Visitors' Perceptions of the Conservation Education Role of Zoos and Aquariums: Implications for the Provision of Learning Experiences

ABSTRACT

Many zoos and aquariums consider themselves to be conservation organizations with a mission to educate and promote visitors' adoption of environmentally sustainable behavior. This article investigates the extent to which visitors share this view and discusses the implications of the findings for the provision of on-site and post-visit conservation education. A survey of 1,546 visitors to 13 zoos and aquariums found that although visitors gave highest priority to entertainment aspects of the experience, they also considered the provision of conservation education to be an important aspect of a zoo or aquarium visit. The findings suggest that zoos and aquariums need to develop new ways of engaging visitors for whom conservation learning is not the major purpose for visiting and provide post-visit experiences that reinforce and extend on-site conservation messages and action. Suggestions for accomplishing these are discussed.     

Visitor Motivations Across Three Informal Education Institutions: An Application of the Identity-Related Visitor Motivation Model

ABSTRACT

Recent studies suggest that visitors’ situated museum identities may be examined through the motivations expressed during visits to zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, and other museums. This article examines a tool published by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and J. Falk, Heimlich, and Bronnenkant (2008) for documenting visitors’ motivations at zoos, aquariums, and other informal education settings and compares motivations for visiting across three informal education sites. Surveys were administered to 370 adult visitors to an aquarium, science center, and boat-based eco-tour operator. Findings revealed both different motivations of visitors to these informal education institutions and seasonal changes to those motivations. Moreover, the motivations tool, which was created specifically to document visitor motivations in zoos and aquariums, was able to successfully document visitor motivations in such places as a science center and boat excursion company. It is not clear, however, that it sheds direct light on visitor identity. Modifications to the instrument and underlying taxonomy are suggested and theoretical issues are discussed and used to suggest further areas of research. Findings from the empirical work contribute to discussions of how informal education institutions may use visitor motivations data along with a theory of identity to better understand current audiences and reach new audiences.     

Evaluating the effects of reactivity to supervisor presence on staff response to tactile prompts and self‐monitoring in a group home setting

Because staff management research in group home settings typically involves direct observation of staff performance, reactivity to being observed is a potential limitation in these studies. The current study evaluated the use of a tactile prompt, self‐monitoring, and feedback to increase positive interaction in a group home setting. Reactivity was assessed by having a confederate observe staff positive interaction when the supervisor was present and when the supervisor was absent. The effect of supervisor presence was evaluated using an alternating treatment within a multiple baseline across participants' research design. Results showed that two of four participants increased positive interactions only when a supervisor was present and the two other participants increased positive interaction only when a supervisor was present and provided feedback. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Blood pressure hyperreactivity in non-human primates during dietary sodium combined with behavioral stress

The potential for behavioral stress alone or combined with dietary salt to augment pressor reactivity to the onset of daily experimental sessions was examined in normotensive, intact baboons over the course of four months. During twice daily experimental sessions, adult male baboons experienced food/shock conflict such that lever pulling not only served to earn food, but was also occasionally punished with cued mild electric shock. Blood pressure and heart rate were measured during a baseline period of fixed-ratio food reinforcement (3 weeks), during conflict stress (2 weeks), and after dietary salt was added to the daily conflict protocol (CONFLICT + SODIUM, 3 weeks). Reactivity, i.e., acute changes in blood pressure and heart rate to the daily experimental sessions, was not evident during food reinforcement sessions nor during the CONFLICT stress alone condition. The addition of a high salt diet virtually doubled blood pressure increases and heart rate decreases to the onset of experimental sessions. Average reactivities during CONFLICT + SODIUM periods were 11.2/7.9% delta for SBP/DBP (systolic/diastolic blood pressure, mmHg), and -5.65% delta for HR (heart rate, BPM). Neither atenolol nor hydrochlorothiazide diuretic significantly altered cardiovascular reactivity during CONFLICT + SODIUM in comparison to a preceding non-drug CONFLICT + SODIUM period. When atenolol and diuretic effects were directly compared, atenolol mildly augmented, while diuretic mildly decreased DBP but not SBP reactivity during CONFLICT + SODIUM. Reactivity was eliminated after salt loading and behavioral sessions were terminated. These findings provide evidence that enhanced salt ingestion may synergistically act with behavioral stress to produce pressor hyperresponsiveness to otherwise benign environmental events.     

