Nature Gives Us Strength: Exposure to Nature Counteracts Ego-Depletion

Abstract

Previous research rarely investigated the role of physical environment in counteracting ego-depletion. In the present research, we hypothesized that exposure to natural environment counteracts ego-depletion. Three experiments were conducted to test this hypothesis. In Experiment 1, initially depleted participants who viewed pictures of nature scenes showed greater persistence on a subsequent anagram task than those who were given a rest period. Experiment 2 expanded upon this finding by showing that natural environment enhanced logical reasoning performance after ego-depleting task. Experiment 3 adopted a two- (depletion vs. no-depletion) -by-two (nature exposure vs. urban exposure) factorial design. We found that nature exposure moderated the effect of depletion on anagram task performance. Taken together, the present studies offer a viable and novel strategy to mitigate the negative impacts of ego-depletion.

Keywords:

• natural environment
• regulatory depletion
• restoration
• self-regulation

Notes

1. Inconsistent findings were reported. Recent research found that exerting self-control did not reduce blood glucose if more precise measurements of blood glucose were used (Molden et al., 2012; Sanders, Burgin, & Martin, 2012). Moreover, rinsing one’s mouth with glucose drink without ingesting it was also found to counteract the ego-depletion effect (Molden et al., 2012; Sanders et al., 2012). Since rinsing one’s mouth with glucose drink would not increase level of blood glucose, this finding casts doubt on the idea that glucose metabolism is the source of self-control energy.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jason T. Chow

Jason T. Chow is a PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong.

Shun Lau

Shun Lau is affiliated with the Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong.