M Scopelliti

Homesickness in University Students: The Role of Multiple Place Attachment.

The transition to college or university can lead to the challenge of adapting to a new setting. Homesickness has been frequently investigated as a potential negative consequence of relocation. This study analyzed the role of multiple place attachment in the development of homesickness among university students. The study used a multicausal framework. Situational, personality, and environmental psychological variables were considered. Different factors of a person’s personality were associated with vulnerability to homesickness. In addition, multiple place attachment and vulnerability to homesickness impacted the homesickness felt by students.

If I had a Robot at Home... Peoples’ Representation of Domestic Robots

The decrease in childbirth and the great increase in life expectancy represent typical demographic trends in industrialised countries. These tendencies make more concrete the issue regarding elderly people: the more they grow old, the more they are likely to need medical, social and personal care services. Nursing home care services are probably the most important example in terms of social costs, not only because they are extremely expensive from an economic point of view, but also because they determine a forced relocation of elderly people. To be compelled to live in a new place, completely depending on other people’s assistance, has unquestionably a deep psychological impact (Hormuth, 1990): probably more difficult to assess than the economic expenditures, but definitely not less significant. Elderly people undoubtedly prefer living independently in a familiar domestic and residential setting. Anyway, a new series of problems arises, due to the shortage of residential infrastructures and facilities and the lack of home service workers compared to the large number of people who need assistance. As for domestic settings, in addition, the psychological impact of a long term home care assistance is still far from well understood: assistance provided by other people can generate a stronger negative influence upon final users, in that they may perceive a loss of control in their living space, and they may look at home service caregivers as privacy intruders. This condition may represent a menace to self-esteem and to the integrity of personal identity.

Relations between naturalness and perceived restorativeness of different urban green spaces

Abstract Green spaces have positive effects on human well-being and quality of life in cities. So far, studies in this field mainly compared preferences for, and outcomes of contact with, natural vs. built environments. Less attention has been given to the study of the psychological effects of contact with green spaces differing in their degree of naturalness. This paper thus aims at understanding the relation between ecological (e.g., level of naturalness) and psychological factors (e.g., perceived restorativeness) in shaping evaluations of different urban and peri-urban green spaces. Five typologies of green space have been identified in the city of Bari (southern Italy), ranging from minimum (i.e., high level of man-made elements) to maximum levels of naturalness (i.e., low level of man-made elements). A set of pictures of the different urban green space typologies was shown to fifty undergraduate students of the University of Bari, and then measures of perceived restorativeness were taken. Results show that perceived restorativeness is the highest in peri-urban green spaces, and increases significantly as a function of the level of naturalness.

Contact with nature in educational settings might help cognitive functioning and promote positive social behaviour. / El contacto con la naturaleza en los contextos educativos podría mejorar el funcionamiento cognitivo y fomentar el comportamiento social positivo

Abstract This research investigates the positive effects that contact with nature in educational settings has on pre-school children. Several studies have shown that contact with nature promotes many beneficial outcomes. In a study conducted in Italy, we tested the hypotheses that exposure to nature in educational settings promotes psychological restoration, strengthens children’s cognitive and affective resources and increases the quality of children’s social interaction. Children’s performance in structured activities and behaviour in free play were assessed through systematic observation, after time spent in outdoor green versus indoor space, respectively. The participants were 39 children from four different childcare centres in the Rome area. Findings confirm the hypothesized pattern, suggesting that contact with outdoor green spaces positively influences children’s cognitive performance, affective states and social behaviour.

A different way to stay in touch with 'Urban Nature': The perceived restorative qualities of botanical gardens

Botanical gardens represent interesting arenas for research in environmental psychology and environment-behavior relations. They can be considered a very particular type of restorative environment and also have a relevant social function for the promotion of a more sustainable lifestyle in current societies. In this paper, we present a study assessing the relationship between the perceived restorativeness, the psychological and physical benefits experienced, and the subjective well-being reported by visitors of botanical gardens in four different cities in Italy (N = 127). As expected, a bootstrapping mediation model supported the idea that perceived restorativeness of botanical gardens significantly predicts visitors’ subjective well-being, both directly and indirectly through perceived physical and psychological benefits of the visit. A moderation model also revealed that the relationship between restorativeness and well-being varies across respondents with different socio-demographic characteristics, being stronger for singles as compared to couples with and without children, respectively. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Environmental strategies of affect regulation and their associations with subjective well-being

