Examining the facets of mindful engagement and mind wandering in nature

Mindfulness and mind wandering may both enhance the psychological outcomes of nature experiences. Both states are multi-faceted, with mindfulness involving specific components such as decentering, body awareness, and nonjudgment, and mind wandering involving intentional and spontaneous mind wandering. These facets may differentially predict psychological outcomes of nature experiences, however these associations have not been tested. In this study we examined facets of mindfulness and mind wandering in nature and tested their associations with outcomes of psychological restoration and nature connection. We also tested the effects of different environmental and personal circumstances on these engagement facets in nature. We conducted an experiment in which participants were instructed on how to engage with nature during a 20min outdoor experience and completed online surveys before and after the outdoor experience. Participants were allocated into one of four groups, each given different engagement instructions. Through an exploratory factor analysis, we found that the measure of state mindfulness assessed three facets – decentering, noticing and accepting the internal experience, and body awareness, and the measure of mind wandering assessed two facets – mindlessness, and pleasant mind wandering. Regression analyses revealed associations between these facets and outcomes of the nature experience: decentering, body awareness, and pleasant mind wandering were generally associated with positive outcomes, and mindlessness and noticing and accepting the internal experience were associated with poorer outcomes relating to negative affect and attention performance. Further analyses revealed environmental and personal contextual factors that influenced engagement during the nature experience. These results demonstrate the value of deconstructing mindfulness and mind wandering in nature to explore facets that have beneficial or adverse effects on psychological outcomes. We conclude with practical directions for nature-based engagement interventions that can target the beneficial components of these practices in different contexts.