Jana Fančovičová
Biographic Data
| ID | 76368 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jana Fančovičová |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jana |
| FAMILY NAME | Fančovičová |
| SIGNATURE | FANČOVIČOVÁ J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, Trnava University, Trnava, Slovakia |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3669-1491 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 61 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
A positive presentation of wolves affects the explicit and implicit attitudes of schoolchildren towards them
Large carnivore predators can be controversial animals, but sustainable coexistence with humans depends on peoples' tolerance and willingness to support their conservation. We conducted a short-term study on a sample of Slovak schoolchildren (aged 9–15) aimed at changing attitudes toward the grey wolf. The intervention consisted of videos and PPT presentations showing the wolf as a predator with positive characteristics crucial for ecosystem func…
Learning at stations on the secondary level in biology education
The importance of plants for humans is unquestionable and every one of us should have basic knowledge about plants. Learning stations are a very useful tool for understanding the meaning of plants for people. The purpose of the study was to describe the effect of learning stations in practice, their use and whether or not they might help change misconceptions and build accurate content knowledge about toxic plants. The quasi-experimental design w…
Factual knowledge of students about plants is associated with attitudes and interest in botany
Plants are crucial parts of ecosystems but are traditionally considered boring and difficult by students. It is therefore not clear whether factual knowledge about plants contributes to building positive attitudes and interest in botany. We investigated whether factual knowledge about monocotyledonous plants is associated with secondary students' attitudes toward and interest in plants. Furthermore, we examined whether self-reported plant cultiva…
Snake coloration does not influence children’s detection time
Although snakes play key roles in the functioning of various ecosystems, they have been among the most persecuted groups of animals. To enhance conservation efforts, we employed research on perceptions about snakes differing in body coloration. We investigated the bright coloration hypothesis, which suggests that bright (aposematic) coloration triggers fear in humans due to an evolved aversion for aposematic signals. The sample was 77 Slovak pres…
Beautiful fruits taste good
Although diversity of fruit/seed colouration has received a great amount of attention since Darwin, little is known about its role in eating preferences in humans. We have determined that humans prefer certain fruits/seeds over others and that their willingness to eat them has been significantly influenced by the perceived aesthetic of the presented fruits and seeds. Participants were unable to discriminate between edible and poisonous fruits/ se…
Tolerance of Amphibians in Slovakian People
Amphibians are vulnerable to extinction due to their need for both terrestrial and aquatic habitats to complete their life cycles. Some of them occupy urban areas, thus human tolerance of amphibians is likely to have a significant impact on their survival. Here we investigated tolerance of amphibians by interviewing a convenience sample of 201 pond owners and non-owners of various ages in Slovakia. Tolerance of tadpoles was higher than tolerance …
Plants have a chance
Outdoor educational programmes are generally believed to be a suitable alternative to conventional biology settings that improve participants' environmental attitudes and knowledge. Here we examine whether outdoor educational programmes focused solely on practical work with plants influence participants' knowledge of and attitudes towards plants. It was found that mean scores of participants' attitudes towards and knowledge of plants significantl…
Health Is Associated With Antiparasite Behavior and Fear of Disease-Relevant Animals in Humans
Evolutionary arms races between humans and parasites resulted in a set of behavioral adaptations that serve as parasite-avoidance mechanisms. We investigated associations among reported health of the respondent, antiparasite behavior, and sensitivity to disgust and fear of disease-relevant and irrelevant animals. Ninety-seven participants (15–19 years old) rated their fear and disgust at 25 colorful pictures of disease-relevant and disease-irrele…
Vampires Are Still Alive
Animals that pose a threat of disease are often in conflict with human appreciation of them, despite that they may be endangered in nature. This study examined undergraduate students' knowledge of, attitudes toward, and belief in myths about, bats, controversial animals well known both from mythology and movies. Factor analysis was applied to 46 Likert-type items (Bat Attitude Questionnaire) and five dimensions with high reliability (α = 0.93) we…
Slovakian Pupils' Knowledge of, and Attitudes toward, Birds
As the world's biodiversity is being destroyed, costs for nature protection activities increase. One proposed way to increase people's pro-environmental attitudes is to increase their knowledge base. It has been suggested that knowledge and attitudes are related, but no consensus in this field yet exists. Thus, the investigation of the relationship between attitudes and knowledge has valuable implications for nature protection programs. In this p…
Vampires Are Still Alive
Animals that pose a threat of disease are often in conflict with human appreciation of them, despite that they may be endangered in nature. This study examined undergraduate students' knowledge of, attitudes toward, and belief in myths about, bats, controversial animals well known both from mythology and movies. Factor analysis was applied to 46 Likert-type items (Bat Attitude Questionnaire) and five dimensions with high reliability (α = 0.93) we…
Slovakian Pupils' Knowledge of, and Attitudes toward, Birds
As the world's biodiversity is being destroyed, costs for nature protection activities increase. One proposed way to increase people's pro-environmental attitudes is to increase their knowledge base. It has been suggested that knowledge and attitudes are related, but no consensus in this field yet exists. Thus, the investigation of the relationship between attitudes and knowledge has valuable implications for nature protection programs. In this p…
Tolerance of Amphibians in Slovakian People
Amphibians are vulnerable to extinction due to their need for both terrestrial and aquatic habitats to complete their life cycles. Some of them occupy urban areas, thus human tolerance of amphibians is likely to have a significant impact on their survival. Here we investigated tolerance of amphibians by interviewing a convenience sample of 201 pond owners and non-owners of various ages in Slovakia. Tolerance of tadpoles was higher than tolerance …
