1. Ch. 15 Social Factors

2. Values Differ What is and is not food
Whether or not people are a part of nature, or have dominion over it
Attitudes in urban and rural areas may differ
People in rural areas generally have more traditional ecological knowledge, but also more conflicts, attitudes generally based on experience
Biodiversity conservation costs urbanites less, attitudes generally more conceptual

3. Values Differ Attitudes of women and men may differ
Women may be more sympathetic to nature, more nurturing, nature associated with female dieties, etc.
Or, that may be a bunch of sexist BS and a way of lumping women with nature so men can dominate both
ecofeminism, women especially involved in grassroots movements
Either way, it can affect attitudes

4. Gender roles may dictate which suites of species men and women interact with

5. But not always

6. Values Differ
There are lots of demographics that view nature differently
religion and culture
geography
wealth and education

7. Kellert Scale for Human Values

9. Value Generalizations
Women prioritize conservation over property rights more so than men.
People in rural area tend to have utilitarian and naturalistic attitudes, and urban people tend to have moralistic and humanistic attitudes.
People care more about individual species than ecosystems or biodiversity.
Plants, birds and mammals are most favored, then fish, then reptiles, amphibians, and inverts, with microbes being the least favored.
influences funding for conservation

10. Values Change With and within generations
“We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and I have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes – something known only to her and the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer that no wolves would be a hunters’ paradise. But after seeing the green fire die I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view.”

11. Changing People’s Values
To preserve biodiversity, we need to see an increase in naturalistic, ecologistic, aesthetic, and moralistic attitudes and a decrease in negativistic, neutralistic, dominionistic, and utilitarian values.
“For in the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.” ~ Baba Dioum
but often, people with the most factual knowledge have the most negative attitudes

12. Changing People’s Values
Which shapes values more: experience or education?
maybe it depends on the person
studying natural history particularly effective at increasing concern for biodiversity.
decreasing coverage in curriculum
Should we change people’s values?
Often use the word clarifying as a euphemism
Particularly a concern in cross-cultural exchanges
Providing information is innocuous, right?
difficult to recognize global importance of local species
Biodiversity is part of our global heritage, doesn’t belong to locals
makes it easy, but over simplifies

13. Anthropocentrism vs. Biocentrism
Biocentrism recognizes that all species have intrinsic value and rejects that humans are more important than others
philosophical foundation of the deep ecology movement
Biophilia: the innate emotional affinity of humans to other living things
implies that human physical and emotional health tied to biodiversity

14. An Ethical Sequence

15. Discussion Qs
What factors do you think have the most profound influence on people’s attitudes about nature? How do you think this is changing over time, with technology and increasing globalization?
Do you think it is acceptable to try and change someone else’s values? Instances where it is and is not acceptable?
What if they are wrong and you are right?!?!
Where do you fall on the scale?