Classroom Exercises and Demonstrations on Human and Natural Environment Impact PDF

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Classroom Exercises and Demonstrations on Human and Natural Environment Impact Paul A. Bell,1 Patricia A. Romano,2 Jacob A. Benfield,3 Ecopsychology, we would like to share some of the class exercises Britt L. Mace,4 Gretchen A. Nurse,5 and Thomas C. Greene6 and demonstrations on humans and the natu...

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Classroom Exercises and Demonstrations on Human and Natural Environment Impact Paul A. Bell,1 Patricia A. Romano,2 Jacob A. Benfield,3 Britt L. Mace,4 Gretchen A. Nurse,5 and Thomas C. Greene6 1

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. St. Edward’s University, Austin, Texas. 3 Pennsylvania State University—Abington, Abington, Pennsylvania. 4 Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah. 5 University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. 6 St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York. 2

Abstract We present class exercises and demonstrations concerning the psychological consequences of human interactions with the natural environment. Topics include aesthetic and affective evaluation of natural scenes, consequences of blocking a view of nature, how Motive for Sensory Pleasure may influence evaluation of the natural environment, weather and seasonality associations with mood and mobility, an encounter with the extremes of Mt. Everest, coping with natural and human-made disasters, human impact on biodiversity, impact of human noise on enjoyment of nature, sound logging/mapping on and near campus, effects of priming (e.g., a picture of dead plants) on beliefs about human impact, and self-awareness of consumption patterns and sustainable consumption. These exercises have been employed in numerous environmental psychology courses and are suitable for many types of classes dealing with humans and natural settings.

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here is a rich literature in psychology on how people interact with natural and built environments. Between us, we have been teaching about and contributing to this literature for a combined 100 years. In this special issue of

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Ecopsychology, we would like to share some of the class exercises and demonstrations on humans and the natural environment that we have found successful in engaging students in our courses. Some of these activities and many more are also presented in an e-book chapter (Bell et al., 2011). We believe that the psychological implications of humans interacting with the natural environment are many and that describing the impact of nature on people or the impact of people on nature gives an incomplete picture of the more important interaction between the two. Nevertheless, for convenience we first present some representative class exercises that emphasize the impact of the natural environment on people, followed by exercises that emphasize the impact of people on the environment.

Aesthetic and Affective Evaluation of the Natural Environment This demonstration is a slide show that encourages students to think about the components of a natural scene that make it appealing. It also demonstrates that what we believe about the components of a scene makes a difference in how we evaluate it. The instructor should begin the class with a set of scales for students to complete regarding each one of a set of slides. The scales are in a 9-point bipolar format and include unpleasant-pleasant, uncomfortable-comfortable, unattractive-attractive, unnatural-natural, ugly-beautiful, and dislike a lot–like a lot. The scales can be drawn on the board or used via i-clicker or similar technology. The slides can be set up in PowerPoint. Instructors can use their own favorite slides collected over time, including ones from Web sites such as that of the National Park Service, which can be obtained at http://www.nps.gov. Ask the class to number a piece of paper from 1 to x, with x being the number of slides. Next to the slide number they will record their judgments for each scale as the slide is shown.

