This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.
Research indicates that beautiful nature can have positive impacts. Does polluted nature have a corresponding negative impact? This paper presents two experiments investigating the impact of viewing images of natural settings, on a college campus, that do or do not contain litter. The moderating role of environmental identity was also examined. Study 1 showed that landscapes with litter evoked more negative emotions among a sample of 332 U.S. residents on MTurk than did landscapes without litter. Surprisingly, natural landscapes did not have a more positive effect than images of buildings. In Study 2, using an MTurk sample of 310 U.S. residents, results were similar to Study 1 but were qualified by an interaction between condition and EID: those high in EID were more strongly affected by the images. These results suggest that viewing polluted landscapes can have a negative effect on emotions (hedonic wellbeing), and that these effects are stronger among those who have a stronger relationship with nature. There was no evidence for an impact on eudaimonic wellbeing as represented by a sense of meaning, efficacy, or ethicality. Given the continuing degradation of our natural environment, further research on the impacts of polluted landscapes is needed.
Susan D. Clayton. Environment, Identity, and Response to Polluted Landscapes. Sustainability 2021, 13, 9422 .
AMA StyleSusan D. Clayton. Environment, Identity, and Response to Polluted Landscapes. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (16):9422.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSusan D. Clayton. 2021. "Environment, Identity, and Response to Polluted Landscapes." Sustainability 13, no. 16: 9422.
The environmental identity (EID) scale, first published in 2003, was developed to measure individual differences in a stable sense of interdependence and connectedness with nature. Since then, it has been reliably correlated with measures of environmental behavior and concern. However, the original scale was developed based on U.S. college students, raising questions about its validity for other types of populations. This study revised the EID scale and tested it in five countries (four continents) with a total sample size of 1717 participants. Results support strong internal consistency across all locations. Importantly, EID was significantly correlated with behavior and with environmental concern. This research gives us greater confidence that the EID construct is meaningful across different cultural contexts. Because the revised EID was designed to be relevant to a wider range of people and experiences, it is recommended as a replacement for the 2003 version.
Susan Clayton; Sandor Czellar; Sonya Nartova-Bochaver; Jeffrey Skibins; Gabby Salazar; Yu-Chi Tseng; Boris Irkhin; Fredy Monge-Rodriguez. Cross-Cultural Validation of A Revised Environmental Identity Scale. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2387 .
AMA StyleSusan Clayton, Sandor Czellar, Sonya Nartova-Bochaver, Jeffrey Skibins, Gabby Salazar, Yu-Chi Tseng, Boris Irkhin, Fredy Monge-Rodriguez. Cross-Cultural Validation of A Revised Environmental Identity Scale. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (4):2387.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSusan Clayton; Sandor Czellar; Sonya Nartova-Bochaver; Jeffrey Skibins; Gabby Salazar; Yu-Chi Tseng; Boris Irkhin; Fredy Monge-Rodriguez. 2021. "Cross-Cultural Validation of A Revised Environmental Identity Scale." Sustainability 13, no. 4: 2387.
This essay reviews evidence for the current and potential effects of climate change on mental health. A growing body of research demonstrates not only that the extreme weather events associated with a changing climate can impair mental health, in particular leading to increases in depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, but also that more gradual changes in climatic conditions, such as rising temperatures and reduced air quality, are also harmful to mental health. In addition, there is increasing evidence that a significant proportion of people might be experiencing a harmful level of anxiety associated with their perception of climate change. Mental health impacts of climate change have the potential to affect a significant proportion of the population. More research is needed to document the extent of these impacts as well as the best options for mitigating and treating them.
Susan Clayton. Climate Change and Mental Health. Current Environmental Health Reports 2021, 1 -6.
