The Development of the Nature Connectedness Scale: An Instrument to Measure Human Connection With Nature

• In Event: Critical Thinking and Cognition in Environmental Education

Abstract

This paper presents the step-by-step process of developing the Nature Connectedness scale, a measure designed to capture one’s emotional and physical connection with nature more closely than existing scales of similar scope. Insights gleaned from existing literature, focus groups, expert evaluations, and cognitive pretesting contributed to the measure’s credibility across experts and potential respondents. The Nature Connectedness scale has the potential to aid future research in investigating the relationship between connection with nature and pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors.

Authors

• Katherine Cornwall, Johns Hopkins University

• Tristan Hann, Johns Hopkins University