Birgitta Gatersleben
Biographic Data
| ID | 6028480 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Birgitta Gatersleben |
| GIVEN NAMES | Birgitta |
| FAMILY NAME | Gatersleben |
| SIGNATURE | GATERSLEBEN B |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Surrey |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5841-0577 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 38 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 20 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Exploring perceptions of smart, modular living in the UK: A think aloud study
While there is growing interest in the design and deployment of smart and modular homes in the UK, there remain questions about the public’s readiness and willingness to live in them. Understanding what conditions prospective residents might place upon the decisions to live in such homes stands to improve their design, helping them to meet with the expectations, and requirements of their residents. Through direct interaction with a prototype of a…
Noticing nature: The role of environmental awareness in promoting well‐being
Spending time in natural environments is associated with enhanced well‐being, including reduced stress and improved cognitive restoration. This experimental study investigates whether these benefits can be amplified by providing environmental prompts to direct attention towards specific features (natural versus human‐made) within the environment. Seventy‐nine participants were randomly allocated to one of three conditions: Restorative prompting; …
Everyday places to get away – Lessons learned from Covid-19 lockdowns
Being able to get away from everyday stressors and demands, even if close to home and just for a few minutes, is important for wellbeing. During the Covid-19 lockdown periods, people’s ability to get away changed significantly. An increase in visits to nearby natural places is well documented. Little is known about other types of places people visited to get away. An online UK survey was conducted in 2020 (N = 850) investigating what places peopl…
Go on, get out, you've got this”: A qualitative study exploring engagement with a nature conservation intervention for older adults
This qualitative study evaluated a co-designed nature conservation intervention for older adults living in a retirement village. It explored if and how the intervention could support autonomous motivation to engage with nature. Participants were invited to “spot, count and record things in nature” for 6 weeks, tailoring (i.e., personalising) this nature activity to their motivations, needs and abilities, and using resources provided (e.g., logboo…
Handbook on Pro-Environmental Behaviour Change
Biodiversity loss and climate change are urgent, interlinked crises, driven by human activity.The solutions to these crises therefore lie in changing people's behaviours, at both individual and societal scales.In this chapter, we introduce the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW), a comprehensive framework for systematically designing, evaluating, and characterising behaviour change interventions.Applying the BCW to create behaviour change interventions …
Human experiences in dense and open woodland; the role of different danger threats
Exposure to non-threatening natural environments promotes human wellbeing by supporting restoration of negative mood and mental fatigue. But many natural environments will harbour a threat at some point in time. Understanding if and how these threats affect human experiences in natural environments is important for land management and human wellbeing. In an on-line experiment participants (n = 300) rated how they would feel in two different types…
Understanding the Perceived Benefits of Nature for Creativity
Experience of nature is widely linked to well‐being, including psychological restoration. Benefits to creativity have been explored in a limited number of studies which refer to theories of restorative environments as frameworks, but it is unclear which aspects of the environment and person–nature transactions are implicated in these processes. In this study, N = 20 members of the British public were interviewed regarding the relevance of natural…
The Influence of Framing Plant-Based Products in Terms of Their Health vs. Environmental Benefits: Interactions with Individual Wellbeing
Significant reductions in the consumption of meat and dairy products are required to limit environmental damage and meet climate targets. However, individuals choosing to adopt plant-based diets still form a minority. Whilst different types of message framings have been suggested to be a potential means of encouraging the uptake of plant-based diets, recent findings have often failed to document any differences in people's willingness to reduce t…
The Problematic Role of Materialistic Values in the Pursuit of Sustainable Well-Being
Strong materialistic values help to maintain consumer capitalism, but they can have negative consequences for individual well-being, for social equity and for environmental sustainability. In this paper, we add to the existing literature on the adverse consequences of materialistic values by highlighting their negative association with engagement in attitudes and actions that support the achievement of sustainable well-being. To do this, we explo…
Materialism and the Experience of Flow
