Table 1.

Application of Social Cognitive Theory Concepts in Relation to Nature-Seeking Behaviors^*

CONCEPT	COMPONENTS	DEFINITION	IMPLICATION FOR NATURE SEEKING
Environment (reinforcements)	Vicarious modeling Experiences Physical environment Natural environment Family, friends Other social influences Social norms Organization/institutional support	Factors physically external to the person that reinforce one's ability to access nature successfully and derive health benefits from experience Ex. Successful foray outdoors with friends leads to mutual satisfaction	Natural environment: proximity of wild nature, urban greenspace. Physical: neighborhood safety and accessibility, infrastructure, efficient transit Organizational support: church and summer camps, scouts, ecology clubs
Situation	Combines objective facts (physical risk, weather, other people) with subjective reading (hostility, welcome, phobias)	Person's perception of the environment: safe, welcoming, hostile, manageable, transparent? Ex. perceived microaggressions in public nature spaces	Imparting knowledge of objective factors, e.g., safety vs. risk + building self-efficacy through practice and praise Conceptions of nature highly influenced by vicarious modeling
Behavioral capability	Actionable skills Reactions Practice Protective conditions in interim	Knowledge and skill to perform a targeted behavior, here going into nature Ex. Navigating a blazed trail	Take what was learned and observed by shifting onus of behavior from support to oneself, i.e., lead or go alone
Expectations	Reasons for nature seeking modified by prior experiences	Anticipatory outcomes of a behavior Ex. Stress release from everyday grind	Better physical/emotional health, restorativeness, happiness, solitude, awe and wonder, stress removal; longevity, weight loss
Expectancies	Preferences/tastes, excitement, high failure bar, safety, belief in the health benefits of outdoor recreation/nature exposure, stress reduction, relaxation all motivate behavior	The (quantifiable) values that one places on a given outcome; emotional (dis)incentives Ex. Fear of disorientation in woodlands (negative); experiencing awe (positive)	Change from domestic environment, recreation, escape from computer/office environment; enabling conditions to think (solitude, quiet), beauty
Self-control	Self-monitoring Self-regulation	Personal regulation of goal-directed behavior or performance Ex. Limit thrill seeking to what is safe	Developing judgment of one's own ability, knowledge when to retreat, perseverance in challenge
Observational learning (vicarious modeling)	Someone to model—relative, teacher, camp counselor Group dynamics Instructional learning of both event and outcome	Behavioral acquisition that occurs by watching the actions and outcomes of others' behavior Ex. Know how to read sky conditions for impending weather change	Presence of a trusted adult who introduces nature in a positive way, models behavior and outcome expectation, and transfers skills to identify and control risks outdoors
Reinforcements	Positive incentives: feeling healthy, achieving goals, better sleep, strength, social network Negative incentives: animals, bad weather, scary persons, boredom, excessive fatigue	Responses to a person's behavior that increase/decrease the likelihood of repeating the behavior Ex. Receive affirmative information and encouragement toward goal	Hedonic well-being (short-term, ex. prize earned) vs eudemonic well-being (self-reinforcing, longer-term, ex. cardiovascular health)
Self-efficacy (primary predictor of intention)	(Highly important b/c affects how much effort invested in tasks and level of performance attained.) Feedback, social support, self-rewards	Person's confidence in performing a particular behavior and in overcoming barriers to that goal; seek specificity about change Ex. Visualizing information in context	Mental preparation, conditioning, perseverance, see goal to end. Recognition of risks, preparation, and management of risks to avoid real danger. Learned by vicarious modeling
Emotional coping response	Opportunities to practice skills in emotionally arousing situations	Experiences will modify strength of response to social/cognitive behavior Ex. Learning not to over-react to failure	Satisfaction with task completion vs. discouragement that experience was disappointing, boring, hostile
Barriers	Time, money, transport. Energy, effort; competing interests, screen time; knowhow, sense of security, weather. Inconvenience; lack of time.	Barriers that a person perceives toward enacting/adopting the behavior Ex. Developing ability to foresee barriers and devise alternatives	If barriers perceived as too high/not worth the effort to overcome, person will not seek outdoor activities, thus increasing nature alienation

^* Inspired by Perry, Bar, Parcel (1990).