Environmental strategies of affect regulation refer to the use of natural and urban socio-physical settings in the service of regulation. We investigated the perceived use and efficacy of environmental strategies for regulation of general affect and sadness, considering them in relation to other affect regulation strategies and to subjective well-being. Participants from Australia, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, India, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden (N = 507) evaluated the frequency of use and perceived efficacy of affect regulation strategies using a modified version of the Measure of Affect Regulation Styles (MARS). The internet survey also included the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), emotional well-being items from the RAND 36-Item Health Survey, and a single-item measure of perceived general health. Environmental regulation formed a separate factor of affect regulation in the exploratory structural equation models (ESEM). Although no relations of environmental strategies with emotional well-being were found, both the perceived frequency of use and efficacy of environmental strategies were positively related to perceived health. Moreover, the perceived efficacy of environmental strategies was positively related to life satisfaction in regulating sadness. The results encourage more explicit treatment of environmental strategies in research on affect regulation.

What makes you a 'hero' for nature? Socio-psychological profiling of leaders committed to nature and biodiversity protection across seven EU countries

Biodiversity loss is a widely debated world problem, with huge economic, social, and environmentally negative consequences. Despite the relevance of this issue, the psychological determinants of committed action towards nature and biodiversity have rarely been investigated. This study aims at identifying a comprehensive social-psychological profile of activists committed to biodiversity protection and at understanding what determinants best predict their activism. A questionnaire investigating relevant social-psychological constructs identified in the literature on environmental activism was administered to 183 outstanding leaders (vs. non-leaders) in biodiversity protection across seven EU countries. Leaders (vs. non-leaders) in biodiversity protection showed, among other constructs, higher scores on environmental values, attitudes, identity, perceived control, a feeling of union and spirituality with nature, and willingness to sacrifice for their cause. Results are discussed within the theoretical framework of a motivation model of committed action for nature and biodiversity protection. Applications of the results are also proposed.

On-site evaluation of restorative environments: the effect of actual place experience upon the perceived restorativeness of natural and built historical environments

[Extract] In conditional discrimination choice tasks, one learns to make a choice conditionally based on the presenting discriminative/cue stimulus. Prior research has shown that when each type of correct choice is followed by a cue-unique trial outcome (differential outcomes procedure), learning is faster and more accurate than when a single, common outcome is delivered for all types of correct choice. This learning effect has been termed the differential outcomes effect (DOE). Results are discussed here for brain regions that are active in mediating the DOE, while healthy young adults performed delayed conditional discrimination under event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).Based on two different work motivation theories, the relationships between personality traits (Big Five, CSE: core self-evaluation) and the importance of various job aspects was investigated. In Study I (N=118), graduates with high scores on Openness to experience and Agreeableness placed emphasis on Herzbergs motivation factors, whereas no relations were found for hygiene factors. In Study II (N=117 employees), the Big Five accounted for 30% of the variance in importance of the motivating potential of a job (Job Characteristics Model) and CSE showed incremental validity. Results are discussed regarding person-job fit and the practical utility of the CSE construct.Individual differences in learning nondeterministic relationships were investigated in samples with high mathematical proficiency. Probability Learning tasks were included within selection tests for admission to the French Air Transport Pilot Training. In Study 1 (N=401), two cues had positive and negative relationships with a target criterion. Four classes, homogeneous in mathematical performance, differed in learning the nondeterministic relationships. _ Fast-learners swiftly learned the relationships. _ Medium- and Slow-learners were slower but eventually succeeded. _ Nonlearners (12%) failed to learn even the positive relationship. These patterns replicated in Study 2 (N=448), including a third-irrelevant-cue. The irrelevant cue made the task more complex and degraded more the learning of the negative than the positive cue. Response time analyses confirmed that differences in the learning profiles went along with differences in the decision-making processes.