procedure. Of interest, we wanted to ensure that the
participants spent more time watching the nature documentary compared to the time
participants spent in the outdoor public waiting area (i.e., five minutes) in the study
by Schultz and colleagues (Schultz & Tabanico, 2007). As we did not find a difference
between the treatment and control condition on implicit connectedness—not even a
statistical trend—we do not think that an increase in exposure time would
substantially influence the results.
Third, we only tested nature documentaries that were similar to zoo experiences.
Most importantly, we decided to use a mediated, benign natural environment. This
was done as the “nature” in nature documentaries is presented mostly as a benign
environment without an exclusive focus on the hostile forces of nature. Nevertheless,
there are exceptions (see Horak, 2006). We do not think, however, that including
“hostile” content (e.g., predator–prey relationships) would have resulted in a stronger
increase in implicit connectedness or giving behavior. If anything, a more negatively
valenced nature experience—whether direct or mediated—might, in fact, lead to a
decrease in effect sizes.
Fourth, it must be noted that the moderation effect was hypothesized after the
discovery of an absence of a main effect on implicit connectedness. Nevertheless, the
post hoc hypothesis is well grounded in media effects research. Although only
preliminary in nature, this finding contributes to the environmental communication
literature by showing that only if the participants were already “green,” would the
“green” media content exert an effect on “green” pro-environmental behavior. Prior
implicit connectedness was a necessary condition for the behavioral effect to occur
(see Valkenburg & Peter, 2013). Instead of only using implicit connectedness as a
dependent variable, researchers should consider using it as a moderator.
 18 F. Arendt and J. Matthes

Fifth, we only studied a short-term effect within a controlled setting. At the most
basic level, the increase of monetary donations to nature-related organizations can be
perceived as a beneficial outcome. Nevertheless, it must be noted that the observed
effect on pro-environmental behavior might have ideological implications in the
opposite direction as well (i.e., boomerang effect). The individual can perceive the
donation as a (albeit small) positive act. This action can then be invoked as a defense
against accusations of passiveness (e.g., “Nature doesn’t bother me, haven’t I already
done enough?”). This phenomenon has been termed tokenism (Hogg & Vaughan,
2005). In fact, token actions might lead to a failure to take more fundamental and
important steps to enhance sustainability. We did not investigate such possible
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consequences. Future research targeted at this phenomenon is of great importance.

Sixth, a sample of (mostly female) students was chosen for economic reasons.
Future research should replicate the findings with more representative samples which
allow more confident generalizations.

Future work
Researchers are presenting increasing evidence that human behavior is detrimentally
affecting the natural environment. This has led to a call for changes in human
behavior, which would have to occur in the near future to be effective (Mayer &
Frantz, 2004). As environmental sustainability is dependent on human choices and
actions, a targeted research effort on the relevant human actions to enhance
sustainability is of great importance. This study contributes to this call by showing
that exposure to nature documentaries—a genre omnipresent in the mass-mediated
symbolic environment—can increase pro-environmental behavior. Exposure to mass-
mediated nature can have beneficial behavioral effects and can thus positively
contribute to the natural environment by enhancing sustainability through increasing
the protective actions and behaviors toward nature.

Notes
1. One participant had an error rate of 50.8%. This indicates that this participant sorted the
stimulus words only by chance. Thus, we excluded this participant from further analysis.
2. For the sake of completeness, we ran the same moderation analysis with explicit connectedness
to nature. As expected, no interaction effect was found.

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