Document Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
Individuals hold many different views about nature. This was evident throughout research done on college students' conceptions of nature and environmental problems in the fall of 2002 at the University of Northern Iowa. Despite this variety of opinions one common theme was apparent in students' conceptions. The belief that nature was a place or thing, not inclusive of human beings, was found to influence subjects' views on a number of environmental topics. This "separatist" view affected how students perceived their relationships with nature, how they understood the severity of environmental problems, whether or not they expressed a willingness to take action to remedy problems, and if they successfully integrated their knowledge of nature. Methods used to conduct the research were interviews and surveys. 125 undergraduate students from different sections of the class Environment, Technology, and Society completed the survey, while 20 of these students participated in interviews.
Publication Date
2003
Journal Title
Conference Proceedings: Undergraduate Social Science Research Conference
Volume
7
Issue
1
First Page
26
Last Page
29
Copyright
©2003 by the University of Northern Iowa
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Publisher
University of Northern Iowa
City
Cedar Falls, IA
Recommended Citation
Gerjerts, Kyle and Yates, Jack
(2003)
"The Influence of Conceptions of Nature on Environmental Action,"
Conference Proceedings: Undergraduate Social Science Research Conference: Vol. 7:
Iss.
1, Article 5.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/csbsproceedings/vol7/iss1/5
