Take a look around your home. Do you have:
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- A house plant?
- Wood flooring?
- A view of trees outside your window?
These are all evidence of our innate attraction for nature elements, also known as the biophilia hypothesis.
What is the Biophilia Hypothesis?
As described by E. O. Wilson, the biophilia hypothesis proposes the idea that humans have a natural tendency to connect with nature. This stems from an evolutionary basis where humans long ago greatly relied on natural resources for survival needs like building houses to live in and sustaining a fire for warmth. This tendency to use natural resources for utilitarian purposes developed into an appreciation for the benefits that nature can provide for us.
Today, this appreciation for nature still exists within us, as evident in our propensity to keep nature close to us in our homes and its benefits on our overall wellbeing.
Evidence of biophilic tendencies in our everyday lives
You may not even notice it, but a lot of the things we do exhibit the biophilia we have in us.
Aside from the three things listed above, people like to take pictures of themselves in nature scenes, which has been correlated with greater life satisfaction. When asked to rate photos of urban scenes and of nature scenes, participants expressed greater appeal towards the nature pictures. More and more buildings have natural elements incorporated into their designs in a popularizing architectural trend called biophilic design.
It is no doubt that we naturally gravitate towards natural elements in our daily lives for the emotional value it feeds us.
History of children in nature
Nature was a lot more accessible for children in the past than it is today. Here, we take a look at the history of children and their relationship with nature to understand why it is harder for them to exhibit biophilic tendencies over time.
Although children today still possess the biophilic attraction for natural elements, they are less able to connect with nature because of the artificial environment that they are raised in. If they do not satisfy this innate need for exposure to nature, it may be exhibited in psychological and behavioral problems, directly connecting to the signs of NDD which will be discussed in later sections.
This goes to show how strong the biological and evolutionary need for nature is for a child’s development.