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DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.1213.6725

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A Critical Review of Biophilia and Place Attachment Theories

Bambi Yost, MLA, MURP, PhD candidate Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture Iowa State University Hawaii International Conference Honolulu, HI

• Jan. 10, 2011

What is Biophilia?

According to Wilson (1984), biophilia means “the innate tendency to focus on life and life- like processes” (pg. 1). The theory of biophilia is based upon principles of biological evolution and proposes that humans have a genetic predisposition to respond positively and affectionately to nature (Wilson, 1984).

What is Nature?

What is Nature?

1) “the created world in its entirety, the totality

• f physical reality exclusive of things mental,”

2) “the fundamental character, disposition, or temperament of a living being usually innate and unchangeable,” 3) “the qualities, characteristics, properties,

• rgans, and functions that together make up

the vital being of a human being or other

• rganism”

Problems with “Nature”

Inherent within the definition of nature is an

• ntological dilemma based upon one’s belief

that man is part of nature or separate from

• nature. Wilson (1984) states that the problem

with defining nature is that we are torn between recognizing that humans are part of,

• r born of, nature and that we are

simultaneously, by definition, outside of nature.

Problems with Biophilia

One of the main problems with Biophilia theory is that if we argue that we have an innate affinity for the natural world, why do we seem so bent on destroying it?

Common Fears

S N A K E S

Common Fears

S P I D E R S

Nature Nurture Debate

How much of our response to the physical environment and nature is based on genetics and how much is based on social conditioning? We may never know.

Fear of Nature

• More and more children are spending less time
• utside in the United States.
• Researchers Carlisle & Urban youth may be

more likely to be disgusted by natural objects when they have had little or no exposure to wild places beforehand. A growing unfamiliarity with the natural world as children fear getting lost even with an interpreter as a guide.

Overcoming Fear

Of course repeated exposure to wildlands and natural settings alone is not enough to guarantee a love of nature. There are many

• ther factors involved as well including:

learned fear or appreciation of nature; cultural and behavioral norms in natural settings; symbolic meanings of places and wildlife; mass media and the influence of technology; family values; adult-child relations; and more.

Generational Amnesia

Each generation takes the natural environment they experienced in childhood as the norm, so an increasingly degraded environment becomes the new norm for each.

Art by Bansky

Loss of innocence and freedoms and natural areas

Graffiti art by Banksy

Linking Biophilia to Place Attachment

“In general, as children experienced the beauty and diverse ecosystems of the mountain wilderness their fears lessened and their biophilic tendencies grew” (Burgess, 2009, p. 193). Place attachment research indicates that as individuals have positive interactions over time in a place, they are more likely to form positive connections to a place (Relph, 1976; Smaldone, 2007; Tuan, 1977).

What is Place Attachment?

• Place attachment is broadly

defined as an emotional, physical, and cognitive connection of an individual, or group of individuals, to a particular place.

• Place is defined as a spatial setting

that has been given meaning based

• n human experience, social

relationships, emotions, and thoughts.

How do we connect to places?

References: Stedman, 2004; Tuan 1977; Low & Altman, 1992; Williams & Vaske, 2003; Giuliani and Feldman 1993; Proshansky et al. 1983; Abbott-Chapman & Robertson, 2001; Brooks, 2003; Twigger-Ross and Uzzell, 1996; Proshansky, Fabian, and Kaminoff, 1983; Relph, 1985; Seamon & Mugerauer, 1989.

• Dependence on a place
• Frequency of use of a place
• Identity with a place as part of self
• Memories of a place
• Histories of a place
• Symbolic meaning of a place
• Social bonding within a place
• Environmental responsibility towards a place
• Spiritual connections with a place
• And more

Personal experience and exposure to a place is required for relationships to develop

“We've been taught how to see without seeing - how to experience spaces while ignoring the cultural imprints and connections to people that makes them significant.”

• Dr. Austin Allen, 1997, Dreaming Spaces Anew

Relationships to places

• can be positive and / or negative
• are a dynamic phenomenon
• encompass a range of settings and emotions
• can be a conscious process (rather than taking every

day experiences for granted)

• are linked to social factors (politics, sense of

belonging, ethics, aesthetics, norms, etc)

• exist for individuals, groups / organizations,

communities / neighborhoods, and cities / regions / societies

References: Stedman, 2004; Tuan 1977; Low & Altman, 1992; Williams & Vaske, 2003; Giuliani and Feldman 1993; Proshansky et al. 1983; Abbott-Chapman & Robertson, 2001; Brooks, 2003; Twigger-Ross and Uzzell, 1996; Proshansky, Fabian, and Kaminoff, 1983; Relph, 1985; Seamon & Mugerauer, 1989; Manzo & Perkins, 200 6.

Benefits of access to nature for children

Access to nature contributes to the health and well-being of children and helps to form a foundation for the development of responsible environmental behavior. Research has linked access to nature to stress reduction, emotional coping, impulse control and concentration, motor coordination, increased creative play, and reduced symptoms of ADD and ADHD.

Benefits of gardening for children

Gardening provides different forms of engagement for children, including designing, planting, and maintaining gardens; harvesting, preparing, and sharing food; working cooperatively in groups; learning about science and nutrition; and creating art and stories inspired by gardens. In addition, gardening promotes life long benefits, positive social and interpersonal skills, healthy eating and nutrition, science achievement and positive attitudes towards learning, self-efficacy and enhanced stewardship.

Primary reason that place attachment matters: protection of our environment

• People who care about

special places are more likely to protect them

• People have identified

special natural areas to which they are attached as the primary sources of commitment to protect the natural world

Raising Environmentalists

After years of researching childhood influences on environmental leaders, Chawla concluded that most leaders attributed their commitment to a combination of two sources in childhood or adolescence: many hours spent outdoors in “keenly remembered” wild

• r semi-wild places, and a mentoring adult

who taught respect for nature (Chawla, 2006).

Parent-Child Connections

Research suggests that parents and role models share their place attachments with their children (Chawla, 1992; Hay, 1998) but more research is needed.

Need for More Research

More research is sorely needed in the area of adult and child relations to each other as mediators of children’s relationships to nature, responses to nature, and behaviors towards

• nature. Chawla makes the argument that

“research into how children learn to care about nature needs to be combined with efforts to create communities which give them something to care about” (1988, p. 19).

Future Research

Future researchers should capitalize on naturalistic experiments that compare the previous play behavior of individuals who are currently children and have made a choice that reflects their environmental dispositions and values. For instance, any situation in which children (and parents) can freely choose between nature-oriented activities and other activities would provide two contrasting groups (Vadala, Bixler, & Green, 2007).

The Resurgence of Place

Places are not abstractions or concepts, but are directly experienced phenomena of the lived-world and hence are full

• f meanings, with real objects, and with ongoing activities.

They are important sources of individual and communal identity, are often profound centers of human existence to which people have deep emotional and psychological ties. Indeed our relationships with place are just as necessary, varied, and sometimes perhaps just as unpleasant, as our relationship with other people. Edward Relph, Place and Placelessness, London:Pion, 1976

Contact:

Bambi Yost Cell: 720-217-2871 E-mail: byost@iastate.edu