Abstract Materialism – the ideation and overemphasis of physical possessions, status and image values – is highly prevalent in present-day societies, and is associated with numerous psychological and societal costs. In three studies, we tested whether exposure to nature versus urban environments would be associated with decreased materialism. In Study 1, using consumer data from The United States, we found that a higher state-level prevalence of nature – as measured by the availability of natural amenities (a proxy for the presence of beautiful nature) and percentage of land dedicated to wilderness and forest – was associated with reduced materialism. In Study 2, we found that participants whose attention was directed towards a natural element of their environment – a grove of trees – attached less importance to materialistic values than individuals whose attention was directed towards an urban element – a building. In Study 3, we conceptually replicated this finding: after seeing videos of a forest walk or of grand natural scenes (e.g., soaring mountain peaks), participants became less interested in wealth, status, and image values relative to participants who viewed a video of an urban walk – an effect that was mediated by the activation of altruistic values. These findings testify to the role nature contact can play in devaluating materialism, and in combatting materialism’s negative effects on people and planet.

中文翻译：

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欲望的减少：与城市环境相关的自然接触抑制了唯物主义

摘要 唯物主义——对物质财产、地位和形象价值的观念和过分强调——在当今社会非常普遍，并与许多心理和社会成本有关。在三项研究中，我们测试了接触自然与城市环境是否与减少唯物主义有关。在研究 1 中，使用来自美国的消费者数据，我们发现州级的自然普及率更高——通过自然便利设施的可用性（代表美丽自然的存在）和专用于荒野和森林 – 与减少的唯物主义有关。在研究 2 中，我们发现，与将注意力集中在城市元素（建筑物）上的个人相比，将注意力集中在环境中的自然元素（一片树林）上的参与者对物质价值的重视程度较低。在研究 3 中，我们从概念上复制了这一发现：在观看森林漫步或宏伟自然场景（例如，高耸的山峰）的视频后，与观看视频的参与者相比，参与者对财富、地位和形象价值的兴趣降低了。城市步行——一种通过激活利他主义价值观来调节的效果。这些发现证明了自然接触在贬低唯物主义以及对抗唯物主义对人类和地球的负面影响方面可以发挥的作用。我们在概念上复制了这一发现：在观看森林漫步或宏伟自然场景（例如，高耸的山峰）的视频后，与观看城市漫步视频的参与者相比，参与者对财富、地位和形象价值的兴趣降低了——一种由利他价值观的激活介导的效果。这些发现证明了自然接触在贬低唯物主义以及对抗唯物主义对人类和地球的负面影响方面可以发挥的作用。我们在概念上复制了这一发现：在观看森林漫步或宏伟自然场景（例如，高耸的山峰）的视频后，与观看城市漫步视频的参与者相比，参与者对财富、地位和形象价值的兴趣降低了——一种由利他价值观的激活介导的效果。这些发现证明了自然接触在贬低唯物主义以及对抗唯物主义对人类和地球的负面影响方面可以发挥的作用。