Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:38:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ChristianaCP_TESE.pdf: 2108734 bytes, checksum: 102e886b7f28f0cd367708f6a4bf60ec (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-09-23 / Funda??o de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia / This study aimed at exploring and describing children s perceptions in threatened natural settings, specifically, the Rain Forest in Brazil. Several studies point to the significance of perceptions for people s pro-environmental attitudes and actions. We try to understand the person-environment interaction from an ecological perspective, and we present theoretical references for the understanding of how crucial nature is for psychological development and well-being. The children s drawings, individual interviews, discussion groups, photographies and informal and indirect sources, as teachers, brought material for the analysis. Participated in our study, carried on through a multi-method strategy, 209 children from six to eleven years old, living in the neighborhood of the Biological Reserve of Una, State of Bahia, created to protect Rain Forest fragments. The Rain Forest landscape is well portrayed in children s drawings, the vegetal elements prevailing over artificial and human elements. The figured plants and trees, however, are pointed with no precision as to their species. Most of the defined species are eatable. The children seem to be aware of the environment degradation, and of the importance of its conservation, but they describe episodes of hunting and feeding wild threatened animals. Our results indicate a utilitarian trend in the perception of living beings, in terms of their immediate usefulness for people. The multimethod approach seems to be appropriate to the complexity of the theme; the methodological strategies were well accepted by the children, offering them opportunities to express themselves. We observed how children, in different life phases, organize natural elements and processes in their drawings, and how these images relate to the local landscape. We discuss the results in the light of theoretical references of personenvironment studies and from previous investigations about children s perceptions of natural environment / Este estudo visou explorar e descrever as percep??es infantis de ambientes naturais protegidos, especificamente da Mata Atl?ntica no Brasil. Muitos estudos apontam a import?ncia das percep??es nas a??es pr?-ambientais ou pr?-ecol?gicas. Buscamos compreender a intera??o pessoa-ambiente a partir de perspectiva ecol?gica, e apresentamos tamb?m referenciais te?ricos para a compreens?o de como a natureza ? crucial para o bem-estar e o desenvolvimento psicol?gico. Os desenhos das crian?as, acrescidos de entrevista, grupo de discuss?o, fotografias, al?m de fontes informais e indiretas, como as professoras, forneceram material para tal an?lise. Participaram desta investiga??o explorat?ria, conduzida mediante estrat?gia multim?todos, 209 crian?as entre seis e onze anos de idade, vivendo no entorno da Reserva Biol?gica de Una, Estado da Bahia, criada para proteger fragmentos de Mata Atl?ntica. A Mata Atl?ntica foi bem representada nos desenhos, os elementos vegetais predominando sobre os artificiais e humanos. Por?m, as plantas figuradas s?o assinaladas sem a precis?o de esp?cie. As esp?cies definidas, em sua maioria, s?o comest?veis. As crian?as parecem conscientes da degrada??o do ambiente e da import?ncia de sua conserva??o, mas tamb?m descrevem intera??es de ca?a e alimenta??o de esp?cies protegidas. Os resultados indicam tend?ncia utilitarista na percep??o dos seres vivos, quanto ? sua utilidade para as pessoas. A abordagem multim?todo foi adequada ? complexidade do fen?meno; as estrat?gias adotadas foram bem aceitas pelas crian?as e lhes ofereceram oportunidades para expressar-se. Observamos como as crian?as, em diferentes fases da vida, organizam os elementos e processos naturais em seus desenhos, e como estas imagens se relacionam ? paisagem local. Discutimos os resultados ? luz de referenciais te?ricos dos estudos pessoa-ambiente, e investiga??es precedentes acerca da percep??o infantil de ambientes naturais