VCE Outdoor & Environmental Studies Resources

Unit Three: Relationships with natural environments
Area of Study Two: Contemporary relationships with natural environments

The role of contemporary views of nature and outdoor experiences in shaping relationships with natural environments

Worksheet: The danger of generalisations

We all generalise - that is, the great majority of those of us who communicate regularly make statements to the effect that particular groups of people or things share the same properties. Generalising allows us to come to a ready (if rough) understanding of matters, and to communicate more efficiently.

Many generalisations are true enough by definition (depending on the definition). For example, all mammals are warm-blooded. Few would seriously dispute such generalisations, though you could be pedantic about many such statements. For example, dead mammals are not warm-blooded.

Be wary of unqualified generalisations. The most "extreme" form of such generalising is known as "stereotyping." (or in the US, as "profiling.")

Generalisations that are self-evident, or have at least insignificant exceptions, tend not to need qualification. However, we should be careful about the way we generalise because many generalisations do need to be qualified if they are to stand up to scrutiny. For example, the statement "Australians love the beach" needs to be qualified because there are so many exceptions. (Note that in statements like this the word "all" is implied, i.e. all Australians loved the beach.)

Examples of qualifiers include words like: many, most, tend to, at some stage, etc. One problem with qualification is that the qualification can dilute the statement in such a way that the point may not be worth making. For example, some Australians love the beach.

In relation to contentious issues such as the environment, unqualified generalisations tend not to progress debate. For example, if someone makes statements like "Farmers take care of the land" - or "Farmers don’t take care of the land" - the statement not only doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, but also is likely to inflame others. It would be more accurate, and fairer, to state that "These days, a growing number of farmers are realising that they must take care of the land if they are to farm successfully."

Based on what you already know, or what you can find out, make a statement about the way in which each group below relates to the environment. These statements should be qualified so that they are balanced, and the groups concerned are not stereotyped unfairly.

group	relationship
aborigines
city-based conservationists
miners
rock climbers
field & game shooters
politicians
conservative politicians
unions
Australians
youth of today

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