Humans and Nature

This course addresses psychological aspects of the relationship between

humans and nature. We will cover a broad range of topics, including the

formation of biological knowledge and it main organizing principle, i.e.

psychological essentialism, the benefits of contact with the natural world,

i.e. stress reduction and attention restoration, attitudes toward global

warming, personal experiences with nature, environmentalism and

nature education.

Our technological advancements have freed us from nature’s perils and

discomforts. We comfortably live in cities oblivious of the long feared

wilderness. Never before have people been able to isolate themselves

from nature so perfectly. But, paradoxically, never before has the

relationship between us and nature been more important for the future

of the planet. It is becoming more and more clear to a growing number of

people that everyday choices of individuals influence climate processes,

the rate of species extinction, and the level of pollution on the global

scale.

Apart from these dramatic, global, political issues the relationship

between humans and nature can have a much more subtle, personal

dimension, as when we actually get to experience nature directly.

Psychology has much to say about the relationship between humans and

nature. On the one hand it explains the mechanisms of environmentally

friendly behavior. On the other hand it shows what cognitive, emotional,

and social advantages come from direct contact with nature.

Psychologists study how children learn about birds and plants. They also

study why people don’t believe in global warming.

The course will survey diverse aspects of the relationship between

humans and nature thus giving students an opportunity to develop a

more informed, holistic representation of the issue. The course has very

strong applied dimension, and we will be arguing that human-nature

bond is broken and needs healing for the benefit of both parties. We will

discuss the necessity and effectiveness of a variety of interventions in the

area of education, attitude and behavior change. We will also attempt to

design interventions aimed at bridging the gap between humans and

nature.

1. How people come to understand nature: the development of naïve

biology.

a) sensitivity to biological motion in neonates

 Simion, F., Regolin, L. & Bulf, H. (2008). A predisposition for

biological motion in the newborn baby. PNAS, 105, 809–813.

b) development of categorization of living kinds

 Opfer. J. Siegler, R.S. (2004) Revisiting preschoolers' living

things concept: A microgenetic analysis of conceptual

change in basic biology. Cognitive Psychology, 49, 301-332.

 Carey, S. (1985). Conceptual change in childhood. Cambridge

MA: MIT Press. (selected pages)

c) development of reasoning about biological phenomena: e.g.

reproduction, nutrition, death, biological causality

 Inagaki, K. i Hatano, G. (2002). Young children's naive

thinking about the biological world. New York: Psychology

Press (selected pages)

 Gelman, S. A. i Wellman, H. M. (1991). Insides and essences:

Early understanding of the nonobvious. Cognition, 38, 213-

244.

 Hampton, J. A., Estes, Z., & Simmons, S. (2007).

Metamorphosis: Essence, appearance, and behavior in the

categorization of natural kinds. Memory and Cognition, 37,

1785-1800.

 Johnson, S. C. i Solomon, G. E. A. (1997). Why dogs have

puppies and cats have kittens: The role of birth in young

children’s understanding of biological origins. Child

Development, 68, 404-419.

d) psychological essentialism – organizing principle for naïve biology

 Gelman, S. A. & Markman, E. M. (1986). Categories and

induction in young children. Cognition 23, 183-209.

2. Nature and human well-being

a) Attention restoration: how being in nature helps regain depleted

attentional resources

 Kaplan, R. (2001). The Nature of the View from Home:

Psychological Benefits. Environment and Behavior, 33, 507-

542,

b) nature and ADHD

 Taylor, A.F., Kuo, F.E., Sullivan, W.C. (2001). Coping with add:

The Surprising Connection to Green Play Settings

Environment and Behavior, 33, 54-77.

c) nature and social interactions

 Staempfli, B. (2009). Reintroducing Adventure Into Children's

Outdoor Play Environments. Environment and Behavior, 41,

268-280.

d) animals as friends and therapists

 Katcher, A. (2002) Animals in therapeutic education. Guides

into the liminal state. in:Kahn, P. & Kellert, S. (Eds). Children

and Nature: Psychological, Sociocultural, and Evolutionary

Investigations. MIT Press.

3. How psychology can help save the planet

a) growing up environmentalist.

 Collado, S., & Corraliza, J.A. (2015). Children’s Restorative

Experiences and Self-Reported Environmental Behaviors.

Environment and Behavior, 47, 38-56.

 Chawla, L. (1998) Significant Life Experiences Revisited: A

Review of Research on Sources of Environmental Sensitivity.

Journal of Environmental Education, 29, 11-21.

 Myers, O.E., Saunders, C.D. (2002). Animals as links toward

developing caring relationships with the natural world in:

Kahn, P. & Kellert, S. (Eds). Children and Nature:

Psychological, Sociocultural, and Evolutionary Investigations.

MIT Press.

b) biological knowledge and nature conservation: the case of three

neighboring communities in lowland Guatemala.

 Atran et al. (2002). Folkecology, Cultural Epidemiology, and

the Spirit of the Commons. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY, Vol.

43, No. 3. (2002), doi:10.1086/339528

 Medin, D. L., & Atran, S. (2004). The native mind: Biological

categorization and reasoning in development and across

cultures. Psychological Review, 111, 960–983.

c) conservation psychology: attitudes toward global warming,

general pro-environmental attitudes,

 Sander L. van der Linden S. L. et al (2015) The Scientific

Consensus on Climate Change as a Gateway Belief:

Experimental Evidence. Plos One

 Gifford, R. (2011). The Dragons of Inaction Psychological

Barriers That Limit Climate Change Mitigation and

Adaptation. American Psychologist, 66, 290-302.

 Kollmuss A. & Agyeman J. (2002) Mind the Gap: Why do

people act environmentally and what are the barriers to proenvironmental

behavior? Environmental Education

Research, 8, 239-260

Further recommended reading

Gelman, S. A. (2003). The essential child: Origins of essentialism in

everyday thought. New York:Oxford University Press.

Keil, F. (1989). Concepts, kinds and conceptual development. Cambridge,

MA: MIT Press.

Kahn, P. & Kellert, S. (Eds) (2002). Children and Nature: Psychological,

Sociocultural, and Evolutionary Investigations. MIT Press.

Louv, R. (2007). Last child in the woods. Saving children from naturedeficit

disorder. Algonquin Books.

Klein, N. (2013) This changes everything. Penguin Books.

Students will broaden their knowledge about the psychological

dimensions of the relationship between humans and nature

They will relate scientific knowledge to their personal experience and

formulate or update individual attitudes toward the set of issues in

question

They will work in groups at designing interventions aimed at improving a

chosen aspect of the human nature-relationship

They will improve critical thinking, discussion, presentation and writing

skills.

The grade has three components – each with equal weight. Each will be

graded on a 2 to 5 scale and an average of the three will be taken to

calculate the final grade.

 1/3 Presentation of a chosen article – it is supposed to be brief, (up to

15 minutes) and engaging. Making a link between the content of the

article and a ‘real life’ issue from your own experience, or that of your

community, or else something you know from (social) media, will be

advantageous.

 1/3 reaction essays on 3 chosen papers, each from a different broad

topic covered in class.

 1/3 group project. Design and present a psychological intervention

that is aimed at bridging the gap between humans and nature in one

specific area.

Attendance rules

The first class is 45 minutes long and will serve organizational purposes. I

will introduce the topics and we will divide the work. In order to pass the

class a student may have 2 absences at most at the remaining 7 classes.