Plants have a chance
Outdoor educational programmes are generally believed to be a suitable alternative to conventional biology settings that improve participants' environmental attitudes and knowledge. Here we examine whether outdoor educational programmes focused solely on practical work with plants influence participants' knowledge of and attitudes towards plants. It was found that mean scores of participants' attitudes towards and knowledge of plants significantl…
A positive presentation of wolves affects the explicit and implicit attitudes of schoolchildren towards them
Large carnivore predators can be controversial animals, but sustainable coexistence with humans depends on peoples' tolerance and willingness to support their conservation. We conducted a short-term study on a sample of Slovak schoolchildren (aged 9–15) aimed at changing attitudes toward the grey wolf. The intervention consisted of videos and PPT presentations showing the wolf as a predator with positive characteristics crucial for ecosystem func…
Beautiful fruits taste good
Although diversity of fruit/seed colouration has received a great amount of attention since Darwin, little is known about its role in eating preferences in humans. We have determined that humans prefer certain fruits/seeds over others and that their willingness to eat them has been significantly influenced by the perceived aesthetic of the presented fruits and seeds. Participants were unable to discriminate between edible and poisonous fruits/ se…
Slovakian Pupils' Knowledge of, and Attitudes toward, Birds
As the world's biodiversity is being destroyed, costs for nature protection activities increase. One proposed way to increase people's pro-environmental attitudes is to increase their knowledge base. It has been suggested that knowledge and attitudes are related, but no consensus in this field yet exists. Thus, the investigation of the relationship between attitudes and knowledge has valuable implications for nature protection programs. In this p…
Vampires Are Still Alive
Animals that pose a threat of disease are often in conflict with human appreciation of them, despite that they may be endangered in nature. This study examined undergraduate students' knowledge of, attitudes toward, and belief in myths about, bats, controversial animals well known both from mythology and movies. Factor analysis was applied to 46 Likert-type items (Bat Attitude Questionnaire) and five dimensions with high reliability (α = 0.93) we…
Health Is Associated With Antiparasite Behavior and Fear of Disease-Relevant Animals in Humans
Evolutionary arms races between humans and parasites resulted in a set of behavioral adaptations that serve as parasite-avoidance mechanisms. We investigated associations among reported health of the respondent, antiparasite behavior, and sensitivity to disgust and fear of disease-relevant and irrelevant animals. Ninety-seven participants (15–19 years old) rated their fear and disgust at 25 colorful pictures of disease-relevant and disease-irrele…
Plants have a chance
Outdoor educational programmes are generally believed to be a suitable alternative to conventional biology settings that improve participants' environmental attitudes and knowledge. Here we examine whether outdoor educational programmes focused solely on practical work with plants influence participants' knowledge of and attitudes towards plants. It was found that mean scores of participants' attitudes towards and knowledge of plants significantl…
Beautiful fruits taste good
Although diversity of fruit/seed colouration has received a great amount of attention since Darwin, little is known about its role in eating preferences in humans. We have determined that humans prefer certain fruits/seeds over others and that their willingness to eat them has been significantly influenced by the perceived aesthetic of the presented fruits and seeds. Participants were unable to discriminate between edible and poisonous fruits/ se…
Tolerance of Amphibians in Slovakian People
Amphibians are vulnerable to extinction due to their need for both terrestrial and aquatic habitats to complete their life cycles. Some of them occupy urban areas, thus human tolerance of amphibians is likely to have a significant impact on their survival. Here we investigated tolerance of amphibians by interviewing a convenience sample of 201 pond owners and non-owners of various ages in Slovakia. Tolerance of tadpoles was higher than tolerance …
Snake coloration does not influence children’s detection time
Although snakes play key roles in the functioning of various ecosystems, they have been among the most persecuted groups of animals. To enhance conservation efforts, we employed research on perceptions about snakes differing in body coloration. We investigated the bright coloration hypothesis, which suggests that bright (aposematic) coloration triggers fear in humans due to an evolved aversion for aposematic signals. The sample was 77 Slovak pres…
Factual knowledge of students about plants is associated with attitudes and interest in botany
Plants are crucial parts of ecosystems but are traditionally considered boring and difficult by students. It is therefore not clear whether factual knowledge about plants contributes to building positive attitudes and interest in botany. We investigated whether factual knowledge about monocotyledonous plants is associated with secondary students' attitudes toward and interest in plants. Furthermore, we examined whether self-reported plant cultiva…
Learning at stations on the secondary level in biology education
The importance of plants for humans is unquestionable and every one of us should have basic knowledge about plants. Learning stations are a very useful tool for understanding the meaning of plants for people. The purpose of the study was to describe the effect of learning stations in practice, their use and whether or not they might help change misconceptions and build accurate content knowledge about toxic plants. The quasi-experimental design w…
A positive presentation of wolves affects the explicit and implicit attitudes of schoolchildren towards them
Large carnivore predators can be controversial animals, but sustainable coexistence with humans depends on peoples' tolerance and willingness to support their conservation. We conducted a short-term study on a sample of Slovak schoolchildren (aged 9–15) aimed at changing attitudes toward the grey wolf. The intervention consisted of videos and PPT presentations showing the wolf as a predator with positive characteristics crucial for ecosystem func…
Animal and Plant Science Education (9 works) · Psychology (8 works) · Biology (6 works) · Ecology (4 works) · Mathematics education (4 works) · Medicine (3 works) · Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies (3 works) · Social Psychology (3 works) · Zoology (3 works) · Blindness (2 works)