Social psychologist Thomas Pollet, currently at NIAS, has found that eyespots increase liking for a butterfly species, and increase positive attitudes towards its conservation. Pollet and his colleagues from the VU University Amsterdam published their findings in PLOS One last week.
About the Article
The article “Butterfly Eyespots: Their Potential Influence on Aesthetic Preferences and Conservation Attitudes” explores whether the mere display of eyespots on butterfly wings enhances: (a) liking for a butterfly species, and (b) attitudes and behaviors towards conservation of a butterfly species. The research carried out by Pollet and his colleagues demonstrates that eyespots do indeed significantly increase liking for a butterfly species. Furthermore, eyespots significantly increase positive attitudes towards conservation of a butterfly species.
Read more about the study, and the possible implications for biodiversity conservation
Hoe mooier, hoe veiliger (news item at vu.nl, in Dutch)
About Thomas Pollet
Thomas V. Pollet is Assistant Professor in Social and Organizational Psychology at VU University Amsterdam. At NIAS, he studies the factors that influence women’s decision to have a(nother) baby, by using a data mining approach relying on existing large databases, whereby machine learning is used to predict women’s reproductive decisions and outcomes.