Children’s preferences for less diverse greenspaces do not disprove biophilia

Fattorini, Simone; Gabriel, Rosalina; Arroz, Ana Margarida Moura; Amorim, Isabel R.; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Cafaro, Philip

doi:10.1073/pnas.1711505114

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…A loss of orientation reflects a disconnect with nature that decreases motivation or biophilia that discourages engagement with biodiverse spaces (Hand et al, 2017). Notably, the latter view has been contested (Fattorini et al, 2017).…”

Section: Determinants Of Dnes Among Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the preference for visiting parks (built environments with green spaces and play areas) by some children in the capital suggests that available forms of nature may also influence their choices. Nevertheless, choosing less diverse greenspaces may have more influential factors (Fattorini et al, 2017;Freeman et al, 2018). In other countries, children of this age have been found to prefer urban settings (Meidenbauer et al, 2019), while city children tend to associate nature with parks and recreation more than their non-city counterparts (Collado et al, 2015).…”

Section: Preferencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unpacking Determinants of Middle-School Children’s Direct Nature Experiences (DNEs): An Island Perspective

Abdullah

Ishak²,

Ahmad³

2022

IJLTER

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This study aimed to explore and understand the contextual factors that influence nature experiences amongst 11–12–year–old children in their local island environments of the Maldives. The study adopted a qualitative phenomenological approach using semi-structured focus group interviews, held online, with seven groups, one per island environment. A total of 34 children participated in the interviews, with 4–6 children per group, recruited purposively based on inclusion criteria. The interviews were transcribed, and a thematic analysis was carried out. The analysis demonstrated that children’s nature experiences were primarily influenced by preferences, opportunities, constraints, and freedom, of which opportunities have the greatest influence. Similarly, constraints deter the use of available opportunities, regardless of where children live. Females appear to have more constraints on their nature experiences than males. Children must be facilitated with meaningful opportunities for DNEs to overcome constraints and motivate nature engagement. Schools must play a proactive role in facilitating these experiences to foster nature connections to ensure the success of their sustainability targeted curricular objectives. While the subject of DNEs has a wide place in the literature, the lack of studies in the field of education for sustainable development (ESD) increases the importance of this study. The findings can guide the promotion of ESD as a pathway to a sustainable future in the country. Future research should examine barriers to children’s DNEs at the school level.

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Section: Determinants Of Dnes Among Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Preferencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpacking Determinants of Middle-School Children’s Direct Nature Experiences (DNEs): An Island Perspective

Abdullah

Ishak²,

Ahmad³

2022

IJLTER

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“…For their biophilia to be stimulated, children need frequent contact with Nature, initially with domestic Nature, and then extending the exploration to wild Nature ( Hordyk et al, 2015 ). Children’s innate inclination to appreciate many forms of wild Nature can flourish only if it is adequately stimulated ( Fattorini et al, 2017 ; Venturella and Barbiero, 2021 ). If biophilia is not stimulated in children, they tend to prefer domestic Nature (private gardens and courtyards), even when they have the freedom to access areas with high biodiversity ( Hand et al, 2017a ).…”

Section: Building Environments That Stimulate Biophiliamentioning

confidence: 99%

Biophilia as Evolutionary Adaptation: An Onto- and Phylogenetic Framework for Biophilic Design

Barbiero

Berto

2021

Front. Psychol.

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Biophilia is a human personality trait described initially by Erich Fromm and later by E.O. Wilson, both of whom agree that biophilia has a biological basis and that it is fundamental to develop harmonious relationships between humans and the biosphere. This review aims at establishing a definition of biophilia as an evolutionary process. To this end, the most significant studies of evolutionary psychology were considered, to outline the fundamental characteristics of a hypothetical biophilic temperament/personality and to reconstruct a plausible history of biophilia as an evolutionary process. This process considers different typologies of Nature (wilderness, rural, and urban) and human cultures (Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Burg) and leads us to consider environmental preference and psycho-physiological recovery in relation to the threshold of time spent in contact with Nature. Unfortunately, modern people, especially children, lack direct and frequent contact with Nature and this can have negative consequences on their physical and mental health. Biophilic design, considering the evolutionary roots of this architectural approach, is an effective way of planning/designing interior and urban environments to stimulate the innate biophilia of the individual.

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“…The most frequent approach to connectedness has been the study of hedonic well-being -also called subjective or emotional wellbeing -based on the registration of positive emotions as a result of direct contact with natural stimuli (Saraglou et al, 2008;Weinstein et al, 2009;. The results usually point to the experience of positive sensations after direct exposure to nature (Mayer et al, 2009), to residence near green environments (Astell-Burt et al, 2014;Fattorini et al, 2017), even after mere exposure to images (Falsten, 2014;Mena et al, 2020) or the evocation of natural landscapes (Hinds and Sparks, 2011). Some of these studies show the mediating role of connectedness between environmental stimuli and wellbeing, in such a way that nature has a buffering effect for stress reduction, improves attention tasks, promotes positive social behaviors, pro-environmental behaviors, connectedness to nature, and in short, improves quality of life (Mayer et al, 2009;Corraliza and Collado, 2011;Hoot and Riedman, 2011;Carrus et al, 2012;Myers, 2012;Howell et al, 2013;Collado and Staats, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biophilia and Biophobia as Emotional Attribution to Nature in Children of 5 Years Old

et al. 2020

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Introduction: Connectedness to nature is a concept that reflects the emotional relationship between the self and the natural environment, based on the theory of biophilia, the innate predisposition to the natural environment. However, the biophobic component has largely been ignored, despite, given its adaptive functional role, being an essential part of the construct. If there is a phylogenetic component underlying nature connectedness, biophilic, and/or biophobic, there should be evidence of this record from early childhood. The main aim of this study is therefore to describe the emotional attributions identified in 5 years old. Methodology: Two studies were conducted. In the first, 94 children expressed their concept of nature and made basic emotional attributions to a set of 30 images of natural, using a software designed for the study. In the second, 39 children repeated the procedure and provided explanations for their responses. Results: The main results show that, in general, children use both positive and negative emotions, which may be related to a three-dimensional model of emotional attributions to nature. The most widely attributed emotion is happiness. However, fear is the second most common attribution. The role of happiness could be explained by a feeling of security and familiarity, while the importance of fear in nature could show an adaptive response of the fear of wild nature in children. This interpretation could be confirmed when analyzing specifically the emotional attributions, classifying the images according to biological and ecosystemic criteria. Thus, for example, more emotional attributions are explained by the "pleasantness" attributed to primary producers and landscapes (e.g., flora), versus attributions of "harm" to the images of secondary and tertiary consumers (e.g., hunters). Conclusion: These results provide evidence in favor of a didactic procedure to study emotional attributions to images of nature in preschool children. They suggest the incorporation of biophobia as an important adaptive factor in connectedness to nature and a tripartite emotional hypothesis based on the valences of the attributed emotions.

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Children’s preferences for less diverse greenspaces do not disprove biophilia

Cited by 7 publications

References 9 publications

Unpacking Determinants of Middle-School Children’s Direct Nature Experiences (DNEs): An Island Perspective

Unpacking Determinants of Middle-School Children’s Direct Nature Experiences (DNEs): An Island Perspective

Biophilia as Evolutionary Adaptation: An Onto- and Phylogenetic Framework for Biophilic Design

Biophilia and Biophobia as Emotional Attribution to Nature in Children of 5 Years Old

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