Psychology Commons^™

The Effect Of Pets And Nature On Environmental Identity And Connection To Animals, Vicotria Whitaker, Kellye Kohn, Alice Fontana, Linda Kunce, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

This study examined environmental identity and connection to animals in college students. Previous research has suggested that exposure to animals and nature can increase caring for both animals and nature itself. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four video conditions and analyzed for differences in mood, environmental identity, and connectedness to animals after the viewing of these videos. No significant differences were found between experimental groups for environmental identity or connectedness to animals, but it was found that those who viewed an animal reported greater improvement in mood, and that this effect differed based on whether the animal was …