Mental representations of animal and plant species in their social contexts: Results from a survey across Europe |
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| Authors: | Anke Fischer Fransje Langers Birgit Bednar-Friedl Nicoleta Geamana Ketil Skogen |
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| Institution: | a Socio-Economic Research Group, Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, United Kingdom;b Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands;c University of Graz, Department of Economics, and Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change, Graz, Austria;d University of Bucharest, Department of Systems Ecology and Sustainable Development, Bucharest, Romania;e Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Oslo, and Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo, Norway |
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| Abstract: | Despite a growing body of literature on public views on biodiversity and nature, our understanding of public attitudes towards animal and plant species is still rudimentary. This study investigates mental representations, constituted by beliefs, of three types of species (a large mammal, a spider and a non-native plant), and explores their links with cultural factors such as value orientations and cultural capital, in order to better understand attitudes towards these species.We conducted a survey in eight sites across Europe (n = 2378) and found strong relationships between beliefs about species, in particular with regard to their harmlessness, value and previous population change, and the desirability of an increase in this species. Other beliefs, such as perceived nativeness, were less influential. We discuss how respondents combined beliefs to mental representations of species, and show how representations are related to species-independent factors that tap respondents’ cultural context, such as socially shared value orientations and education. |
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| Keywords: | Animals Attitudes Biodiversity Mutualism Non-nativeness Plants Representations Social context |
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