t2 conservation psychology Flashcards
how long have we started agriculture?
10 thousand years ago
what is monocultural fields
in agriculture where one plot of land or field is just one single type of crop, this is not naturally occuring
terraforming
process of modifying the planet, in the case of agriculture, the land for planting purposes
human-animal symbiosis
humans and domesticated animals mutually benefit each other
human benefit animals in
providing feed, care, and shelter
animals benefit humans in
providing commodities, labour, recreation, better nutrients & health, improved quality of life, protection, entertainment, and companionship
domestication of animals
a process through which a wild animal becomes dependent on humans
humans also become dependent on the domesticated animal
process of 2 species evolving together by directly impacting the other
includes cross-generational breeding which leads to evolutionary changes in the domesticate
features of domesticates
- hierarchical species that readily submit to dominance
- can restrain aggressiveness
- easy to tame
- can live without stress around humans
companion domesticates
guardians or companions to us
they fulfil our desire to be wanted and accepted
provide a focus of attention and care
provide comfort, security, pleasure, and emotional value
domestication of the dog
oldest domesticated animal
since 14 thousand years ago
derived from gray wolves
canis lupus -> canis familiaris
common ancestor of a dog and a bear
Miacis
immediate ancestor of the dog family
Tomarctus
pet ownership in the US
63% of households have pets
27% of classrooms have pets
~$42 billion spent per year on pet costs
relationship with pets
similarities to our relationship to children
and also some objects and possessions
tend to make anthropomorphic interpretations of their behaviour
elements of attachments with pets
- emotional bond
- sense of compatibility
- sense of security
- desire to be together
- mental representation of other’s mind
interactions and play with pets
bidirectional and contingent on each other
play is predictable and ritualised sequences (fetch)
each agent has expectations of the other’s actions
talking with pets
dogs understand short utterances and emotional valence
care-giver relationship with pets
we treat pets like we do children
restrict their movement, feed and clean, we decide what’s best for them, more tolerant of their undesirable behaviours
Serpell General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30) and recreational walks
dogs were found to provide significant improvements to health
dogs promoted much more physical activity
cats, improve but not significant
benefits of pet-keeping
- reduce stress
- lowered blood pressure
- improved mood
- reduced loneliness
- better coping skills
- therapeutic benefits
- improve social interaction in children
- might improve conditions such as autism and ADHD in children
costs of pet-keeping
- disease concern
- injury from pet
- allergies
- time-consuming, burdensome
- expensive
- if mismatched, can cause stress
pet owners and conservation (positives)
develop deeper concern for animals, perspective toward animals is anthropomorphic (more human-like, have cognition, have feelings)
enjoy contacting with animals and dislike harm towards them (want more wildlife interaction and dislike hunting or experimenting (animal testing)
pet owners and conservation (negatives)
want more exotic wildlife as a pet
this disrupts wildlife by disturbing local animals
camp leakey, tanjung puting national park, indonesia
orangutan
the tree that owns itself
jackson oak, white oak tree
william henry jackson put in his will that the tree cannot be cut down and must be protected
but the tree fell in 1942, a new tree is grown from the acorns of the prev tree
public attitudes toward urban trees
done in alabama
high value for tress on property and around community
support government planting of trees
think that developers should be regulated (cannot anyhow cut down trees for urban landscaping)
greening of urban landscapes on mental health
improved mental health when living in urban areas with more green space
relationship between natural park usage and happiness
does not hold true in SG
positives of gardening
tends to environment
create attractive arrangements and landscapes
safe environment for humans and pets
benefits our well-being and happiness
foster community efforts (everyone garden tgt)
negatives of gardening
converting ecosystems
fertiliser run-off
use of topsoil
introduction of exotic species (not native or naturally occurring)
personal benefits to a gardener
escape
identity
ownership
cognitive benefits of greenery
better attention improve mood increase creativity thought inducing can be mimicked by real-looking plant imitations too
window with a view effect
post-gallbladder surgery patients
- fewer pain-killers
- shorter recovery time
- fewer negative evaluations by nursing staff
office workers were more satisfied with work, more positive ratings given about their work, and had fewer health problems
