Missing the forest for the trees: Considerations for the use of nature in consumer spaces

Abstract

In the primary article of this research dialogue (Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2025), we outlined the social, cognitive, and affective benefits of interacting with nature and briefly discussed the relevance of this work to consumer psychology. In their commentary to our primary article, Haws and Yamim approached nature purely within the marketplace setting and discussed how consumer exposure to natural elements may activate semantic networks that will predictably influence consumer behavior. We contextualized the current response to this commentary under the umbrella of sustainability and sustainable consumer decisions. First, we clarify attention restoration theory, stress reduction theory, and assumptions regarding the preference for nature. Second, we discuss definitions of nature from an interdisciplinary perspective. Building upon this, we speak to the potential semantic activations suggested by Haws and Yamim in response to nature exposure, probing potential individual and group-level variations and the relevance of these differences in the consumer space. Finally, we discuss potential conflicts of utilizing nature in the marketplace embedded within the perspective of sustainability goals. In this sense, we question the consequences and ethical considerations of employing nature as a mechanism to influence consumer behavior.