The need to locate ways of living that can be both beneficial to personal well-being and ecologically sustainable is becoming increasingly important. Flow experiences show promise for the achievement of personal and ecological well-being. However, it is not yet understood how the materialistic values promoted by our consumer cultures may impact our ability to experience flow. A cross-sectional survey of 451 people demonstrated that materialistic …
Why are places so special? Uncovering how our brain reacts to meaningful places
The limits of energy sufficiency: A review of the evidence for rebound effects and negative spillovers from behavioural change
‘Energy sufficiency’ involves reducing consumption of energy services in order to minimise the associated environmental impacts. This may either be through individual actions, such as reducing car travel, or through reducing working time, income and aggregate consumption (‘downshifting’). However, the environmental benefits of both strategies may be less than anticipated. First, people may save money that they can spend on other goods and service…
The nexus between air pollution, green infrastructure and human health
Cities are constantly evolving and so are the living conditions within and between them. Rapid urbanization and the ever-growing need for housing have turned large areas of many cities into concrete landscapes that lack greenery. Green infrastructure can support human health, provide socio-economic and environmental benefits, and bring color to an otherwise grey urban landscape. Sometimes, benefits come with downsides in relation to its impact on…
An Experimental Exploration of the Effects of Exposure to Images of Nature on Rumination
Exposure to natural environments has been shown to have beneficial effects on mood. Rumination is a thinking style associated with negative mood, and sometimes depression, and is characterized by repetitive, intrusive thoughts, often with a negative emotional element. This study investigated whether exposure to nature, operationalized using photographs presented as a slideshow, could aid reduction in levels of state rumination. An experimental, w…
Bird sounds and their contributions to perceived attention restoration and stress recovery
Transcendent Experiences in Wild and Manicured Settings: The Influence of the Trait “Connectedness to Nature”
Research has overwhelmingly shown that spending time in nature can be beneficial. Yet the field is dominated by studies focusing on cognitive and emotional outcomes and on only two settings high in human influence—the built environment and manicured nature. Therefore, relatively little is known about transcendent experiences in wilder natural environments and the personal traits that influence them. This study compares visitor experiences in two …
When walking in nature is not restorative—The role of prospect and refuge
Values, identity and pro-environmental behaviour
The importance of understanding and promoting pro-environmental behaviour among individual consumers in modern Western Societies is generally accepted. Attitudes and attitude change are often examined to help reach this goal. But although attitudes are relatively good predictors of behaviour and are relatively easy to change they only help explain specific behaviours. More stable individual factors such as values and identities may affect a wider…
The moral circle as a common motivational cause of cross‐situational pro‐environmentalism
Public engagement in pro‐environmental behavior and support for pro‐environmental policy are essential for achieving sustainable living. We propose that the “moral circle” is a common motivational source for engagement in environmentally beneficial activities across situations and may be thus drawn upon to efficiently promote these activities. Study 1 established an association between chronic moral circle size and nine pro‐environmental activiti…
Affective Appraisals of the Daily Commute: Comparing Perceptions of Drivers, Cyclists, Walkers, and Users of Public Transport
To date, most research on travel behavior has been limited to studying utilitarian appraisals of car users and users of public transport. Studies on affective experiences are usually limited to commuter stress. A survey among university employees revealed that in support of previous research, car commuters find their journey more stressful than other mode users. The main sources of this stress are delays and other road users. Users of public tran…
Measurement and Determinants of Environmentally Significant Consumer Behavior
Measures of proenvironmental behavior in psychological studies do not always reflect the actual environmental impact of a person or household. Therefore, the results of these studies provide little insight into variables that could be helpful in reducing household environmental impact. In this article, an environmentally significant measure of household consumer behavior (i.e., combined direct and indirect energy use) is presented and compared wi…
Values, identity and pro-environmental behaviour
The importance of understanding and promoting pro-environmental behaviour among individual consumers in modern Western Societies is generally accepted. Attitudes and attitude change are often examined to help reach this goal. But although attitudes are relatively good predictors of behaviour and are relatively easy to change they only help explain specific behaviours. More stable individual factors such as values and identities may affect a wider…
