Mintz and teammates evaluated how being with other people in a forest and what visitors choose to do in a forest influences experiences there. They determined via a survey distributed to people who had visited forests “that engaging exclusively in relaxing activities is associated with a lower level of positive affect [mood] than engaging in all three types of activities (relaxing, hiking and sport) or than engaging in a combination of hiking and sport. The results also showed that being alone in the forest is associated with lower levels of happiness and vitality than being in the company of others. Being with children in the forest was associated with lower levels of positive affect than being there without children. Nevertheless, as the number of adults in the group with children increased, positive affect increased accordingly.”
Keren Mintz, Ofira Ayalon, Tzipi Eshet, and Orly Nathan. “The Influence of Social Context and Activity on the Emotional Well-Being of Forest Visitors: A Field Study.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, in press, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102234