AMA StyleSusan Clayton. Climate Change and Mental Health. Current Environmental Health Reports. 2021; ():1-6.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSusan Clayton. 2021. "Climate Change and Mental Health." Current Environmental Health Reports , no. : 1-6.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has encouraged psychologists to become part of the integrated scientific effort to support the achievement of climate change targets such as keeping within 1.5°C or 2°C of global warming. To date, the typical psychological approach has been to demonstrate that specific concepts and theories can predict behaviors that contribute to or mitigate climate change. Psychologists need to go further and, in particular, show that integrating psychological concepts into feasible interventions can reduce greenhouse gas emissions far more than would be achieved without such integration. While critiquing some aspects of current approaches, we describe psychological research that is pointing the way by distinguishing different types of behavior, acknowledging sociocultural context, and collaborating with other disciplines. Engaging this challenge offers psychologists new opportunities for promoting mitigation, advancing psychological understanding, and developing better interdisciplinary interactions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Kristian S. Nielsen; Susan Clayton; Paul C. Stern; Thomas Dietz; Stuart Capstick; Lorraine Whitmarsh. How psychology can help limit climate change. American Psychologist 2021, 76, 130 -144.
AMA StyleKristian S. Nielsen, Susan Clayton, Paul C. Stern, Thomas Dietz, Stuart Capstick, Lorraine Whitmarsh. How psychology can help limit climate change. American Psychologist. 2021; 76 (1):130-144.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKristian S. Nielsen; Susan Clayton; Paul C. Stern; Thomas Dietz; Stuart Capstick; Lorraine Whitmarsh. 2021. "How psychology can help limit climate change." American Psychologist 76, no. 1: 130-144.
Cambry Baker; Susan Clayton; Eshana Bragg. Educating for resilience: parent and teacher perceptions of children’s emotional needs in response to climate change. Environmental Education Research 2020, 27, 687 -705.
AMA StyleCambry Baker, Susan Clayton, Eshana Bragg. Educating for resilience: parent and teacher perceptions of children’s emotional needs in response to climate change. Environmental Education Research. 2020; 27 (5):687-705.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCambry Baker; Susan Clayton; Eshana Bragg. 2020. "Educating for resilience: parent and teacher perceptions of children’s emotional needs in response to climate change." Environmental Education Research 27, no. 5: 687-705.
Climate change will affect psychological wellbeing. Substantial research has documented harmful impacts on physical health, mental health, and social relations from exposure to extreme weather events that are associated with climate change. Recently, attention has turned to the possible effects of climate change on mental health through emotional responses such as increased anxiety. This paper discusses the nature of climate anxiety and some evidence for its existence, and speculates about ways to address it. Although climate anxiety appears to be a real phenomenon that deserves clinical attention, it is important to distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive levels of anxiety. A focus on individual mental health should not distract attention from the societal response that is necessary to address climate change.
Susan Clayton. Climate anxiety: Psychological responses to climate change. Journal of Anxiety Disorders 2020, 74, 102263 .
AMA StyleSusan Clayton. Climate anxiety: Psychological responses to climate change. Journal of Anxiety Disorders. 2020; 74 ():102263.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSusan Clayton. 2020. "Climate anxiety: Psychological responses to climate change." Journal of Anxiety Disorders 74, no. : 102263.
There is increasing attention to the negative emotional responses associated with awareness of climate change. We present three studies developing a scale of climate change anxiety. In Study 1, the scale was developed and validated in an MTurk sample of 197. Exploratory factor analysis of our item pool revealed a four-factor structure, with cognitive-emotional impairment, functional impairment, behavioral engagement, and experience emerging as unique factors. Cognitive-emotional impairment and functional impairment were considered to constitute subscales for climate change anxiety; along with behavioral engagement, they were all related to experience as well as to negative emotions. Neither climate change anxiety nor general depression and anxiety were related to behavioral engagement. Study 2 replicated the factor structure as well as the pattern of correlations in a second MTurk sample of 199. Study 3 examined the relationship between climate change anxiety and adaptation responses in a sample of 217, and tested whether climate change anxiety scores would be affected by the framing of a climate change message. Overall, results suggest that climate change anxiety is not uncommon, especially among younger adults; that worry can be differentiated from a more serious impact on one's life; and that climate change anxiety is correlated with emotional but not behavioral responses to climate change.
Susan Clayton; Bryan T. Karazsia. Development and validation of a measure of climate change anxiety. Journal of Environmental Psychology 2020, 69, 101434 .
