The 1st Workshop on Research on Humans’ Response to Flowers will inaugurate a new, multidisciplinary network dedicated to understanding how humans perceive, experience, and respond to flowers. Although research involving flowers appears in many fields: psychology, horticulture, neuroscience, sociology, environmental science, design, art, and anthropology, it remains fragmented and under-recognised. To date, there is no academic journal or international conference dedicated to this theme. Scholars conduct their work in isolation, often unaware of related findings or complementary methodologies across disciplines.
This workshop seeks to pioneer a coherent scientific community around this topic, integrating diverse perspectives to generate shared frameworks and collaborations. Flowers hold unique significance as biological, aesthetic, and cultural artefacts that shape human emotion, cognition, and behaviour. They are central to art, wellbeing, ritual, and environmental sustainability, yet remain scientifically underexplored as a unifying subject. By connecting researchers who study these dimensions separately, the workshop will help define a new interdisciplinary field that bridges the natural, social, and behavioural sciences.
With thanks to the British Society of Flavourists for their sponsorship of the ECR Flower Award.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Professor Sylvie Baudino, Jean Monnet University, France
Dr Martin Hůla, University of California, Santa Barbara
Dr Melinda J Knuth, NC State University, United States of America
Professor Miroslav Poje, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Dr Hélder Oliveira, University of Porto, Portugal
Dr Jill Timms, University of Surrey, United Kingdom
The Keynote Speakers document contains biographies and photos of our keynote speakers.
ORGANISERS
Dr Heber Rodrigues, School of Psychology
Professor Monique Raats, School of Psychology
Dr Jill Timms, Sociology
Professor Lada Timotijevic, School of Psychology
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