DOI: 10.1089/ECO.2012.0013

EXERCISES ON NATURE AND HUMAN IMPACT

Start with a few generic slides such as a meadow, then a mountain, then a forest, and then a beach. Next, start to manipulate the slide content. For example, show a slide that is completely black and one where trees in the foreground frame a nice vista in the midground and background. Then add slides of a trail in a dense forest; an eroded clay bluff, explaining that it is a slag heap from a nearby mining operation (it is actually part of a park such as Colorado National Monument or Painted Desert); a photo of the Hale Mau Mau crater from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (complete with visible fumes and a bit of hot lava), explaining that it is part of an open-pit mining operation; a meadow with cattle in it; and a meadow with elk or deer in it. Next is a waterfall from Yosemite or Yellowstone, then a lake with waterfowl and another lake without waterfowl. Show a parking lot with buses, a trail with one person on it, a trail with many people on it, a trail with snowmobiles, a crowded city, and a crowded football stadium. Also include a natural jungle and a beautifully manicured botanical garden. A gorgeous sunset, a slide with an overcast sky, a vista that is open for many kilometers, and a vista with only a few meters visible make good additions. The instructor should then go back through the slides and ask how many in the class rated a particular slide at 7 or above and how many rated it at 3 or below. Next, get into a discussion as to why some scenes were liked or judged natural and why others were not. Describe the dual mandate for the National Park Service (preserving the natural environment and providing for the enjoyment of the visitor) and ask how many think a national park should emphasize preservation over enjoyment and how many think the park should emphasize enjoyment over preservation. Show the black slide and go over their ratings of it. Then explain that it is Carlsbad Caverns in the cave’s natural state, show a slide of it with its magnificent artificial lighting, and then ask how many would visit it if they could only experience it in its natural state. Going to the slide of the manicured botanical garden and the slide of the dense jungle, discuss which one is more beautiful and why. Ask whether there are principles that predict what scene will be beautiful and whether scenic beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Also show a slide looking over the rim of the Grand Canyon and indicate that in the 19th century one of the first European Americans to see that vista declared the canyon to be ‘‘an abomination in the sight of God, and it is the duty of man to fill it in’’ (a true story from park history). Then show the slide of the trail in the forest and state that in medieval Europe, people who had to traverse the forest would sometimes ask to be blindfolded so they would not have to see the evils that lived among the trees. Show the slide of Hale Mau Mau

and explain that rather than an open-pit mine, it is a volcanic feature in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and visitors pay a lot of money to get there to see it (including several hundreds of dollars to view it from a helicopter). Ask again whether natural beauty is in the eye of the beholder or whether it is inherent in our biological makeup. The above examples suggest that scenic beauty may well be in the eye of the beholder, that is, it is learned or at least heavily influenced by the experiences and values we bring to the scene. But another perspective holds that there are innate factors that influence the attractiveness of a scene. Ecological psychology (Gibson, 1979) posits that we inherently perceive affordances, or things that a scene provides, such as prospect and refuge, and scenes that afford things beneficial to us are high in preference. Illustrate this by showing the slide where the midground and background are framed by the foreground, which usually yields a high rating from observers. The framing implies prospect, or the ability to see at quite a distance and thus to detect dangers that may be lying out there, as well as refuge, or the idea that you have a vantage point where you can see out but others cannot see you as well. Scenes that offer both prospect and refuge are highly valued because of what they provide for our biological survival (e.g., Balling & Falk, 1982; Heerwagen & Orians, 1993). Next, return to the slides of a lake with and without waterfowl and of the pasture with cattle and with elk or deer, and ask the class to speculate on what might be preferred and why. If we are inherently attracted to scenes that suggest food, we should prefer the waterfowl, the elk or deer, and the cattle. But if this preference is really part of our evolutionary history, we should prefer the elk or deer over the cattle because the cattle developed out of human experiments with breeding—much too recent to become incorporated into our evolutionary perception. Empirical evidence suggests a combination of biology and learning here, as college student agriculture majors prefer the cattle scene and natural resource majors prefer the elk or deer slides (Nurse & Bell, 2007). Instructors will want to adapt the selection of scenes to points they like to illustrate in their course. We find this demonstration to be very useful at the beginning of a course to get students thinking about context and interactions; principles or effects that people often endorse may differ across contexts.