Roderick Nash
meaningful relationship with nature is not completely disregarding urban context, to fully appreciate nature, you are comparing it with urbanisation
people and parks
parks are places designed to bring people in contact with natural elements of the environment in a safe and comfortable way recreation and socialising most often visited by middle class citizens
benefits of parks
- restores psychological well-being
- exercise and vigorous activity
- lower health problems and mortality rate
- augments social & community life
- stress relief and away from noise pollution
- lesser violence and crime (compared to urban city scape)
- learning
- improve cognition
benefits of parks to children
- child development
- unstructured play
- improve navigation
- reduce stress and disorder
- high sensory input
- attention and concentration
- creativity and problem-solving
- physical activity (motor skills)
- arena for social interaction
attention restoration theory
natural stimuli can restore people’s attention, vigour, and cognition
Jorgensen park restoration picture test
test 1 -> scary movie -> test 2 -> photo exposure -> test 3 -> free questions
test: profile of mood and deep restoration scale
phot exposure: street, open park, manicured nature, wild nature
results: open park reduce tension and depression the most, manicured nature increased vigour the most
Nanyang lake study
test (base) -> stressor (construction) -> test (pre) -> park experience (restorative, but one is quiet and one has construction noise) -> test (post)
results: gg to park increased cognition (regardless of noise), reduced fatigue and negative mood, increased restorative state
noisy park -> your negative mood decreases but doesn’t decrease as much as after gg to a quiet park
role of zoos
business that provides -unlicensed access to wildlife
serve to care for the animals and educate the public, support conservation efforts
zoo (moral issues)
confinement of animals in cages
restrict movement and behaviour
abnormal grouping (and mating)
stress due to confinement and proximity to humans
benefits of visiting zoos
- family time
- enjoyment
- appreciation and learning
- companionship
- escape
- introspection
why do people visit zoos
- fun, entertainment 30%
- family 25%
- see animals 25%
- learn 20%
types of visitors
- explorer
- facilitator
- professional / hobbyist
- experience seeker
- spiritual pilgrim
do zoos succeed in impacting people?
half report increased awareness
have greater knowledge
zoo visitors are high on humanistic valuation and low on dominionistic
develop environmental attitudes and increased care for animals
features of wilderness
- natural composition
- unaltered structure
- lack of pollution
- remote and solitude
- uncontrolled processes
use of wilderness
- exploitative
- subsistence
- recreation
- aesthetic
recreation experience preference (REP)
- enjoy nature
- physical fitness
- reduce stress
- escape
- learning
- share experiences
personal benefits from wilderness recreation
- identity enhancement
- therapeutic outcomes
- improved cognition
- reduced stress
- self-efficacy challenge, increase competence
recreational values of wilderness
air and water quality protecting wildlife wilderness for future generations protect rare and endangered species preserving unique wild plants and animals provide scenic beauty recreation preserving for science spiritual inspiration tourist industry
eco tourism
organised tourism to natural areas to give people exposure to wildlife (meaningful and impactful experiences)
form of leisure
said to contribute to conservation (but maybe not, bc of the cons)
pros of eco tourism
promotes and educate people about conservation issues
raise money for conservation efforts
cons of eco tourism
tourist traffic impact the area and wildlife - litter - environmental damage - overcrowding - introduce infections creates dependence on tourist impact local culture
features of wilderness solitude
solitude encountering natural forces and animals remoteness challenge spiritual meaning self-reliance
Babilya study on wilderness solitude
college students
18-day wilderness program
expected spiritual growth and reflection
feared loneliness, uncertainty, lack of structure and failure
many reported reflective contemplation and heightened sensory experience
Daniel study on wilderness solitude
college students
solitude and fasting were the hardest part
high novelty (new)
impactful bc of its uniqueness and emotions triggered
contemplated roles with family and friends (relationships)
managing crowds
crowding reduces the experience of wilderness
privacy enhances restorative and personal growth
noise reduces the enjoyment—you don’t even feel like you are in the wilderness when there is so many people and it’s so noisy and you know that there are people around you, the effect is just not there
wilderness and spirituality (names)
william james: religious experience
carl jung: symbol of the unconscious mind
rosegrant: distinguish between mystical, meaningful, and communion experiences with wilderness
