Anthropocentric Thinking in Rural and Urban Students
As we grow up, we have natural ways in which we reason with the world. This intuitive way of thinking can influence how we think about the biological world around us. There are different forms of intuitive thinking that are used from adolescents to adulthood, which are used similarly across cultural influences. However, one, known as anthropocentric thinking, is used more in individuals from different cultural backgrounds. For instance, individuals from rural communities may use less anthropocentric reasoning than urban individuals, possibly due to spending more time in nature.
Anthropocentric thinking is a way of thinking that puts humans at the center of one’s understanding of the world. While not inherently wrong to use anthropocentric reasoning, it can lead to misconceptions in biology. For instance, anthropocentric thinking may lead students to think humans have the largest genome, do not share similar characteristics to other organisms, or antibiotic resistance is the result of the individual rejecting the antibiotic not the virus adapting.
The magnitude to which students in biology courses use anthropocentric thinking has yet to be explored. In a collaboration with the Coley and SEPAL lab, we aim to compare the extent to which rural and urban students use anthropocentric thinking that informs common misconceptions in biology. Once we know what cultural influences attributes to these misconceptions, we can develop mechanisms to address misconceptions in biology.
Anthropocentric thinking is a way of thinking that puts humans at the center of one’s understanding of the world. While not inherently wrong to use anthropocentric reasoning, it can lead to misconceptions in biology. For instance, anthropocentric thinking may lead students to think humans have the largest genome, do not share similar characteristics to other organisms, or antibiotic resistance is the result of the individual rejecting the antibiotic not the virus adapting.
The magnitude to which students in biology courses use anthropocentric thinking has yet to be explored. In a collaboration with the Coley and SEPAL lab, we aim to compare the extent to which rural and urban students use anthropocentric thinking that informs common misconceptions in biology. Once we know what cultural influences attributes to these misconceptions, we can develop mechanisms to address misconceptions in biology.
