Direct, indirect, and vicarious nature experiences collectively predict preadolescents’ self-reported nature connectedness and conservation behaviors

Yue, Zhihui; Chen, Jin

doi:10.7717/peerj.15542

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 116 publications

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“…Vicarious experiences involve the representations of nature that can be realistic, metaphorical, symbolic or stylized through various media such as TV, movies, computers, magazines, books and other media (Kahn Jr & Kellert, 2002). Vicarious nature experience plays a key role in fostering an increasingly abstract understanding of nature, enabling individuals to perceive real-world issues and transforming abstract concepts into visualized forms (Edwards & Larson, 2020;O'Neill, 2013;Yue & Chen, 2023). However, when objects or events are perceived as distant in terms of temporality, spatiality, social context or likelihood of occurrence, they are often represented in abstract and decontextualized terms.…”

Section: The Influence Of Various Forms Of Nature Experiences On Natu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Multidimensional mental representations of natural environment among Chinese preadolescents via draw‐and‐write mapping

Yue,

Meng,

Chen

2023

People and Nature

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The mental associations that children have with the natural environment can be referred to as their natural representations. These representations encompass a blend of shared consensus and individual differences, playing a pivotal role in shaping human relationships with nature and influencing attitudes and behaviours. However, comprehending children's natural representations, particularly among preadolescents with limited verbal narrative abilities, remains a challenge. To address this challenge, we conducted a study employing a draw‐and‐write task and a questionnaire survey. Our investigation aimed to understand how the level of nature experiences and demographic variables affects the multidimensional representations of nature among preadolescents (aged 9–12) in China. Specifically, we examined the impacts of direct, indirect and vicarious nature experiences on their natural representations. These representations included dimensions such as the level of wildness, cognitive complexity, extent of elaboration, expression of emotion and representation style. These dimensions were based on literature review and supported by empirical data collected from children's drawings. Our findings showed that children's drawings of nature not only share similarities but also display significant variations. Most of their drawings include natural components, such as living and non‐living elements, while a notable proportion of drawings depicts human activities. Interestingly, we observed notable differences in the level of wildness, elaboration and representation style among preadolescents from different regions. Additionally, we found that vicarious nature experiences have a significant positive impact on the cognitive complexity, extent of elaboration and positive emotional expression in children's drawings, while direct nature experiences also have a weaker but still significant positive effect on the elaboration. Moreover, female students exhibit greater proficiency in these three aspects compared to their male counterparts. The study highlights the significance of the surrounding environment and nature experiences, especially vicarious nature experience, in shaping the natural representations of preadolescents. Using draw‐and‐write mapping is recommended as a valuable approach to understanding the children's mental representations of the natural environment. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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Section: The Influence Of Various Forms Of Nature Experiences On Natu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Multidimensional mental representations of natural environment among Chinese preadolescents via draw‐and‐write mapping

Yue,

Meng,

Chen

2023

People and Nature

Self Cite

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Emotional attachment and philosophical worldviews explain human connectedness to nature in abandoned rural Spain

López-Zayas,

Castro,

Requena-Mullor

et al. 2024

Sustain Sci

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Land abandonment and rural depopulation are escalating worldwide, presenting sustainability dilemmas for both rural and urban regions. However, there remains a dearth of research on the sociocultural dimensions of abandonment from a local standpoint. This investigation focuses on a case study conducted in southeastern Spain, wherein a social survey was used to evaluate the perspectives of local communities concerning human–nature interconnectedness, land abandonment, and their impacts on quality of life. A survey campaign was administered in the case study region during the spring of 2021, and 122 surveys were collected. The findings identify, in the context of the progressive abandonment of rural lands in Spain, key factors that explain the desire of local people to inhabit and not abandon rural regions in southeastern Spain. Our results also show a strong connection between people and nature in rural Spain, which is explained by the capacity of locals to form relational values in rural environments and the existence of philosophical worldviews and emotional attachments to rural lifestyles. However, barriers to not abandoning rural environments were also identified, including a lack of professional and economic opportunities. Our results suggest that the mitigation of depopulation in rural areas in Spain requires actions to foster land stewardship and address socioeconomic imbalances.

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Children's pro-environmental behaviour: A systematic review of the literature

Liu,

Green

2024

Resources, Conservation and Recycling

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Direct, indirect, and vicarious nature experiences collectively predict preadolescents’ self-reported nature connectedness and conservation behaviors

Cited by 4 publications

References 116 publications

Multidimensional mental representations of natural environment among Chinese preadolescents via draw‐and‐write mapping

Multidimensional mental representations of natural environment among Chinese preadolescents via draw‐and‐write mapping

Emotional attachment and philosophical worldviews explain human connectedness to nature in abandoned rural Spain

Children's pro-environmental behaviour: A systematic review of the literature

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