christian monks: meditation and insight
environmental epiphanies
- aesthetic
- intellectual
- realisation
- awakening
- connectedness
ajahn chah
thai buddhist monk
wandered for 7 years to caves, forests, and cemeteries in search for a quiet and secluded place
wanted to find the true meaning of life
thai forest tradition
believe insight can be fostered through secluded lifestyle
wear rags, restrict their eating, receive only alms, living in the open, never lying down to sleep
carried a klot (tent and mosquito net)
wilderness adventure
high risk, sensation seekers
extreme, stressful, unusual
psychological benefits of wilderness adventure
increased sense of control
high competence
fewer physical and mental health problems
mt. mckinley study
motivation to climb
- social aspects
- image
- technical aspects
- escape/restoration
- exhilaration
- accomplishment
theory of flow
flow is a state of consciousness reached by accomplished individuals in a high demanding task
- needs total concentration
- sense of automation action
- clear goals and immediate feedback
- sense of control and choice
- feelings of confidence and competence
- alterations in awareness of time
chris mccandless
young man renounced the world, went into wilderness to live
hunted, gathered, travelled alone
went in and out of society
wanted to reach alaska, denali national park
found dead in a bus (believed to have eaten something poisonous)
inspired by henry david thoreau
value orientations to wildlife
- utilitarianism
- mutualism
- attraction
- concern for safety
charismatic megafauna
large size, intelligent, baby cute, awe-inspiring, familiar, or beautiful
used as symbols
draw public attention
eg panda, eagle
hunting
- food
- sport
- public safety
- wildlife management
white-tailed deer
top game species in the US
managed by state level game commissions (open to the public to hunt)
monitor deer populations, manage public hunting
licenses are sold to individual hunters for a limited quota
deforestation, populations decline in 1800s, in 1900s population shot up
conflict: cause road accidents, lyme disease
wolves
prey on people but mostly prey on our livestock
since 1800s, bounties had been put on wolves
1900s, start gg extinct
wolves decrease, elk increase (another problem)
release wolves back into the wild to manage elk populations (1995 at Yellowstone)
solve elk problem but also they attack our livestock (which is bad)
not sure how to resolve this issue, lead to people in conflict, save wolves or cows
SG tiger
1831: first sighting
1835: attacked
1854-1862: 1 man killed per day by a tiger
main issue in 1830-50, bounty put on killing tigers
this was triggered by deforestation, tigers come out and be in contact with the public, ofc someone is gg to get hurt..
late 1800s: tigers became attraction, conflict resolved, few tigers left, completely eradicated in 1930
macaque
live on forest edges, easily adaptable to human settlement (like to venture into urban area and also bc you keep having deforestation to their house)
forests are right next to homes (ofc they will venture into the housing area, they just live on the edge)
nuisance
salient in 2003-15
Aldo Leopold (basic facts)
Iowa, interested in nature at a young age, attended Yale Forest School, began work for US forest service, supervisor for Carson National Forest, developed first official US wilderness area at Gila National Park, ecological restoration experiment along Wisconsin river
land ethic
Aldo Leopold
described it as a value acquire from knowing the natural world
called for moral responsibility to the natural world, caring about the people and “the land”, improving the relation between the two, humans are a community on earth so we should care for it
ecological restoration experiment at the wisconsin river
the shack by aldo leopold
he lived in the shack and wanted to restore the land, it was bare and useless when he first bought it
now it’s a forest
aldo leopold foundation
founded by his 5 children
to preserve leopold’s shack and the land
community education and to mentor young leaders
henry david thoreau (basic facts)
developed a strong interest in natural history in the later part of his life
was friends with waldo (walden)
walden pond
thoreau moved into a small cottage, the land was owned by waldo
2-year experiment to live a simple life (2 years, 2 months, 2 days)
wrote a book that documented his stay
transcendentalism (transcendental idealism)
people are inherently good, civilisation and society corrupts people
nature has intrinsic and real value
your ideal spirit state is achieved through intuition and connection to nature (reflection in nature)
pastoral environmentalism
thoreau
draw into nature, away from society
everyone is entitled to their own opinions, even if those around you think treating nature in a certain manner is good (widely accepted) but you think it is bad, that is not wrong
walking by thoreau
transcendentalism essay
nature is important to mankind, we can learn from it
we have a physical mental need for nature
being away from society in nature allows us to learn and improve