Inhibition and interference in the think/no-think task

Five experiments using the think/no-think (TNT) procedure investigated the effect of the no-think and substitute instructions on cued recall. In Experiment 1, when unrelated A–B paired associates were studied and cued for recall with A items, recall rates were reliably enhanced in the think condition and reliably impaired below baseline in the no-think condition. In Experiments 2 and 5, final recall was cued with B items, leading to reliably higher recall rates, as compared with baseline, in both the think and no-think conditions. This pattern indicates backward priming of no-think items. In Experiments 3 and 4, the no-think instruction was replaced with a thought substitution instruction, and participants were asked to think of another word instead of the studied one when they saw the no-think cued items. As in Experiments 1 and 2, the same amount of forgetting of B items was observed when A items were the cues, but in contrast to Experiment 2, there was no increase in the recall performance of A items when B items were the cues. These results suggest that not thinking of studied items or, alternatively, thinking of a substitute item to avoid a target item may involve different processes: the former featuring inhibition and the latter interference.     

The effects of three methods of observation on couples in interactional research

Abstract

Reactivity to observation can affect both internal and external validity of experimental studies. Although the effects of observation have been well documented in groups and parent-child interaction, there have been few studies of observer effects on couples. This study assessed the effects of three different methods of observation—one-way mirror, audio-recording and video-recording—on 30 volunteer, nonclinical couples. No differences were found among couples in the three observational conditions on measures of interactional behavior on a problem-solving task, participant appraisals of self-consciousness, discomfort and reactivity for themselves and their spouses, or on pre-post observation measures of anxiety and feelings toward spouse. The results suggest that these different types of observation do not produce significantly different effects on nonclinical couples and that studies utilizing these three methods may be compared.     

The Development of a Standardized Assessment Framework for Animal Exhibits

Science centers, zoos, and aquariums share the common goal of engaging visitors in learning about the physical and natural world. Exhibits in zoos and aquariums, however, focus primarily on living organisms. Interactive exhibits are less common in these institutions and this differentiates the way visitors engage with exhibits from that of a typical science center visit. Based on the usefulness of the Visitor-Based Learning Framework (Barriault &; Pearson, 2010 Barriault, C. L., &; Pearson, D. (2010). Assessing exhibits for learning in science centres: A practical tool. Visitor Studies, 13(1), 90–106. doi:10.1080/10645571003618824[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) as an exhibit assessment tool in science centers, the purpose of this research was to develop a similar tool that assesses the potential learning impact of live animal exhibits in zoos and aquariums. A comprehensive framework of learning-related behaviors was developed and field-tested with a total of 900 visitors. The resulting Visitor-Based Assessment Framework for Animal Exhibits provides zoo and aquarium researchers and practitioners with a valuable tool to assess exhibits through observable behavioral indicators.     

三维空间中视觉空间返回抑制对Simon效应的影响

通过虚拟现实技术构建虚拟三维场景,采用视觉空间返回抑制范式与Simon任务的变式相结合,操纵了目标深度、线索有效性以及空间一致性三个变量,考察三维空间深度位置上视觉空间返回抑制如何影响任务无关的反应表征(Simon效应)。结果发现,(1)三维空间深度位置上存在基于空间的返回抑制效应,且空间返回抑制效应会削减Simon效应;(2)目标出现在远处空间时,线索化条件下的Simon效应显著大于非线索化条件下的Simon效应;(3)目标出现在近处空间时,线索化条件与非线索化条件下的Simon效应之间无显著差异。研究表明,空间返回抑制并不是"深度盲",且目标的空间位置会对空间返回抑制与Simon效应的交互关系产生影响。     

Designing Post-Visit Action Resources for Families Visiting Wildlife Tourism Sites

ABSTRACT

Interpretation at zoos, aquariums, and other wildlife tourism sites is generally designed to raise visitors’ awareness and appreciation of natural resources and alert them to the impact of human activities on wildlife populations. However, there has been little investigation of what prompts visitors to adopt conservation actions, and whether reinforcing on-site messages with post-visit support can assist in this process. The aim of the present research was to firstly, design family learning materials to support and extend the learning that occurs as a result of viewing wildlife; and secondly, to ask families visiting a turtle rookery in Queensland, Australia to use the resources and report on their effectiveness. One hundred Australian families were sampled at the site; 3 months later 45 families returned questionnaires relating to the impact of the support materials on their long-term conservation knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. Components that were rated as particularly effective are presented and the importance of providing post-visit updates that connect visitors directly back to their viewing experience is discussed.     

Creation and Validation of an Observational Tool to Assess Children's Domain-General Skills at Museum Exhibits

Abstract

Understanding visitor experiences is an important focus for visitor research in attractions such as museums, zoos, and heritage sites because the visitor experience is the core product of the interaction between the visitor and the activities, events, and environments they encounter. This article describes the development of an instrument designed to capture multiple facets of the visitor experience using a simple and unobtrusive adjective checklist. The checklist has been tested and used at a range of attractions, including museums, art galleries, science centers, zoos, and aquariums. The instrument allows visitors’ responses to the experiential offerings of each site to be captured and graphically displayed, as well as providing individual measures on 15 dimensions. The instrument can be used to support further research and theory development as well as exhibit design and evaluation. Examples of such applications are discussed.     

