Nature in Culture: A dimensional perspective on the positive and negative effects of visual cultural products on nature communication

Cultural products share information from which people can derive knowledge. From this knowledge, a common vision can emerge to achieve a goal. Information shared by cultural products can concern topics related to the natural world and, benefitting from scientific knowledge, could contribute to the achievement of the so desired sustainable development. However, information about nature in cultural products may also have negative effects and accentuate the psychological distance from environmental issues. This article aims to review and discuss studies that highlight both the positive and negative effects of nature-related communications in the cultural entertainment products of visual mass media. The focus is on visual media because they have the potential to effectively and intuitively communicate complex concepts such as environmental issues. We essentially point out the negative psychological effects related to the representations of nature disseminated by such products, and propose a classification of these effects based on the Model of the undesirable effects of communication campaigns. Our results highlight a categorization of a wide range of negative psychological effects, of social and personal character, that can be generated by cultural products that aim to raise awareness of environmental problems. The present review provides a new dimensional perspective that can be used, on the one hand, by researchers of nature representations to frame the phenomenon and, on the other hand, by producers of visual cultural products to avoid the inclusion of involuntary messages with potentially negative effects.