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Butterfly Eyespots: Their Potential Influence on Aesthetic Preferences and Conservation Attitudes

Research has shown that the mere presence of stimuli that resemble eyes is sufficient to attract attention, elicit aesthetic responses, and can even enhance prosocial behavior. However, it is less clear whether eye-like stimuli could also be used as a tool for nature conservation. Several animal spe...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Manesi, Zoi, Van Lange, Paul A. M., Pollet, Thomas V.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4636354/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26544692
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0141433
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author Manesi, Zoi
Van Lange, Paul A. M.
Pollet, Thomas V.
author_facet Manesi, Zoi
Van Lange, Paul A. M.
Pollet, Thomas V.
author_sort Manesi, Zoi
collection PubMed
description Research has shown that the mere presence of stimuli that resemble eyes is sufficient to attract attention, elicit aesthetic responses, and can even enhance prosocial behavior. However, it is less clear whether eye-like stimuli could also be used as a tool for nature conservation. Several animal species, including butterflies, develop eye-like markings that are known as eyespots. In the present research, we explored whether the mere display of eyespots on butterfly wings can enhance: (a) liking for a butterfly species, and (b) attitudes and behaviors towards conservation of a butterfly species. Four online experimental studies, involving 613 participants, demonstrated that eyespots significantly increased liking for a butterfly species. Furthermore, eyespots significantly increased positive attitudes towards conservation of a butterfly species (Studies 1, 2 and 4), whereas liking mediated the eyespot effect on conservation attitudes (Study 2). However, we also found some mixed evidence for an association between eyespots and actual conservation behavior (Studies 3 and 4). Overall, these findings suggest that eyespots may increase liking for an animal and sensitize humans to conservation. We discuss possible implications for biodiversity conservation and future research directions.
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spelling pubmed-46363542015-11-13 Butterfly Eyespots: Their Potential Influence on Aesthetic Preferences and Conservation Attitudes Manesi, Zoi Van Lange, Paul A. M. Pollet, Thomas V. PLoS One Research Article Research has shown that the mere presence of stimuli that resemble eyes is sufficient to attract attention, elicit aesthetic responses, and can even enhance prosocial behavior. However, it is less clear whether eye-like stimuli could also be used as a tool for nature conservation. Several animal species, including butterflies, develop eye-like markings that are known as eyespots. In the present research, we explored whether the mere display of eyespots on butterfly wings can enhance: (a) liking for a butterfly species, and (b) attitudes and behaviors towards conservation of a butterfly species. Four online experimental studies, involving 613 participants, demonstrated that eyespots significantly increased liking for a butterfly species. Furthermore, eyespots significantly increased positive attitudes towards conservation of a butterfly species (Studies 1, 2 and 4), whereas liking mediated the eyespot effect on conservation attitudes (Study 2). However, we also found some mixed evidence for an association between eyespots and actual conservation behavior (Studies 3 and 4). Overall, these findings suggest that eyespots may increase liking for an animal and sensitize humans to conservation. We discuss possible implications for biodiversity conservation and future research directions. Public Library of Science 2015-11-06 /pmc/articles/PMC4636354/ /pubmed/26544692 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0141433 Text en © 2015 Manesi et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Manesi, Zoi
Van Lange, Paul A. M.
Pollet, Thomas V.
Butterfly Eyespots: Their Potential Influence on Aesthetic Preferences and Conservation Attitudes
title Butterfly Eyespots: Their Potential Influence on Aesthetic Preferences and Conservation Attitudes
title_full Butterfly Eyespots: Their Potential Influence on Aesthetic Preferences and Conservation Attitudes
title_fullStr Butterfly Eyespots: Their Potential Influence on Aesthetic Preferences and Conservation Attitudes
title_full_unstemmed Butterfly Eyespots: Their Potential Influence on Aesthetic Preferences and Conservation Attitudes
title_short Butterfly Eyespots: Their Potential Influence on Aesthetic Preferences and Conservation Attitudes
title_sort butterfly eyespots: their potential influence on aesthetic preferences and conservation attitudes
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4636354/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26544692
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0141433
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