AMA StyleSusan Clayton, Bryan T. Karazsia. Development and validation of a measure of climate change anxiety. Journal of Environmental Psychology. 2020; 69 ():101434.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSusan Clayton; Bryan T. Karazsia. 2020. "Development and validation of a measure of climate change anxiety." Journal of Environmental Psychology 69, no. : 101434.
Research and theory from psychology are increasingly being utilized to understand potential impacts of climate change and to promote positive responses. In this Primer, Clayton describes three main areas in which psychological research provides relevant insights, and provides suggestions for encouraging mitigation and adaptation behavior.
Susan Clayton. Psychology and climate change. Current Biology 2019, 29, R992 -R995.
AMA StyleSusan Clayton. Psychology and climate change. Current Biology. 2019; 29 (19):R992-R995.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSusan Clayton. 2019. "Psychology and climate change." Current Biology 29, no. 19: R992-R995.
Susan Clayton; Sarah M. Bexell; Ping Xu; Ya Fei Tang; Wen Jing Li; Li Chen. Environmental literacy and nature experience in Chengdu, China. Environmental Education Research 2018, 25, 1105 -1118.
AMA StyleSusan Clayton, Sarah M. Bexell, Ping Xu, Ya Fei Tang, Wen Jing Li, Li Chen. Environmental literacy and nature experience in Chengdu, China. Environmental Education Research. 2018; 25 (7):1105-1118.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSusan Clayton; Sarah M. Bexell; Ping Xu; Ya Fei Tang; Wen Jing Li; Li Chen. 2018. "Environmental literacy and nature experience in Chengdu, China." Environmental Education Research 25, no. 7: 1105-1118.
Modern lifestyles have increased a separation between humans and nature while also integrating technology into daily life. The use of technology has not only supplanted people's traditional experiences with nature but begun to change them: Through videos and documentaries, we can discover windows opened onto wilderness, landscapes, places, and species we would not be able to reach and see otherwise. Even video games contribute to this phenomenon. Can gaming play a role in the relationship between humans and nature? The current study focused on how players relate to nature in the world's number-one online role-playing game, the World of Warcraft (WoW). We distributed an online questionnaire to 1,173 French-speaking gamers to assess their preferred landscapes in the virtual environment, their relations to nature in real life, and their motivations to play. The results indicate that players prefer virtual areas displaying a significant amount of green vegetation and specific open landscapes but that this preference is not related to their connectedness with nature nor to their motivation to play, which is mostly to escape from their daily life. We showed also that people that declared being motivated to play for nature-based reasons are those that declare being less connected with nature in real life. We discuss these results as a reflection of biophilia in a virtual context, that is, an attraction to virtual landscapes that are healthy and full of vegetation, when it has become difficult to reach such landscapes in real life. Key Words: Virtual experience of nature—Biophilia—Online universe—Virtual nature—Video games—Connection to nature.
Minh-Xuan Truong; Anne-Caroline Prévot; Susan Clayton. Gamers Like It Green: The Significance of Vegetation in Online Gaming. Ecopsychology 2018, 10, 1 -13.
AMA StyleMinh-Xuan Truong, Anne-Caroline Prévot, Susan Clayton. Gamers Like It Green: The Significance of Vegetation in Online Gaming. Ecopsychology. 2018; 10 (1):1-13.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMinh-Xuan Truong; Anne-Caroline Prévot; Susan Clayton. 2018. "Gamers Like It Green: The Significance of Vegetation in Online Gaming." Ecopsychology 10, no. 1: 1-13.