Change the Picture: Blocking a View of Nature This demonstration can be used as an introduction to why human-imposed obstructions could interfere with the impact of natural views on restorative experiences and their impact on mental health (e.g., Kaplan, 1995). The in-class exercise involves having

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students rate a natural environment scene for its restorative qualities. Take or find one high-quality colorful photo of a sky, water, land, or mountain scene that is completely unobstructed. Make a second copy of the photo but digitally overlay some form of visual obstruction such as telephone lines that interfere with the scene. The obstruction needs to be something that would occur in real life. If you do not have the capacity to alter the photo, find or take a picture of an obstructed scene that is a natural environment similar to the unobstructed photo. Develop a rating scale that students can use to evaluate the pictures. This scale can be as simple as pleasant, no opinion, unpleasant. First show students the unobstructed scene and have them rate it; then show them the obstructed view and have them rate it. Or show a series of unobstructed natural environment scenes and intersperse these two photos within the series. After students have rated the photos, start a discussion about the scenes and how the students rated them. Ask them what they felt when viewing the unobstructed photo and then the obstructed one. This exercise can also lead to a discussion of whether we should have ordinances or laws that prevent a neighbor from obstructing our view, or what we should do when a tree on our property makes our view more pleasing but blocks the scenic view beyond from our neighbor’s dwelling.

Personality and Impact of the Natural Environment: Motive for Sensory Pleasure The previous two exercises demonstrate that humans prefer certain features in natural scenes. While evolutionary research shows that most humans prefer very specific environmental features that afford survival such as non-turbulent water, flowering plants, and savannah-like trees (Falk & Balling, 2010; Heerwagen & Orians, 1993), other research shows that personality can often moderate this effect. One such personality trait is what Bob Eisenberger and colleagues (2010) call the Motive for Sensory Pleasure ( MSP), which describes individual drive to seek out pleasant auditory, visual, tactile, olfactory, and taste experiences and to similarly avoid unpleasant sensory experiences. Validation of this scale showed that higher MSP scores relate to greater enjoyment of natural scenes, music played with high versus low clarity, and written descriptions of nature scenes. High MSP individuals also made more sensory-based suggestions regarding museum space improvements and were more likely to choose natural over intellectual or culturally stimulating stimuli. Women tend to be higher than men in MSP, and this may account for why women tend to have more positive attitudes toward the natural environment (Nurse et al., 2010). There are several different ways

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to help show students the importance of being high versus low in MSP. The original measure of MSP contains 15 items measured on a 7-point scale that represent a single dimension. A shortened, 5-item version of the original MSP is highly correlated with the original and has comparable internal reliability. High, middle, and low MSP groups comparable to those suggested for the original scale would be MSP scores of > 25 (high), 24–16 (middle), or < 15 (low) on the 5-item version. Web sites for these two versions are listed in the Web Site Resources section of this article. Scenic evaluation, as described in the previous exercises, was used extensively in the validation of the MSP measure. The integration of MSP into such exercises (or a new exercise in a subsequent class period) simply involves having students take the scale beforehand and then comparing the scenic evaluations of high versus low scorers. Comparing those who score on the full scale below 45 (average of 3 or lower on each item) with those who score above 75 (average of 5 or higher on each item) usually gives a large enough contrast to make the point salient. Students can also selfidentify until the instructor determines the highest- and lowestscoring individuals in the course and then has them report their scene ratings. The contrast between high, middle, and low MSP-scoring individuals can be made in several other ways beyond basic scene evaluation. For example, students can write about their favorite place on campus or elsewhere for 2–3 minutes and then compare the writings between different-scoring groups. Differences between description length, level of detail, type of descriptors used (sensory vs. factual, adjective vs. noun), and even location type are often noticeable among those in the three groups. Short walks through a particularly natural or sensory-rich environment followed by a brief mood measure (e.g., PANAS—see Web Site Resources) can also show differences between high and low MSP students; the high MSP students tend to have higher positive and lower negative affect than their low MSP peers. In-class discussions centered on how MSP (or any other relevant personality trait) could impact person-environment interaction are also valuable. Depending on the course focus and student interests, numerous topics are available. Questions such as, ‘‘How could this measure be used by museums, national parks, or other tourist destinations?’’ or ‘‘What role do you think MSP plays in the effectiveness of wilderness therapy or other outdoor programs?’’ can often get students talking about a host of practical uses (or misuses) of the scale. Other topics could include ‘‘Should we be teaching children to be higher in MSP?’’, ‘‘What role could MSP play in the

EXERCISES ON NATURE AND HUMAN IMPACT

onset/treatment of mental illness (e.g., neuroticism is associated with sensitivity to several environmental features and several mental illnesses)?’’, and ‘‘Should we tailor our design/therapy/ teaching practices to accommodate different levels of MSP?’’ In short, any question or situation that would potentially be affected by an individual being more or less inclined to enjoy sensory stimulation is fair game.