Using Visitor Observation to Evaluate Exhibits at the Rotterdam Zoo Aquarium

ABSTRACT

This article reports a visitor observation study that was conducted at the aquarium of Rotterdam Zoo, called the Oceanium. Observations were performed in six different aquarium exhibits within the Oceanium and visitors' stopping and watching behaviors were recorded. Results showed that in five out of six exhibits, visitors were more likely to stop and watch during the morning than in the afternoon. This study provided evidence regarding visitors' use of different exhibits, which will be valuable in improving both the recreational and educational value of the experiences offered at the Oceanium.     

A Review of “At the Edges of Vision: A Phenomenological Aesthetics of Contemporary Spectatorship”

ABSTRACT

Although studies in a variety of settings suggest that participant reactions to the research context can threaten the validity and generalizability of study findings, there have been almost no investigations of participant reactivity in museums. In this experimental study, the authors compared the behaviors and learning outcomes of visitors at two versions of an interactive mathematics exhibit who had either been actively recruited by a data collector or passively recruited using posted signage. They assessed the amount of time visitors spent at the exhibit, the number of mathematical exhibit behaviors they engaged in, and the level at which they described the mathematical relationships in the exhibit after the interaction. The results indicate that actively recruiting visitors was associated with increased engagement times and the number of mathematical exhibit behaviors, and that recruitment method moderated the relation between exhibit version and learning outcomes. These findings emphasize the importance of carefully considering recruitment decisions in museum research and evaluation.     

Eye gaze versus arrows as spatial cues: two qualitatively different modes of attentional selection

This study aimed to evaluate the type of attentional selection (location- and/or object-based) triggered by two different types of central noninformative cues: eye gaze and arrows. Two rectangular objects were presented in the visual field, and subjects' attention was directed to the end of a rectangle via the observation of noninformative directional arrows or eye gaze. Similar experiments with peripheral cues have shown an object-based effect: faster target identification when the target is presented on the cued object as compared to the uncued object, even when the distance between target and cue was the same. The three reported experiments aimed to compare the location- and object-based attentional orienting observed with arrows and eye gaze, in order to dissociate the orienting mechanisms underlying the two types of orienting cues. Results showed similar cueing effects on the cued versus oppositely cued locations for the two cue types, replicating several studies with nonpredictive gaze and arrow cues. However, a pure object-based effect occurred only when an arrow cue was presented, whereas a pure location-based effect was only found for eye-gaze cues. It is suggested that attention is nonspecifically directed to nearby objects when a noninformative arrow is used as cue, whereas it is selectively directed to a specific cued location when noninformative eye gaze is used. This may be mediated by theory of mind mechanisms.     

Evidence for the substantia nigra pars compacta as an essential component of a memory system independent of the hippocampal memory system

The aim of the present study was to test if the nigrostriatal pathway is an essential component for a water maze cued task learning and if it works independently of the hippocampal memory system. This hypothesis was tested using an animal model of Parkinson's disease in which male Wistar rats were lesioned in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) by the intranigral infusion of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), thus causing a partial depletion of striatal dopamine. SNc-lesioned and sham-operated animals were implanted bilaterally with guide cannulae above the dorsal hippocampus in order to be tested after the administration of 0.4 microl 2% lidocaine or saline into this structure. The animals were tested in a spatial or in a cued version of the water maze, memory tasks previously reported to model hippocampal-dependent spatial/relational and striatal-dependent S-R learning, respectively. Hippocampal inactivation, but not SNc lesion, impaired learning and memory in the spatial version of the water maze. An opposite situation was observed with the cued version. No significant interaction was observed between the SNc lesion and hippocampal inactivation conditions affecting scores in the spatial or in the cued version of the water maze. These results suggest that the nigrostriatal pathway is an essential part of the memory system that processes S-R learning and that it works independently of the hippocampal memory system that processes spatial/relational memories.     