When walking in nature is not restorative—The role of prospect and refuge
The moral circle as a common motivational cause of cross‐situational pro‐environmentalism
Public engagement in pro‐environmental behavior and support for pro‐environmental policy are essential for achieving sustainable living. We propose that the “moral circle” is a common motivational source for engagement in environmentally beneficial activities across situations and may be thus drawn upon to efficiently promote these activities. Study 1 established an association between chronic moral circle size and nine pro‐environmental activiti…
Measurement and Determinants of Environmentally Significant Consumer Behavior
Measures of proenvironmental behavior in psychological studies do not always reflect the actual environmental impact of a person or household. Therefore, the results of these studies provide little insight into variables that could be helpful in reducing household environmental impact. In this article, an environmentally significant measure of household consumer behavior (i.e., combined direct and indirect energy use) is presented and compared wi…
Affective Appraisals of the Daily Commute: Comparing Perceptions of Drivers, Cyclists, Walkers, and Users of Public Transport
To date, most research on travel behavior has been limited to studying utilitarian appraisals of car users and users of public transport. Studies on affective experiences are usually limited to commuter stress. A survey among university employees revealed that in support of previous research, car commuters find their journey more stressful than other mode users. The main sources of this stress are delays and other road users. Users of public tran…
Values, identity and pro-environmental behaviour
The importance of understanding and promoting pro-environmental behaviour among individual consumers in modern Western Societies is generally accepted. Attitudes and attitude change are often examined to help reach this goal. But although attitudes are relatively good predictors of behaviour and are relatively easy to change they only help explain specific behaviours. More stable individual factors such as values and identities may affect a wider…
The moral circle as a common motivational cause of cross‐situational pro‐environmentalism
Public engagement in pro‐environmental behavior and support for pro‐environmental policy are essential for achieving sustainable living. We propose that the “moral circle” is a common motivational source for engagement in environmentally beneficial activities across situations and may be thus drawn upon to efficiently promote these activities. Study 1 established an association between chronic moral circle size and nine pro‐environmental activiti…
Bird sounds and their contributions to perceived attention restoration and stress recovery
Transcendent Experiences in Wild and Manicured Settings: The Influence of the Trait “Connectedness to Nature”
Research has overwhelmingly shown that spending time in nature can be beneficial. Yet the field is dominated by studies focusing on cognitive and emotional outcomes and on only two settings high in human influence—the built environment and manicured nature. Therefore, relatively little is known about transcendent experiences in wilder natural environments and the personal traits that influence them. This study compares visitor experiences in two …
When walking in nature is not restorative—The role of prospect and refuge
An Experimental Exploration of the Effects of Exposure to Images of Nature on Rumination
Exposure to natural environments has been shown to have beneficial effects on mood. Rumination is a thinking style associated with negative mood, and sometimes depression, and is characterized by repetitive, intrusive thoughts, often with a negative emotional element. This study investigated whether exposure to nature, operationalized using photographs presented as a slideshow, could aid reduction in levels of state rumination. An experimental, w…
The nexus between air pollution, green infrastructure and human health
Cities are constantly evolving and so are the living conditions within and between them. Rapid urbanization and the ever-growing need for housing have turned large areas of many cities into concrete landscapes that lack greenery. Green infrastructure can support human health, provide socio-economic and environmental benefits, and bring color to an otherwise grey urban landscape. Sometimes, benefits come with downsides in relation to its impact on…
Why are places so special? Uncovering how our brain reacts to meaningful places
The limits of energy sufficiency: A review of the evidence for rebound effects and negative spillovers from behavioural change
‘Energy sufficiency’ involves reducing consumption of energy services in order to minimise the associated environmental impacts. This may either be through individual actions, such as reducing car travel, or through reducing working time, income and aggregate consumption (‘downshifting’). However, the environmental benefits of both strategies may be less than anticipated. First, people may save money that they can spend on other goods and service…
Materialism and the Experience of Flow
