This research proposes a novel account for the established benefits of nature on psychological well-being from the perspective of Self-Determination Theory. That is, nature enhances psychological well-being by satisfying the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness. Compared with non-nature control settings, two field experiments consistently showed that participants who were exposed to nature scenes manifested higher levels of positive affect, life satisfaction and meaning in life; and satisfaction of the three psychological needs mediated these nature effects. Three laboratory studies replicated these findings by exposing participants to digital nature scenes (vs. non-nature ones) or indoor plants (vs. control setting without indoor plants) or engaging them in nature-related activities (vs. non-nature related ones), with the exception of a non-significant effect of nature on satisfaction of relatedness. Taken together, these studies provided convergent evidence for our proposition, shedding light on the mechanisms underlying the benefits of nature on psychological well-being.

这项研究从自决理论的角度提出了一个新的解释，即自然对心理健康的既定益处。也就是说，大自然通过满足自主性、能力和相关性等基本心理需求来增强心理幸福感。与非自然控制环境相比，两项实地实验一致表明，接触自然场景的参与者表现出更高水平的积极情感、生活满意度和生活意义；三种心理需求的满足介导了这些自然效应。三项实验室研究通过让参与者接触数字自然场景（与非自然场景）或室内植物（与没有室内植物的控制环境）或让他们参与与自然相关的活动（与非自然相关的活动）来复制这些发现, 除了自然对相关性满意度的非显着影响之外。总而言之，这些研究为我们的主张提供了趋同的证据，揭示了大自然对心理健康益处的潜在机制。