The wildlife trade poses substantial threats to global biodiversity. China is a significant source of threatened species and also a market for wildlife products. Zoological parks (zoos), which are a popular leisure attraction in China as elsewhere, are increasingly conceptualized as places to educate visitors about both animals and environmental threats more generally. This paper reports on an attempt to inform Chinese zoo visitors about the threats presented by the wildlife trade, and about the opportunity to take personal actions to help protect wildlife. Results from a baseline survey of attitudes among 524 adult visitors to animal exhibits in Chengdu, China showed a high degree of concern about wildlife paired with a lack of confidence about what could be done. A sense of connection to nature, along with a perception of personal efficacy, were the strongest predictors of concern about the wildlife trade. Based in part on these results, an informational exhibit was designed and implemented in two locations in Chengdu. A survey of 533 visitors to assess the impact of the new exhibit showed that connection and perceived efficacy continued to predict concern, and that talking about the exhibit was associated with increased knowledge and concern. Though causality cannot be definitively concluded, results suggest that zoos have the potential to influence attitudes and perceived norms regarding the wildlife trade. By affirming the importance of a feeling of connection, the findings indicate that animal facilities may have an important role in fostering the human relationship to the natural world.
Susan Clayton; Sarah Bexell; Xu Ping; Zhang Zhihe; Li Wen Jing; Chen Hong Wei; Hu Yan. Confronting the wildlife trade through public education at zoological institutions in Chengdu, P.R. China. Zoo Biology 2018, 37, 119 -129.
AMA StyleSusan Clayton, Sarah Bexell, Xu Ping, Zhang Zhihe, Li Wen Jing, Chen Hong Wei, Hu Yan. Confronting the wildlife trade through public education at zoological institutions in Chengdu, P.R. China. Zoo Biology. 2018; 37 (2):119-129.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSusan Clayton; Sarah Bexell; Xu Ping; Zhang Zhihe; Li Wen Jing; Chen Hong Wei; Hu Yan. 2018. "Confronting the wildlife trade through public education at zoological institutions in Chengdu, P.R. China." Zoo Biology 37, no. 2: 119-129.
Effectively addressing environmental challenges such as climate change will require adopting policy measures that have some impact on collective human behavior. The present research examined attitudes toward different environmental policies, specifically focusing on the role of perceived justice. Justice was measured in two ways: as an assessment of the fairness of a particular policy and as a general tendency to endorse statements related to environmental justice. Because justice judgments can be context specific, policies were presented in four conditions, in a 2 × 2 design manipulating the type of impact described, ecological or societal, and the level of focus, individual or collective. The roles of political ideology and environmentalism were also investigated. Results from an online sample of 162 US residents showed that non-coercive policies, overall, were rated as more acceptable. Environmental justice statements were strongly endorsed, and justice in both its specific and general forms was a determinant of policy acceptance. In particular, ratings of the fairness of specific policies were a stronger determinant of acceptability than perceived effectiveness of the policy. Type of impact had little effect, but policies tended to be rated as more acceptable when they were framed in terms of the collective rather than the individual. Although a liberal ideology was associated with acceptance of environmental policies in general and with endorsement of environmental justice, controlling for endorsement of environmental justice eliminated the effect of political ideology in most, but not all, cases. Implications for policy support are discussed.
Susan Clayton. The Role of Perceived Justice, Political Ideology, and Individual or Collective Framing in Support for Environmental Policies. Social Justice Research 2018, 31, 219 -237.
AMA StyleSusan Clayton. The Role of Perceived Justice, Political Ideology, and Individual or Collective Framing in Support for Environmental Policies. Social Justice Research. 2018; 31 (3):219-237.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSusan Clayton. 2018. "The Role of Perceived Justice, Political Ideology, and Individual or Collective Framing in Support for Environmental Policies." Social Justice Research 31, no. 3: 219-237.
Sebastian Bamberg; Stuart Capstick; Daniel A. Chapman; Angel Chen; Susan Clayton; Thomas J. Doherty; John Fraser; Nathaniel Geiger; Robert Gifford; Meaghan L. Guckian; Karine Lacroix; Brian Lickel; Christie Manning; Ezra M. Markowitz; Adam R. Pearson; Jonas H. Rees; Jonathon P. Schuldt; Maxie Schulte; Linda Silka; Paul C. Stern; Julie Sweetland; Janet K. Swim; Carlie D. Trott; Lorraine Whitmarsh; Kimberly S. Wolske. List of contributors. Psychology and Climate Change 2018, 1 .
