Natural Play Environments
Natural Play Environments - Related Videos
05:57
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Cited by 17 •
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We demonstrate a method to collect magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) that can be applied to natural waters. MTB can be isolated and enriched from sediment samples using a relatively simple setup that takes advantage of the bacteria's natural magnetism. Isolated MTB can then be examined in detail using both light and electron microscopy.
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Peering into the Dynamics of Social Interactions: Measuring Play Fighting in Rats
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Cited by 82 •
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Play fighting in the rat involves attack and defense of the nape of the neck, which if contacted, is gently nuzzled with the snout. Because the movements of one animal are countered by the actions of its partner, play fighting is a complex, dynamic interaction. This dynamic complexity raises methodological problems about what to score for experimental studies. We present a scoring schema that is sensitive to the correlated nature of the actions performed. Two experiments illustrate how these...
01:10
Nature and Nurture
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2019
Many human characteristics, like height, are shaped by both nature—in other words, by our genes—and by nurture, or our environment. For example, chronic stress during childhood inhibits the production of growth hormones and consequently reduces bone growth and height. Scientists estimate that 70-90% of variation in height is due to genetic differences among individuals, and 10-30% of variation in height is due to differences in the environments that individuals experience, such as differences...
07:19
Compost Microcosms as Microbially Diverse, Natural-like Environments for Microbiome Research in Caenorhabditis elegans
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Cited by 5 •
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Compost microcosms bring the microbial diversity found in nature into the laboratory to facilitate microbiome research in Caenorhabditis elegans. Provided here are protocols for setting up microcosm experiments, with the experiments demonstrating the ability to modulate environmental microbial diversity to explore the relationships between environmental microbial diversity and worm gut microbiome composition.
05:27
VR Nature Therapy: Embodiment and Emotional Regulation through Immersive Virtual Environments
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Here, we present a protocol to investigate the effects of immersive 360-degree virtual reality nature exposures on mood and embodiment. Participants experience forest and marine environments in seated and standing postures, with assessments using standardized scales to evaluate therapeutic outcomes for mental health interventions.
FAQs
Affordances connect environmental features with the actions children perceive as possible. A rock may invite balancing, soil may support digging, and loose materials may be rearranged for self-chosen purposes. Because these features do not prescribe one fixed use, children can adjust activity to their abilities, test physical possibilities, and develop behavioral responses through active exploration.
Autonomy allows children to select activities and regulate how they engage with sensory features, while environmental complexity supplies more varied possibilities for action. Together, these conditions can support exploration and creativity rather than directing behavior toward a single outcome. In behavioral research, they help clarify how the setting itself influences engagement, attention, and adaptive responses.
Changing conditions make the setting less predictable and give children repeated opportunities to assess possibilities. As textures, materials, or other features vary, researchers can examine how children adapt exploration, regulate sensory experiences, and judge physical risk. This is relevant to behavior because it links environmental variation with observable choices, rather than treating behavior as independent of context.
Open-ended features create situations in which children may need to share materials, coordinate activities, or negotiate how a space is used. These interactions allow behavioral researchers to examine cooperation as it emerges from children’s choices and the surrounding context. The same setting can therefore reveal both individual exploration and adaptive social behavior, without reducing play to a predetermined sequence.
Researchers can examine how context, autonomy, and environmental complexity relate to exploration, creativity, cooperation, risk assessment, and attention. The focus is not only on what children do, but also on how available features and changing conditions shape those choices. This makes the approach useful for studying behavior as an interaction between the child and the surrounding environment.
Findings can inform education, therapeutic programs, and landscape design. In education, they can support settings that encourage engagement and self-directed activity; in therapeutic programs, they can guide attention to sensory regulation and adaptive social behavior. For landscape designers, the behavioral relevance lies in arranging natural features thoughtfully so children have varied opportunities to explore, interact, and assess possibilities.