Forests and Society

5. Q only - History of fear, societal collapse, and exploitation of forests
1. Why is there a medical term to describe a person’s psychological fear of forests? Describe one of the terms and what it means? In the U.S., many people are afraid of dark forests. Who in the U.S. is most afraid, and who is the least afraid of being in dark forests at nighttime (1999 Harris poll)? What does this data say about esrm 101 students and whether they will be afraid of forests?
Hylophobia- entails irrational fear of trees, forests, and wood.
Nychtohylophobiac- refers to rapid fear of dark wooden areas, especially at night.
Xylophobia- refers to the fear of wooden objects in which 41% are terrified while 13% are more terrified.
Statistics indicate that women are more afraid of dark forests than men. Similarly, people with high school and lower education are more fearful than college graduates and postgraduates.
2. Why do fairy tales read to children at bedtime make them afraid of forests at night time? [2 explanations were given in class ppt]? Use an example when answering this answer.
Fairy tales, such as Seven Dwarfs and Snow White, have scary images, such as grabbing snow-white while fleeing through the forests. Little Red Riding Hood is a wolf who eats little red riding hood.
3. As children grow older, they continue to fear forests even though they no longer are read fairy tales by their parents. Why? Give an example when answering this question. Speculate why forests are successfully used in advertisements if so many people are afraid of forests?
Children develop a learned behavior, which influences them to fear forests. For instance, Hansel and Gretel is a tale of separation that can cause notable fear in children. Forests are typical in advertisements since their portrayal is during the daytime.
4. What is the significance of this story, ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh,’ written more than 4,000 years ago? What does this story tell you about how societies treated forests? What is the take-home message today of a King who did not own the forests but wanted to cut these forests for his benefit?
The epic is a description of the over-exploitation of cedar forests in the current day Mesopotamia.
5. What role did forests have in the building of the world’s first great civilization more than 4,000 years ago, i.e., Sumer in Mesopotamia? Since Sumer was founded at the peak of the ‘bronze age,’ why did they need wood? What role d...