Abstract
Conservation behaviour change is complex, with many internal and external motivations and barriers. Increasing knowledge about ocean animals and ecosystems is important, but not enough to incite meaningful conservation action. Empathy is an important internal driver of human behaviour and may be an important indicator of an individual’s willingness to take conservation action. Despite their exciting potential for fostering behaviour change , affective outcomes like empathy have not had as much attention from marine science educators as cognitive outcomes. This chapter presents the construct of empathy and its components, discusses empathy’s relationship to behaviour change and offers six research -validated practices for developing empathy.
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Notes
- 1.
Ocean organisms have a variety of different structures and behaviours that help them to survive in the ocean.
- 2.
The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems.
- 3.
The ocean and humans are inextricably linked.
- 4.
People can protect ocean animals and seaweeds by not collecting them, and by keeping their habitats safe and healthy.
- 5.
The ocean is largely unexplored.
- 6.
People explore the ocean through many different hobbies and careers : scientists , fishers, engineers … all spend time exploring the ocean .
- 7.
People use creativity, curiosity, tools, and technology to make better observations of the ocean .
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Wharton, J., Khalil, K., Fyfe, C., Young, A. (2019). Effective Practices for Fostering Empathy Towards Marine Life. In: Fauville, G., Payne, D., Marrero, M., Lantz-Andersson, A., Crouch, F. (eds) Exemplary Practices in Marine Science Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90778-9_10
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