AMA StyleSebastian Bamberg, Stuart Capstick, Daniel A. Chapman, Angel Chen, Susan Clayton, Thomas J. Doherty, John Fraser, Nathaniel Geiger, Robert Gifford, Meaghan L. Guckian, Karine Lacroix, Brian Lickel, Christie Manning, Ezra M. Markowitz, Adam R. Pearson, Jonas H. Rees, Jonathon P. Schuldt, Maxie Schulte, Linda Silka, Paul C. Stern, Julie Sweetland, Janet K. Swim, Carlie D. Trott, Lorraine Whitmarsh, Kimberly S. Wolske. List of contributors. Psychology and Climate Change. 2018; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSebastian Bamberg; Stuart Capstick; Daniel A. Chapman; Angel Chen; Susan Clayton; Thomas J. Doherty; John Fraser; Nathaniel Geiger; Robert Gifford; Meaghan L. Guckian; Karine Lacroix; Brian Lickel; Christie Manning; Ezra M. Markowitz; Adam R. Pearson; Jonas H. Rees; Jonathon P. Schuldt; Maxie Schulte; Linda Silka; Paul C. Stern; Julie Sweetland; Janet K. Swim; Carlie D. Trott; Lorraine Whitmarsh; Kimberly S. Wolske. 2018. "List of contributors." Psychology and Climate Change , no. : 1.
The increasing levels of stress entailed by contemporary urban lifestyles can lead to a greater desire to escape from cities. The restorative sense of ‘being away’ produced by natural environments has been substantially explored in greenspaces but little studied in zoos, which endeavour to immerse visitors in a local or exotic environment through both the visual environment and soundscape. We explore how soundscapes contribute to this sense of immersion through self-reflective interviews with 20 participants in two zoos in Paris (France). The zoo was perceived as a natural or a socially crowded area depending on the auditory context. Interestingly, focusing on the captive exotic animals seemed to make participants more aware of the more common birds around them in the zoo. By highlighting both, zoos could potentially increase awareness and care for urban biodiversity.
Agathe Colléony; Léo Martin; Nicolas Misdariis; Susan Clayton; Michel Saint Jalme; Anne-Caroline Prévot. Exoticism as a Mediator of Everyday Experiences of Nature: an Anthropological Exploration of Soundscape in Zoos. Human Ecology 2017, 45, 673 -682.
AMA StyleAgathe Colléony, Léo Martin, Nicolas Misdariis, Susan Clayton, Michel Saint Jalme, Anne-Caroline Prévot. Exoticism as a Mediator of Everyday Experiences of Nature: an Anthropological Exploration of Soundscape in Zoos. Human Ecology. 2017; 45 (5):673-682.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAgathe Colléony; Léo Martin; Nicolas Misdariis; Susan Clayton; Michel Saint Jalme; Anne-Caroline Prévot. 2017. "Exoticism as a Mediator of Everyday Experiences of Nature: an Anthropological Exploration of Soundscape in Zoos." Human Ecology 45, no. 5: 673-682.
As an organization that promotes socially relevant research, SPSSI encourages psychologists to engage in individual behaviors—their research activities—that are connected to issues of social interest. Thus, it can be argued that one of SPSSI's goals is to strengthen the connection between social issues and personal life, broadly defined. Some of the most urgent and salient social issues currently revolve around the natural environment, climate change in particular. This is an issue which many people do not connect to their personal lives. In this article, after briefly explaining why environmental issues should be considered social issues, I discuss the way in which environmental issues relate to personal life, and use environmental issues to explore the connection between social issues and personal life. I argue that the ability to make this connection involves cognitive processes such as systems thinking, and encourage more research in this area.
Susan Clayton. Social Issues and Personal Life: Considering the Environment. Journal of Social Issues 2017, 73, 667 -681.
AMA StyleSusan Clayton. Social Issues and Personal Life: Considering the Environment. Journal of Social Issues. 2017; 73 (3):667-681.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSusan Clayton. 2017. "Social Issues and Personal Life: Considering the Environment." Journal of Social Issues 73, no. 3: 667-681.
