New study shows children's perception of rainforest wildlife

Thursday, July 3, 2008 

This image from the study shows how the children's awareness of different wildlife (A) differs from the animal's effect of the rainforest (B). (Download full sized image)
Image: Jake L. Snaddon, Edgar C. Turner and William A. Foster.

A recently released study has shown how dramatically children's perception of wildlife differs from the animal's effect on the rainforest. The study said that it aimed to "investigate UK children's perceptions of the biodiversity and ecology of rainforest environments," by evaluating "children's perceptions by assessing their drawings of rainforests."

The study showed that children have a greater awareness of the animals like tigers and spiders, instead of the more common species like ants, which are often considered less exciting. This is despite the fact that these species have the greatest effect on the rainforest.

Children from aged 3 to 11 were included in the study, and all age groups had a disproportionately large amount of mammals and birds in their drawings. Around half of the participants were aged over eight, and both the three to five and five to seven age group covered around a quarter of the participants each.

Sources

• Jake L. Snaddon, Edgar C. Turner and William A. Foster. "Children's Perceptions of Rainforest Biodiversity: Which Animals Have the Lion's Share of Environmental Awareness?" — PLoS ONE, July 2, 2008
• "Children Overestimate Cute Animals In Rainforests, While Underestimating Insects And Annelids" — ScienceDaily, July 2, 2008