Emotions and memory to change behaviors

The environment and landscape decay that we are currently experiencing is not recent but it is the result of policies, collective and individual behaviors, rooted in times long past. It is not enough to draw up defensive projects if at the same time we do not act on these behaviors. People's well-being is not simply the passive outcome of external strategies, but derives first and foremost from intimate transformations in citizens themselves. Objective well-being is certainly the result of external conditions, but subjective well-being also depends on awareness, behavior and positive expectations. This paper focuses on the contribution that Cultural Heritage can give to this process enhancing the citizens’ memory of the past. However, the current attention devoted to tangible and intangible heritage makes use of unidirectional (top-down) communication, focused on 'cultural learning' and a basically cognitive approach. Conversely, neuroscience (still applied at an experimental and pioneering level to Cultural Heritage) today shows us that the emotional component can elicit responses at a deep, transformative level. Citizens know what should be done to safeguard the environment, but this is not enough to change their behavior if they don't really feel deeply affected by this. This paper describes some ongoing studies and experiments, suggesting new participatory practices on the part of citizens, also with Neuroscience's support.