Patterns of Reasoning Exhibited by Children and Adolescents in Response to Moral Dilemmas Involving Plants, Animals and Ecosystems

Nevers, Patricia; Gebhard, Ulrich; Billmann‐Mahecha, Elfriede

doi:10.1080/0305724970260205

Cited by 24 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Starting with the first hypothesis, on mastery over nature, empirical studies tend to focus primarily on the images of human/nature relationships among special groups like farmers (Kaltoft 1999), women (Modelmog 1998) or children (Kahn 1999;Nevers 1997). Examples of broader studies are Kellert's (1989) quantitative research on attitudes towards animals in American culture, the study by Buijs and Filius (1998) on images of nature in the Netherlands and studies applying the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) Scale of Dunlap et al (2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Humans, Nature and God: Exploring Images of Their Interrelationships in Victoria, Canada

Groot

Born

2007

Worldviews

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Th is study explores visions of nature among five populations in Victoria, a small city in British Columbia, Canada: Christians, Muslims, Native Americans, Buddhists, and secularists. Each group was asked to express their view of the human relationships with nature based upon four approaches: mastery over nature, stewardship in regard to the creation, a partner, or a participant in the processes of nature. Th e first model, in which humans wield hierarchical power and mastery over nature, was rejected by all groups. Christians and Muslims adhered to the stewardship image of the human/nature relationship, while Buddhists and Native Americans considered themselves to be participants in nature. Th e secularists made combinations of the approaches to exemplify their view. Twenty-seven individuals participated in extensive interviews as part of this study, which also included a small scale written survey of fifty-three persons. Keywordsvisions of nature, values of nature, attitudes toward nature, religion, environmental ethics * ) We wish to thank the Coastal Inquiries project and the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at the University of Victoria for offering the fellowship that enabled us to carry out this research in Canada. We would also like to thank Hub Zwart, Wim Hofstee and Wouter de Groot for their enthusiasm for this project and their valuable comments.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Humans, Nature and God: Exploring Images of Their Interrelationships in Victoria, Canada

Groot

Born

2007

Worldviews

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“…Additionally, anticipated negative changes articulated by children concerned nature much more than humans. Such dualistic accounts were reported for urban children (Nevers et al 1997;Huang and Yore 2003). Our findings show that these attitudes might be found among rural children as well.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 51%

“…Another contradictory finding concerned creatures: Children liked birds but disliked insects. Analogous feelings toward animals were frequently found by previous research (Nevers et al 1997;Tunstall et al 2004;Lindemann-Matthies 2006). If one considers that birds feed on insects or that there might be some insect species in danger of extinction, then the resolution of the already-mentioned contradictions is essential in providing a coherent conceptualization of local food webs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Rural Children's Views on Human Activities and Changes in a Greek Wetland

Korfiatis

Hovardas

Tsaliki³

et al. 2009

Society & Natural Resources

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We studied the views of Greek children about their likes=dislikes regarding changes to a protected wetland as a result of human activities. We focused on two primary-sector (i.e., fishing, harvest) and two ecotourism (i.e., bird watching, boat tour) activities as these reflect the contrast between traditional land uses and newly established management regimes. We used photos as visual aids for conducting structured interviews with 200 children aged 4 to 10 years. Fishing generated the most negative dispositions, although all activities elicited positive reactions by the majority of children. Our findings add to the existing literature on the image of nature as unchanging and the divide between nature and society in the views of rural children. Messages promoted in the study area through environmental management and education should address the fact that primary-sector activities are not incompatible with environmental conservation but can be transformed toward a more sustainable form.

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“…Schulz. Chicago Zoological Society. are studies of children's philosophy in regard to environmental aesthetics and ethics (Nevers et al, 1997).…”

Section: Development Of Caringmentioning

confidence: 99%

The future of zoos and aquariums: conservation and caring

Rabb

Saunders

2005

International Zoo Yearbook

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The success of zoos and aquariums as conservation centres depends on the holistic embrace of conservation, including acting as model citizen, wildlife conservationist, agent for conservation and mentor/trainer. Success also depends on truly reaching our audiences, from policy‐maker to land manager to citizen, to help them care about and care for nature. In pursuing our conservation goal, we must acknowledge our general lack of experience in effectively changing the behaviour of these different audiences, which function at both the global and local level. To start with those closest to us, the visitors to our institutions, we should appreciate that we do not have deep understanding of the effect our business has on them by providing close‐up experiences with a variety of animals. Nevertheless, by the caring ways in which we express biophilia and carry out particular conservation activities, our institutions can become transformative models, inspiring and motivating urban people around the globe to have a more harmonious and sustainable relationship with the natural world.

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Patterns of Reasoning Exhibited by Children and Adolescents in Response to Moral Dilemmas Involving Plants, Animals and Ecosystems

Cited by 24 publications

References 4 publications

Humans, Nature and God: Exploring Images of Their Interrelationships in Victoria, Canada

Humans, Nature and God: Exploring Images of Their Interrelationships in Victoria, Canada

Rural Children's Views on Human Activities and Changes in a Greek Wetland

The future of zoos and aquariums: conservation and caring

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