Deciphering landscape preferences: Investigating the roles of familiarity and biome types

Abstract

Although people generally have positive evaluations of natural environments and stimuli, theory and research suggest that certain biomes are more preferable than others. Existing theories often draw on evolutionary ideas and people's familiarity with biome types, with familiarity being the most supported, albeit not conclusively, in existing research. Across three samples (n = 720) we sought to compare preference ratings of 40 images that represented ten biomes (beach, lake, tropical and temperate forest, marsh, swamp, meadow, park, mountain, and river). We addressed objective familiarity by recruiting samples from two distinct geographies (Florida and Ontario), and we assessed subjective familiarity via image ratings. Familiarity was positively associated with liking biomes, though this trend was stronger for subjective familiarity compared to geography. Substantial variation in biome type preferences could not be attributed to familiarity. Specific biome types were strongly preferred irrespective of familiarity and geography. e.g., beaches and lakes were highly preferred, while marshes and swamps were substantially less preferred than other biome types. Further analyses found that the individual difference of nature relatedness predicted both familiarity and liking of all biomes except beaches, and that there was a lack of seasonal effects (fall and winter) across two Ontario samples. We discuss how results provide qualified support for the familiarity view, limits of this interpretation, how methodological choices such as the number of ratings might impact findings, and the potential applications of these results in landscape design.

Does Spending Time in Nature Help Students Cope with the COVID-19 Pandemic?

“…There are three reasonable possibilities: the environments themselves are more conducive to well-being; different kinds of people frequent different kinds of environments; and some environments are more accessible. For example, Mangone et al [51] found dramatic differences in people's assessments of various narrower environment types (e.g., beaches vs. swamps); however, the most and least preferred biomes did not easily cleave into the green space vs. blue space categories, as one might intuit when considering beaches and swamps. The benefits of particular environments may further vary in ways that are more nuanced than our three categories could discover.…”

Pleistocene Hypothesis – Moving Savanna Perceptual Preference Hypothesis Beyond Savanna

“…Hartmann and Apaolaza-Ibáñez (2013) confirm the role of familiarity as there are preferences for images of lush green landscapes with water and familiar biomes (see also Mangone et al, 2021 ). Human nature attachment has been related to both evolution and cultural bonds to places, as landscape preferences are related to places where human beings feel safe and at home ( Adevi and Grahn, 2012 ).…”

“…Beside the prospect-refuge-theory and the Savanna Hypothesis, Kaplan’s landscape preference matrix theory ( Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989 ) and the stress recovery theory ( Ulrich et al, 1991 ) argue that humans prefer natural green environments. More importantly and in line with the concept of mosaic environments, in addition to the Savanna hypothesis, two other hypotheses with respect to the specific habitat where humans have evolved have been presented ( Han, 2007 ; Mangone et al, 2021 ). One option is the forest hypothesis, which argues that human evolution took place in closed, forested settings and the other one is the grassland–woodland hypothesis, which proposes that a mosaic of both settings was the adaptive environment for hominids.…”

“…In another study, college students’ psycho-physiological responses to the six major terrestrial biomes (desert, tundra, grassland, coniferous forest, deciduous forest, and tropical forest) showed that tundra and coniferous forest were the most favored biomes, whereas desert and grassland were the least favored ( Han, 2007 ). Yet another study with a student population showed that irrespective of familiarity, beaches and lakes were preferred more and marshes and swamps preferred less than the other six biome types (beach, lake, tropical and temperate forest, marsh, swamp, meadow, park as a representative of savanna, mountain, and river) ( Mangone et al, 2021 ). Concerning features of savanna, there is evidence on cross-cultural preferences for acacia-like Savanna trees ( Orians and Heerwagen, 1992 ).…”

Landscapes of Prosperity, Youth, Femininity, Temptation, Friendship, Transition, Money, and Survival in Terms of Evolutionary Psychology

“…This landscape includes water, potential game, and several natural hideouts, similar to African savannas where the evolution of man occurred [45][46][47][48][49]. Other evolutionary psychologists, in turn, challenge this thesis, believing that humans prefer landscapes that are a part of their habitat, or are familiar to them [50,51].…”