Weather, Mood, Fatigue, and Physical Mobility Exercise As part of our course material on weather and climate, we find it useful to employ a simple demonstration of how weather affects our lives and our outlook. This exercise encourages students to consider the connection between their own physiological states and the weather conditions typical of different months of the year. The instructor creates a template that is divided into 13 rows and 4 columns. Across the first row, give the first column the label ‘‘Months,’’ second column the label ‘‘Mood,’’ third ‘‘Fatigue,’’ and fourth ‘‘Physical Mobility.’’ Under ‘‘Months’’ place the name of each month of the year starting with January and ending with December. After creating the template, add three symbols that will be used as a key to the side: + (higher), - (lower), / (unsure). On a screen or board, show this template and symbols to the students. Hand out a prepared template to each student or ask the students to construct an exact replica of the sample. Once students have a copy of the template and symbols, explain that the purpose is to think about how their own mood, level of fatigue, and physical mobility are affected throughout the year. Mood relates to positive or negative mood states, and fatigue relates to the degree of tiredness or lack of energy a person feels. Physical mobility relates to the ease with which a person can move his or her body to perform functions such as walking or writing. Tell students not to put their names on the template. Ask students to reflect back on how they feel during the year. Ask them to place a + , - , or / sign that relates to their own mood, fatigue level, and physical mobility for each month. For example, a positive mood would warrant a + , a high level of fatigue would also warrant a + , and lower physical mobility a minus ( - ) sign. After all students have completed their templates, start a discussion about any discoveries they noted about their mood, level of fatigue, and physical mobility throughout the year. Ask them what factors they believe might be responsible for how they feel during the year. Link this discussion to a lecture on weather and concepts such as temperature effects on physical mobility and seasonal affective disorder (Westrin & Lam, 2007). There are several options for using

the completed templates in class discussion. One is to begin the discussion immediately after students complete them. Another is to collect the templates and create a chart that depicts the aggregate data. In a later class, show the chart and initiate a discussion about what the data imply and how they link to class concepts.

Mount Everest: Affinity for an Extreme Natural Environment Following the class discussion on weather and temperature, it is fun to transition to the topics of cold, altitude, and disasters by showing a NOVA special on Mt. Everest, titled Everest: The Death Zone. This production has stunning scenery and provides a great overview of psychometric laboratory and field research on the physiological and cognitive effects of cold and altitude. This NOVA special follows a team as they prepare and then ascend Mt. Everest and then return to the laboratory for further testing. The film serves as a great segue from extreme weather environments to the effects of natural disasters on an individual level. The Web site for ordering it is in our Web Site Resources section.

Natural and Human-Made Disasters Although we like to think of the human-nature bond and of ecopsychology propositions that interactions with nature are beneficial, natural disasters present a good counterbalancing opportunity to question whether there are limits to the psychological benefits of encounters with nature. Disasters certainly can bring a community together and provide a chance to demonstrate heroic efforts, and recovering from them can boost skills and help implement steps that may reduce the destructive impact of the next similar event. Juxtaposing destructive and beneficial aspects of disasters can generate interesting class discussions. It is useful to begin the discussion of disasters with an overview of the differences between natural and technological (human-caused) events, focusing on a few disasters that have happened in the local region. This provides an overview of several important factors included on a research assignment. Students should choose a specific disaster they would like to learn more about and focus their research on several relevant variables described in the class lecture. These factors include the magnitude, event duration, low point, acute stress, and the long-term psycho...