Title: The development of environmental preferences: Is our love for nature innate?
Abstract: Adults show incredibly strong preferences for natural over urban environments. Two major theories of why nature is beneficial for our physical health, emotional health, and cognitive functioning assume that our affinity for nature plays an important role. Though many of the positive outcomes of nature exposure are found in both adults and in children, children’s environmental preferences have not explicitly been examined. In the present study, I will examine 1) the developmental of environmental preferences in children from 4 to 11 years old, 2) what other factors may influence children’s preferences (such as parental preference and exposure to nature), and 3) whether children need to like nature to reap its benefits.