Bridgeman (2017) describes the important role of population growth in contributing to environmental problems. The present essay argues that population is an important component of human impact on the environment, but it must be considered in combination with consumption rates. A place-based approach, examining the local context for reproductive decisions, is necessary to assess population growth as a contributor to environmental impact and to develop appropriate behavioral interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record
Susan Clayton; Amanda Carrico; Linda Steg; Janet K. Swim; Mirilia Bonnes; Patrick Devine-Wright. Psychologists and the problem of population growth: Reply to Bridgeman (2017). American Psychologist 2017, 72, 388 -389.
AMA StyleSusan Clayton, Amanda Carrico, Linda Steg, Janet K. Swim, Mirilia Bonnes, Patrick Devine-Wright. Psychologists and the problem of population growth: Reply to Bridgeman (2017). American Psychologist. 2017; 72 (4):388-389.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSusan Clayton; Amanda Carrico; Linda Steg; Janet K. Swim; Mirilia Bonnes; Patrick Devine-Wright. 2017. "Psychologists and the problem of population growth: Reply to Bridgeman (2017)." American Psychologist 72, no. 4: 388-389.
International audienceMuch research has explored the effects of being in natural areas on human health, well-being and environmental concern. However, the combined effects of urbanization, biodiversity loss and the Western way of life reduce the opportunities to experience nature. Landscape management could play a prominent role in providing opportunities and motivation for people to be in nature. It is important, therefore, to understand which kinds of nature people mostly prefer and use. Based on complementary questionnaire surveys obtained from 4639 French adults, we studied the habits of nature uses, in relation to personal previous experiences and nature connectedness. We explored the type and frequency of natural areas people visit most often, the place where they grew up, and the extent to which they feel interdependent with the natural environment. In an innovative process, we assessed the extent to which respondents mentioned a personal place (e.g., my garden), a specific non-personal place (e.g. a particular forest) or remained general (e.g. forests). Among a wide range of cited natural areas, five types predominated, consistently for all samples surveyed. Interestingly, connectedness with nature was negatively related to mentions of place specificity, but positively related to frequency of visits of natural areas. These results clarify the relationship between past and present experiences of nature and sense of connectedness to nature. They can also guide future landscape management processes, in order to better coordinate the provision and the desirability of natural spaces and promote both sustainable landscapes and reconnection of people to nature
Agathe Colléony; Anne-Caroline Prévot; Michel Saint Jalme; Susan Clayton. What kind of landscape management can counteract the extinction of experience? Landscape and Urban Planning 2017, 159, 23 -31.
AMA StyleAgathe Colléony, Anne-Caroline Prévot, Michel Saint Jalme, Susan Clayton. What kind of landscape management can counteract the extinction of experience? Landscape and Urban Planning. 2017; 159 ():23-31.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAgathe Colléony; Anne-Caroline Prévot; Michel Saint Jalme; Susan Clayton. 2017. "What kind of landscape management can counteract the extinction of experience?" Landscape and Urban Planning 159, no. : 23-31.
International audienceA good deal of research has recently focused on people's commitment to biodiversity conservation by investigating their “willingness-to-pay” (WTP). Because of the public's self-reported preferences for species that are more charismatic or similar to humans, conservation programs are often biased toward these species. Our study aimed to explore the determinants of WTP among 10066 participants in a zoo conservation program. The program aims to raise money to support conservation programs and involves donating a sum of money to “adopt” an animal in the zoo. We explored whether participants were influenced by particular scientific characteristics of the animal (IUCN conservation status and phylogenetic distance from humans) or by more affect-related characteristics, such as the charisma of the animal. We found that participants did not choose an animal to adopt because of the endangered status of the species, and did not donate more to endangered species than to other species. Instead, they were more likely to choose a charismatic species. However, surprisingly, those who chose a less charismatic species gave more money on average to the program than those who adopted more charismatic species, suggesting a higher level of commitment among the former. These results therefore suggest that this type of conservation program may not be an effective way of reconnecting people with conservation issues related to endangered species. We therefore advise zoos to communicate more strongly on the level of threat to species and to increase the ratio of endangered over charismatic species in their animal adoption programs
Agathe Colléony; Susan Clayton; Denis Couvet; Michel Saint Jalme; Anne-Caroline Prévot. Human preferences for species conservation: Animal charisma trumps endangered status. Biological Conservation 2017, 206, 263 -269.
