A main goal of environmental education is to inspire pro-environmental behaviors in students. Motivation to act is based on more factors than environmental literacy, such as emotion and empathy toward the environment. Research has proven that exposure to flora and fauna in natural settings can benefit humans and can evoke positive emotional experiences. In this chapter, the authors reviewed how emotion and empathy intersect with wildlife to help educators leverage these human elements in natural settings to encourage student action in conservation efforts.
Environmental education typically takes place in free-choice learning settings where students can engage in multisensory activities such as observing nature and wildlife at zoos or nature centers. In order to comprehend what motivates students to engage in pro-environmental behaviors, the function of emotion and empathy must be understood. The human brain processes different incoming experiences and emotion is assigned to that experience. Therefore, all humans involuntarily make emotional reactions meaningful and remember experiences in that way. Biophilia describes the innate tendency of humans to relate to life or life-like processes. Though biophilia can be a strong emotional response, other factors like the facilitation of free-choice learning by educators help deepen the positive connection between student and nature. Whereas emotion describes a human's response to an experience, empathy describes a human's sensitivity or connection to another being or object. Children and teenagers often experience empathy for animals by relating to the animals' facial features, social interactions, range of motion, and behaviors. This empathetic response is triggered by a human's inclination for mirroring, which is the process of linking one's actions to another's.
The authors reviewed previous research and studies and posited that free-choice learning with wildlife can inspire a fundamental care for nature and broader pro-environmental behaviors in students by utilizing emotion and empathy. For example, the research showed that children established empathy for zoo animals and related to their needs and living conditions. Similarly, adults who experienced positive emotions while observing a specific zoo animal species had a higher rate of wanting to protect that species.
There are some limitations of this chapter. The authors did not conduct a specific study to illustrate the role of emotion and empathy in a particular audience. Rather, they summarized literature on emotion and empathy and previous studies that looked at emotion and empathy for wildlife in a wide-range of participants. Further, it is difficult to account for all of the biases of the researchers of the previous studies and those limitations. Though this chapter shared useful information and the theories presented may prove true in most situations, they may not be suitable nor feasible for all educators, audiences, and settings.
The authors concluded that educators should reinforce positive emotional responses during free-choice learning, and empathy can be both a learning objective of environmental education and a pathway to eliciting pro-environmental behaviors in students. Some recommendations for educators included: provide access to natural areas and wildlife equitably across demographics and ensure richness of the experience; underline positive experiences students have during their time in nature and with wildlife; be aware of stimuli that may evoke fear in students and mitigate those negative emotional responses with safe spaces to wonder and reflect; affirm student empathy with wildlife; and, direct student attention to the behaviors and interactions of wildlife to evoke mirroring.
The Bottom Line
<p>Environmental educators can encourage pro-environmental behavior outcomes by aligning students' emotions and empathy with learning experiences. The human brain processes different incoming experiences according to emotions assigned to each experience. Whereas emotion is the response to an experience, empathy is a human's sensitivity or connection to another being or object. The authors reviewed literature that showed children established empathetic connections to wildlife and adults who experienced positive emotions while observing different zoo animals had a higher rate of wanting to protect that species. The authors concluded that educators should reinforce positive emotional responses during free-choice learning, and that empathy can be both a learning objective of environmental education and a pathway to eliciting pro-environmental behaviors in students. For example, educators can emphasize positive experiences students have during their time in nature and with wildlife and relate the behaviors of wildlife to those of the students to increase empathy.</p>
Research Partner