Empathizing with a dissimilar other: the role of self-other distinction in sympathetic responding

Can we empathize effectively with someone who has a different sensitivity to physical events from ours? Or, are we susceptible to an egocentric bias in overprojection, which may lead us to under- or overreact in such cases? In this study, participants with normal visual and auditory capacity observed a video clip in which a sighted or blind target was exposed to a strong flash or high-frequency sound, while their physiological arousals during the observation were recorded. On average, participants displayed a differential arousal pattern to the aversive stimuli, according to the target's ability to perceive them. Degrees of arousal control were also correlated with dispositional differences in empathy. Participants who scored higher on the Empathic Concern subscale of Davis's Interpersonal Reactivity Index were better at controlling arousals in accordance with the Target × Stimulus interaction. The authors' findings have important implications for helping disabled people while respecting their inherent dignity and individual autonomy.     

Failures to find suppression of episodic memories in the think/no-think paradigm

Anderson and Green (2001) had subjects learn paired associates and then selectively suppress responses to some of them. They reported a decrease in final cued recall for responses that subjectshad been instructed not to think of and explained their data as resulting from cognitive suppression, a laboratory analog of repression. We report three experiments designed to replicate the suppression/repression results. After subjects learned a series of A-B word pairs (e.g., ordsea-roach), they were then asked to respond to some items and not to think of other items when shown their cues 1, 8, or 16times. During a final recall test, they were cued with either asame (direct)probe (ordeal-__) or a n independent(indirect) probe (insect-r__) . None of our experiments showed reliable suppression effects with either the same or independent-probe tests. Suppression is apparently not a robust experimental phenomenon in the think/no-think paradigm.     

Inhibition of return with rapid serial shifts of attention: implications for memory and visual search

Horowitz and Wolfe (2001) suggested that inhibition of return (IOR) should not be observed in tasks that involve rapid deployments of attention. To examine this issue, five of six possible locations were sequentially cued with either short-duration peripheral cues (50 msec) or long-duration peripheral cues (500 msec). As was expected, IOR was observed in the first two experiments at every cued location with the long-duration cues, with the magnitude of IOR decreasing for earlier cued locations relative to later cued locations. In the short-cue condition, IOR was observed at only one cued location (the second to last). The pattern of results for the short-duration cues was found regardless of whether the fixation cue was of a short (Experiment 1) or a long (Experiment 2) duration. In Experiment 3, the final fixation cue was removed, and IOR was again observed at virtually all locations in both the short- and the long-cue conditions. These findings indicate that IOR can be observed at multiple locations when attention is shifted rapidly between locations.     

Differentiating challenge reactivity from psychomotor activity in studies of children's psychophysiology: considerations for theory and measurement

Current methods of assessing children’s physiological “stress reactivity” may be confounded by psychomotor activity, biasing estimates of the relation between reactivity and health. We examined the joint and independent contributions of psychomotor activity and challenge reactivity during a protocol for 5- and 6-year-old children (N = 338). Measures of parasympathetic reactivity (respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) and sympathetic reactivity (preejection period [PEP]) were calculated for social, cognitive, sensory, and emotional challenge tasks. Reactivity was calculated relative to both resting and a paired comparison task that accounted for psychomotor activity effects during each challenge. Results indicated that comparison tasks themselves elicited RSA and PEP responses, and reactivity adjusted for psychomotor activity was incongruent with reactivity calculated using rest. Findings demonstrate the importance of accounting for confounding psychomotor activity effects on physiological reactivity.     

Stimulus-response probability and inhibition of return

Inhibition of return (IOR) refers to slowed responding to targets at a location previously occupied by an irrelevant cue. Here we explore the interaction between stimulus-response (S-R) probability and IOR effects using go/no-go (Experiment 1) and two-choice discrimination tasks (Experiment 2). In both experiments, the IOR effect was larger for the likely S-R ensemble than for the unlikely one. In the first experiment, there were more false alarms for uncued targets than for cued targets, and this difference was larger for the unlikely S-R ensemble than for the likely one. In the second experiment, the same pattern was observed for incorrect keypress responses. As with voluntary orienting in response to predictive central cues, the results suggest that IOR affects late stages of processing by altering the criteria to respond to targets presented at the cued (previously attended) location.     

Forgetting of prior remembering in persons reporting recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse

Case studies of individuals reporting recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse suggest that some overestimate their prior forgetting of the abuse. People reporting recovered or continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse and control subjects reporting no history of abuse participated in two experiments examining this "forgot it all along" phenomenon. Participants in Experiment 1 were more likely to forget that they had previously recalled a studied item if they were cued to think of it differently on two recall tests than if they were cued to think of it in the same way on the two tests. This effect was stronger for recovered-memory participants than for continuous-memory and control participants. In Experiment 2, participants recalled autobiographical events three times over a period of 4 months. Much as in Experiment 1, they underestimated prior remembering when the events had been recalled in a different emotional frame (positive vs. negative) on the previous occasion. This underestimation was more pronounced for recovered-memory participants than for continuous-memory and control participants.