AMA StyleAgathe Colléony, Susan Clayton, Denis Couvet, Michel Saint Jalme, Anne-Caroline Prévot. Human preferences for species conservation: Animal charisma trumps endangered status. Biological Conservation. 2017; 206 ():263-269.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAgathe Colléony; Susan Clayton; Denis Couvet; Michel Saint Jalme; Anne-Caroline Prévot. 2017. "Human preferences for species conservation: Animal charisma trumps endangered status." Biological Conservation 206, no. : 263-269.
The biodiversity crisis is not salient to many people. A zoo visit not only provides the opportunity to learn about the issue, but also provides direct experiences with animals that may increase public engagement. The present study used a nonequivalent pretest–posttest design to assess the impact of a zoo visit on conservation knowledge and engagement by comparing 88 visitors entering a zoo in Paris and 84 visitors on their way out. Those who had completed their visit scored higher on conservation knowledge, general concern about threats to biodiversity, and perceived self-efficacy to protect biodiversity. Notably, conservation knowledge was not highly correlated with the other dependent variables, but self-efficacy was significantly correlated with environmental concern, behaviour, and behavioural intent. We conclude that a zoo visit does have a positive impact on knowledge and concern, and by affecting self-efficacy, it has the potential to influence future behavior.
Susan Clayton; Anne-Caroline Prévot; Laurent Germain; Michel Saint-Jalme. Public Support for Biodiversity After a Zoo Visit: Environmental Concern, Conservation Knowledge, and Self-Efficacy. Curator: The Museum Journal 2017, 60, 87 -100.
AMA StyleSusan Clayton, Anne-Caroline Prévot, Laurent Germain, Michel Saint-Jalme. Public Support for Biodiversity After a Zoo Visit: Environmental Concern, Conservation Knowledge, and Self-Efficacy. Curator: The Museum Journal. 2017; 60 (1):87-100.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSusan Clayton; Anne-Caroline Prévot; Laurent Germain; Michel Saint-Jalme. 2017. "Public Support for Biodiversity After a Zoo Visit: Environmental Concern, Conservation Knowledge, and Self-Efficacy." Curator: The Museum Journal 60, no. 1: 87-100.
Despite decades of awareness about the biodiversity crisis, it remains a wicked problem. Besides preservation and restoration strategies, one approach has focused on increasing public concern about biodiversity issues by emphasizing opportunities for people to experience natural environments. In this article, we endeavor to complicate the understanding of these experiences of nature (EoN). Because EoN are embedded in social and cultural contexts, transformative or new EoN are emerging in combination with societal changes in work, home, and technology. Policies that acknowledge and accept a diversity of culturally situated EoN, including negative EoN, could help people reconnect with the complexity and dynamics of biodiversity. A new conceptualization of EoN that encompasses diverse experiences and reflects the sociocultural context could help to stimulate a broader transformation in the relationship between society and nature, one that better integrates the two spheres. Such a transformation is necessary to more effectively address the biodiversity crisis.
Susan Clayton; Agathe Colléony; Pauline Conversy; Etienne Maclouf; Léo Martin; Ana-Cristina Torres; Minh-Xuan A. Truong; Anne-Caroline Prévot. Transformation of Experience: Toward a New Relationship with Nature. Conservation Letters 2016, 10, 645 -651.
AMA StyleSusan Clayton, Agathe Colléony, Pauline Conversy, Etienne Maclouf, Léo Martin, Ana-Cristina Torres, Minh-Xuan A. Truong, Anne-Caroline Prévot. Transformation of Experience: Toward a New Relationship with Nature. Conservation Letters. 2016; 10 (5):645-651.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSusan Clayton; Agathe Colléony; Pauline Conversy; Etienne Maclouf; Léo Martin; Ana-Cristina Torres; Minh-Xuan A. Truong; Anne-Caroline Prévot. 2016. "Transformation of Experience: Toward a New Relationship with Nature." Conservation Letters 10, no. 5: 645-651.