Topic 10 - When the going gets tough, the tough get going

emphasizes the study of factors that promote wellbeing

a sense of interconnectedness between humans and other living things with roots in our ancestral past

humans are born with an “innate tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes”

n aversion or overt phobic response to potentially dangerous natural stimuli

informed by an ethic of environmental sustainability; takes two primary forms: organic (or naturalistic) and vernacular (or place-based)

a feeling of connection to a specific locale

communicates more than just a feeling of connection, and encompasses personal identity, meaning, and values associated with the location

a feeling of deep caring and responsibility for a particular bioregion and its inhabitants that may serve as a psychological foundation for sustainable behaviour

a melancholic feeling that arises when one’s beloved landscape is threatened by environmental hazards

babylike features

bidirectional communication pathway gut bacteria influence learning, memory, and decision making

an environment—often a natural setting—that rejuvenates a person and can help restore depleted attention resources or reduce emotional and psychophysiological stress

A theory of emotion and emotional consequences for cognition, personality, and psychotherapy derived from an evolutionary perspective

restoration as the revived ability to concentrate after mental fatigue

deliberate and sustained attention

automatic attention Natural settings give directed attention a rest; because they are innately fascinating, they capture our involuntary (or automatic) attention , which is essentially unlimited, and give directed attention a chance to become replenished

people who display deficits or distress

people with preexisting conditions, such as depression, experience improved mental wellbeing after spending time in natural environments

utilizes gardening to aid people with depression and other illnesses

used to help problems ranging from behavioral disorders in children to dementia in the elderly animals make good therapists, presumably because of humans’ innate emotional connection to them

The oldest form of nature therapy is wilderness immersion

helping people deal with psychological distress directly related to the ecological crisis, such as worries about climate change

children are missing out on experiences in nature that provide critical developmental support in the form of mental and sensory stimulation, physical challenges, and opportunities for creative play and exploration

dynamic interactions between inherited and experienced factors