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Behavioral geography is an approach tohuman geography that examines human behavior by separating it into different parts. In addition, behavioral geography is an ideology/approach in human geography that makes use of the methods and assumptions ofbehaviorism to determine thecognitive processes involved in an individual's perception of or response and reaction to their environment. Behavioral geographers focus on thecognitive processes underlyingspatial reasoning,decision making, andbehavior.
Behavioral geography is the branch of human science which deals with the study of cognitive processes with its response to its environment through behaviorism.
Because of the name it is often assumed to have its roots inbehaviorism. While some behavioral geographers clearly have roots in behaviorism[1][2] due to the emphasis on cognition, most can be seen as cognitively oriented. Indeed, it seems that behaviorism interest is more recent[3] and growing.[1] This is particularly true in the area of human landscaping.
Behavioral geography draws from early behaviorist works such asTolman's concepts of "cognitive maps". Morecognitively oriented, behavioral geographers focus on the cognitive processes underlying spatial reasoning, decision making, and behavior. More behaviorally oriented geographers are materialists and look at the role of basic learning processes and how they influence the landscape patterns or even group identity.[4]
The cognitive processes include environmental perception and cognition, wayfinding, the construction of cognitive maps, place attachment, the development of attitudes about space and place, decisions and behavior based on imperfect knowledge of one's environs, and numerous other topics.
The approach adopted in behavioral geography is closely related to that ofpsychology, but draws on research findings from a multitude of other disciplines including economics,sociology,anthropology,transportation planning, and many others.
Nature is the world which surrounds us, including all life (plants, animals, organisms, humans, etc.) and physical features.Social Construction is the way that human beings process the world around us in our minds. According toPlato's 'Classical Theory of Categorization', humans create categories of what they see through experience and imagination.[5] Social constructionism, therefore, is this characterization that makes language andsemantics possible.[5] If these experiences and imageries are not placed into categories, then the human ability to think about it becomes limited.[5]
The social construction of nature looks to question different truths and understandings for how people treat nature, based on when and where someone lives. In academic circles, researchers look at how truths exist (ontology) and how truths are justified (epistemology).[5] Construction is both a process and an outcome, where people's understandings of the word nature can be bothliteral andmetaphorical,[6] such as through giving it a human quality (Mother Nature).[7] It can also be used to discreditscience or philosophy.[6]
As a subset of behavioral geography, the social construction of nature also includesenvironmental ethics andvalues, which affect how humans treat, and interact with, thenatural environment. It incorporates ideas fromenvironmental science,ecology,sociology,geography,biology,theology,philosophy,psychology,politics,economics, and other disciplines, to bring together the social, cultural and environmental dimensions of life. Social constructionism uses a lot of ideas fromWestern world thinking, but it is also incorporates truths from otherworld views, such as theTraditional Knowledge of Aboriginal groups, or more specificallyecofeminism[8][9] andcosmology[9] inIndia orubuntu[10] philosophy inAfrica, for example. It is also related topostmodernism[11] and the concept of theAnthropocene,[12] that views humans as a force that is redirecting thegeological history of Earth,[7] destroying nature.[13]
There are many ways of understanding and interpreting nature.[7] According toRaymond Williams, there are three ways to give meaning to (or define) nature:
According toRaymond Williams, language plays a role in how we understand, interpret, and give meaning to nature.[7] This is how multiple truths can be valid at the same time.[5][7]
Humans have the ability to create images of their environments through experiences in their mind.[14] These experiences allow us to createmental maps where we can create memories associated to space.[14] It is a two-way process where the environment provides suggestions for what should be seen, and then the observer gives meaning with those suggestions.[14]
These images have three parts:
According toKevin Lynch, the environmental images (or mental maps) that we make can either be weak or strong, where the process is ongoing and never stops.[14]
Science occurs at manydimensions and scales that do not consider culture, but can be motivated by politics, economics and ethics.[15] Scientific knowledge consists ofconcepts andanalysis, and is a way to represent nature.[11]
According toMichel Foucault, a truth does not have to be close to reality for it to be worth something or have power.[15] ForCarolyn Merchant, science can only be given power if a truth is interpreted as having worth.[15]
Relativism is important in the social construction of nature, as all truths are relative to the perspective they are coming from. There are two schools of thought on how the social construction of nature is relative:
Critical realists reject the idea of relativism and rely more on natural sciences.[11] Pragmatists have no set opinion on the matter and rely onsocial science and ethics, instead.[11]
According toRichard Rorty, relativism is relevant to pragmatism in three ways:
According toGilbert White, pragmatism has four main assumptions:
Richard Rorty also associated three characteristics to pragmatism:
Being pragmatic is the more accepted school of thought for social construction being a relative concept.[11]
Nature can be socially constructed by both culturally interpreting and physically shaping the environment.[17] This can happen in three ways:
Constructions can also be categorized by giving them meaning through the process ofembodiment,[5] which has three components:
No matter how nature becomes socially constructed, though, the process itself is limited by three dimensions:
The physical dimension is limited to the human body, where the brain is responsible for creating and selecting thoughts.[5] The mental dimension is used to understand the physical dimension and is limited to human logic.[5] The social dimension needs moral andsocial order and is used to give meaning to both what is physically present and what is culturally constructed.[5] All three dimensions must be present and linked to be able to socially construct nature.[5]
The social construction of nature has room for improvement in four main areas:
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