Does empathy mediate the relationship between personality and nature connectedness? A replication of Di Fabio and Kenny (2021) in a representative U.S. sample
Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Study design: Study Protocol
Abstract: This pre-registration is for a Stage 1 Registered Replication which has been Accepted in Principal at the Journal of Personality. Environmental advocates encourage behavioral modifications that can occur on individual, communal, and societal scales to help reduce and offset issues of environmental destruction. Research dedicated to improving sustainability is emerging as one of the most targeted aspects of pro-environmentalism. Sustainable behaviors are defined as a set of deliberate actions that conserve natural resources and also include pro-ecological and altruistic behaviors (Pinho & Gomes, 2023). These behaviors, which include recycling, reducing water and food waste, buying used products, and using renewable energy sources, can be a driving force in reducing environmental destruction and mitigating the effects of many harmful behaviors and situations (Duarte et al., 2016; Lacroix, 2018; Tabi, 2013). Additionally, individual differences can predict individuals’ likelihood of engaging in pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs), though some traits (such as dispositional empathy) are more modifiable than others (such as personality). The current study investigates whether empathy mediates the link between key personality traits and two related outcomes: nature connectedness and PEBs. Di Fabio and Kenny (2021) examined the mediating effect of empathy between personality traits and nature connectedness in 230 Italian adult workers. They administered the Big Five Questionnaire, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and the Connectedness to Nature Scale to measure personality, empathy, and nature connectedness, respectively. By using mediation analyses, they found that the personality traits of agreeableness and openness demonstrated significant correlations with dimensions of empathy (i.e., perspective-taking and empathic concern) and connectedness to nature (Di Fabio & Kenny, 2021). The present study aims to determine whether the Di Fabio and Kenny (2021) findings are replicable in a representative population of United States residents. In addition to this replication, we aim to extend their results to include another key outcome, that is, pro-environmental behaviors. We also measure and key variables including social desirability, gender, and political orientation, which allows us to statistically account for their influence on the overall results. We hypothesize that though the sample of Di Fabio and Kenny (2021) may be more empathetic, conscientious, agreeable, and connected to nature than a representative US sample, the fundamental relationships will replicate in this US sample. Further, we will test whether these relationships hold when accounting for social desirability and by measuring constructs across distinctive time periods to address concerns of shared method variance.
Source: OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints)
Authors: Tiara Freeman, Kimberly Lewis Meidenbauer, Isabella Santiago, Philip J. Stilson, Kimberly C. Doell, Erika Lutz
Language: English
Subfield: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7113073321