The need to locate ways of living that can be both beneficial to personal well-being and ecologically sustainable is becoming increasingly important. Flow experiences show promise for the achievement of personal and ecological well-being. However, it is not yet understood how the materialistic values promoted by our consumer cultures may impact our ability to experience flow. A cross-sectional survey of 451 people demonstrated that materialistic …
Understanding the Perceived Benefits of Nature for Creativity
Experience of nature is widely linked to well‐being, including psychological restoration. Benefits to creativity have been explored in a limited number of studies which refer to theories of restorative environments as frameworks, but it is unclear which aspects of the environment and person–nature transactions are implicated in these processes. In this study, N = 20 members of the British public were interviewed regarding the relevance of natural…
The Influence of Framing Plant-Based Products in Terms of Their Health vs. Environmental Benefits: Interactions with Individual Wellbeing
Significant reductions in the consumption of meat and dairy products are required to limit environmental damage and meet climate targets. However, individuals choosing to adopt plant-based diets still form a minority. Whilst different types of message framings have been suggested to be a potential means of encouraging the uptake of plant-based diets, recent findings have often failed to document any differences in people's willingness to reduce t…
The Problematic Role of Materialistic Values in the Pursuit of Sustainable Well-Being
Strong materialistic values help to maintain consumer capitalism, but they can have negative consequences for individual well-being, for social equity and for environmental sustainability. In this paper, we add to the existing literature on the adverse consequences of materialistic values by highlighting their negative association with engagement in attitudes and actions that support the achievement of sustainable well-being. To do this, we explo…
Handbook on Pro-Environmental Behaviour Change
Biodiversity loss and climate change are urgent, interlinked crises, driven by human activity.The solutions to these crises therefore lie in changing people's behaviours, at both individual and societal scales.In this chapter, we introduce the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW), a comprehensive framework for systematically designing, evaluating, and characterising behaviour change interventions.Applying the BCW to create behaviour change interventions …
Human experiences in dense and open woodland; the role of different danger threats
Exposure to non-threatening natural environments promotes human wellbeing by supporting restoration of negative mood and mental fatigue. But many natural environments will harbour a threat at some point in time. Understanding if and how these threats affect human experiences in natural environments is important for land management and human wellbeing. In an on-line experiment participants (n = 300) rated how they would feel in two different types…
Everyday places to get away – Lessons learned from Covid-19 lockdowns
Being able to get away from everyday stressors and demands, even if close to home and just for a few minutes, is important for wellbeing. During the Covid-19 lockdown periods, people’s ability to get away changed significantly. An increase in visits to nearby natural places is well documented. Little is known about other types of places people visited to get away. An online UK survey was conducted in 2020 (N = 850) investigating what places peopl…
Go on, get out, you've got this”: A qualitative study exploring engagement with a nature conservation intervention for older adults
This qualitative study evaluated a co-designed nature conservation intervention for older adults living in a retirement village. It explored if and how the intervention could support autonomous motivation to engage with nature. Participants were invited to “spot, count and record things in nature” for 6 weeks, tailoring (i.e., personalising) this nature activity to their motivations, needs and abilities, and using resources provided (e.g., logboo…
Exploring perceptions of smart, modular living in the UK: A think aloud study
While there is growing interest in the design and deployment of smart and modular homes in the UK, there remain questions about the public’s readiness and willingness to live in them. Understanding what conditions prospective residents might place upon the decisions to live in such homes stands to improve their design, helping them to meet with the expectations, and requirements of their residents. Through direct interaction with a prototype of a…
Noticing nature: The role of environmental awareness in promoting well‐being
Spending time in natural environments is associated with enhanced well‐being, including reduced stress and improved cognitive restoration. This experimental study investigates whether these benefits can be amplified by providing environmental prompts to direct attention towards specific features (natural versus human‐made) within the environment. Seventy‐nine participants were randomly allocated to one of three conditions: Restorative prompting; …
Psychology (17 works) · Social Psychology (12 works) · Urban Green Space and Health (12 works) · Environmental Education and Sustainability (7 works) · Geography (7 works) · Cognition (5 works) · Sociology (5 works) · Behavioral Health and Interventions (4 works) · Cognitive psychology (4 works) · Engineering (4 works)