ABSTRACT
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following natural and human-caused disasters demonstrates the sometimes devastating psychological effects of unusual environmental events. The more subtle psychological responses to the natural world have seldom attracted clinical attention. Given our species’ long history as subsistence hunters, gatherers, and farmers, the natural environment must have helped shape our cognitive and emotional apparatus. A growing body of research substantiates that we demonstrate consistency in our psychological responses to animals and landscapes, and that these responses do not depend solely on the cultural or symbolic significance of the objects.
