The purpose of this study was to find the motivations behind people seeking out natural environments and to relate those reasons to the two scales measuring people's connection to nature: the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS) and the Allo-inclusive Identity scale. We hypothesized that participants who seek out nature for interconnectedness and positive affect reasons will score higher on the CNS scale and Allo-inclusive Identity scale than those who seek out nature for recreational reasons. Past studies indicate that the CNS is positively correlated with individuals' biospheric concerns (plants, trees, and wildlife) which suggests a desire to have a kinship with all living organisms that make up the natural world (Mayer and Frantz, 2004). These studies also suggest that connectedness to nature is related to an affective sense of oneness with nature. The Allo-inclusive Identity nature subscale associated scores with an internal state awareness which includes attention to one's inner states and experiences (Leary, Tipsord & Tate, 2008). People who score high in natural world are more attentive to their inner states and are more sensitive to one's feelings of connection, appreciation to animals, and nature. The results of this study suggest that people who seek out nature for connection and/or positive affect reasons score higher on the CNS and the Allo-inclusive Identity scale than people who seek out nature for primarily recreation reasons.
