12 Making Connections (IntroPSYC and SDG 14): Life Below Water

By Meghan E. Norris and Riley J.T. Bonar

Welcome to our unit where we explore genetics and evolution! This is a unit where some students are a bit apprehensive, especially if they do not have a background in biology. We will cover this content at an introductory level, and you will have lots of practice with this content throughout the course to help build your confidence—it is important that you know and understand this content, and our goal is to help you master it! There are a lot of pop-psychology myths that invoke the use of biology and scientific terms. We hope to empower you with actual science so that you can spot these myths as you encounter them! As a quick-start guide, there is almost never a behaviour that can be explained by a single gene alone, and often, the answer comes from an interaction between nature and nurture. You will learn more in our readings this week!

This unit in PSYC100 takes a deep dive in exploring how nature (genetics) and nurture (environment), and how they interact. Connecting content from this unit with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, we would like to highlight SDG 14, “Life Below Water.” This SDG focuses on ensuring that our oceans and marine biodiversity are thriving. Our marine environment is critically important to the health and wellbeing of all.

Did you know that psychologists study humans, but psychologists also study non-human animals (including ones in the water!), and the impact that environments can have. They also study pro-environmental behaviours. Thus, SDG 14 is very closely tied to psychology, although it might not seem so to those outside of psychology.

Related to this topic, two psychology professors at Queen’s, Dr. Valerie Kuhlmeier and Dr. Mary Cella Olmstead, wrote an incredible textbook all about comparative cognition, which is the study and comparison of cognition and mechanisms in humans and nonhuman animals. You can find it here  :

You can learn more about this SDG here: Goal 14: Oceans – United Nations Sustainable Development

References:

Olmstead, M. C., & Kuhlmeier, V. A. (2015). Comparative cognition. Cambridge University Press.

United Nations. (n.d.). Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/oceans/

How to cite this using APA Style:

Norris, M. E., & Bonar, R. J. T. (2026). Making connections (IntroPSYC and SDG 14): Life below water. In PSYC 100: Principles of psychology. eCampusOntario. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/testbookje/chapter/making-connections-intropsyc-and-sdg-14-life-below-water/