Alan D. Bright

Application of the theory of reasoned action to the National Park Service's controlled burn policy.

The theory of reasoned action was examined as a model of attitude and behavior change based on public perceptions of the National Park Services controlled burn policy. Also, effects of belief-targ...

A model for assessing the effects of communication on recreationists.

This study proposes a model of persuasion for evaluating informational techniques used in recreation management. The model focuses on the communication response process and factors which influence ...

Situational influences of acceptable wildland fire management actions.

This article examines the effect of fire-specific situational factors on forest users’ normative beliefs about wildland fire management. The acceptability of three fire management actions for eight scenarios was examined. The scenarios varied five factors: (1) fire origin, (2) air quality impact, (3) risk of private property damage, (4) forest recovery, and (5) outdoor recreation impact. Data were obtained from a mail survey of visitors to three national forests: (1) Arapaho–Roosevelt, Colorado (n = 469), (2) Mt. Baker–Snoqualmie, Washington (n = 498), and (3) San Bernardino, California (n = 321). Conjoint analyses indicated varying levels of the five factors (e.g., fire started by humans or lightning) differentially affected acceptability ratings of management actions. Similar percentages of importance were attributed to four of the factors for decisions regarding “put the fire out” and “contain the fire.” There was more dispersion in the relative importance of factors for “letting the fire burn.”

Human–Black Bear Conflict in Urban Areas: An Integrated Approach to Management Response

Human–black bear conflict is a persistent wildlife management problem in North America. Conflicts in urban areas are linked to continued growth and expansion of human populations as well as increased availability of anthropogenic attractants (e.g., garbage, birdfeed). Responding to urban bear conflicts can present difficult and highly publicized management decisions. This challenge highlights the need to understand the basis for resident behavior and perceptions in relation to human–black bear conflict situations. Randomly selected residents (n = 317) of two Colorado communities with frequent human–black bear conflicts responded to Internet and mail questionnaires measuring attitudes toward urban black bears and preferences for management actions. Fifty percent of respondents held positive attitudes, 15% expressed negative attitudes, and 35% were mixed. Attitudes and situational elements influenced the acceptability of commonly used management responses to human–bear conflict. Implications of this research include anticipating support for management actions and communication of management goals with the public.

Acceptability Norms toward Fire Management in Three National Forests

Norm theory offers a paradigm for understanding why the public judges management actions acceptable or unacceptable. This study assesses normative beliefs about acceptable wildland fire management. The acceptability of three fire management actions for eight scenarios was examined. The scenarios varied by fire origin and fire impact on air quality, private property, forest recovery, and outdoor recreation. The data were obtained from a mail survey of visitors to three national forests: (a) Arapaho-Roosevelt, Colorado (n = 469), (b) Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie, Washington (n = 498), and (b) San Bernardino, California (n = 321). Results of a mixed design ANOVA indicated that the acceptability of wildland fire management actions varied according to the fire scenario evaluated, but substantive differences in normative beliefs were not noted among the three forests. Chi-square analyses identified differences in normative agreement for fire management actions across scenarios but did not reveal substantive differences in normative agreement between forests.

Wildlife-Related Recreation, Meaning, and Environmental Concern

It has been suggested that participating in outdoor recreation exposes people to environmental degradation and increases their concern about such degradation on a broader scale. However, research has not supported a strong connection between outdoor recreation participation and environmental concern. Focusing on wildlife-related recreation, we hypothesized that the meaning of an activity to an individual would mediate the relationship between participation and environmental concern. A mail-back survey of hunting and fishing license holders in Washington ( n = 602) was used. Using structural modeling, we compared a model of a direct relationship between wildlife-related recreation participation and environmental concern with two models where the meaning of wildlife-related recreation fully and partially mediated the participation/environmental concern relationship. Full mediation was supported for bow hunting, fly-fishing, and wildlife and nature viewing, and partial mediation was supported for artificial lure and bait fishing. No mediation occurred for firearm hunting. Given the questionable fit of most models tested, the actual relationship between recreation participation and environmental concern may be more complex than previous research has suggested. Continued research on the role of activity meaning in influencing the participation/concern relationship, while also exploring the role of other personal and social factors, should be conducted.

Effect of information on attitudes towards offshore marine finfish aquaculture development in northern New England

Abstract Social science can make important contributions to understanding the prospects for offshore marine aquaculture development because many of the potential barriers that may restrict its development are social and institutional rather than biological or technical. This study collects baseline data on attitudes towards offshore marine aquaculture held by a key stakeholder group. It also investigates the influence of information on attitudes towards marine aquaculture. Data reported in this study were collected from visitors to a seafood festival in coastal New Hampshire. The formal objectives of this research were to determine what effect, if any, two‐sided information on the potential advantages and disadvantages of marine aquaculture has on attitudes towards marine aquaculture and how prior familiarity with aquaculture moderates the effect of information. The findings from this study indicate that two‐sided information has a negative effect on attitudes, especially among individuals who are unsure of their level of familiarity with the issue.

Integrative complexity and attitudes: A case study of plant and wildlife species protection

Abstract Cognitive psychologists have developed and tested a protocol for measuring the complex way that people think about issues. Called integrative complexity, it represents the intricacy of a persons thought processes in evaluating information and making decisions. It is based on the number of aspects of a problem people consider (differentiation) and how this information is incorporated (integration) to form views about an issue. We measured the integrative complexity of perceptions of plant and wildlife species protection. Residents of Illinois described, in an essay, their position on this issue using a mail‐back questionnaire. We examined how integrative complexity was related to attitudes toward plant and wildlife species protection, objective knowledge about the issue, and environmental ideology. Integrative complexity was highest for knowledgeable individuals with moderate attitudes toward species protection. Attitude‐direction and environmental ideology were not related to the complexity of thought. Implications of this research focus on the measurement of integrative complexity, how the construct can improve our understanding of public attitudes and values toward natural resource issues, understanding the relationship between attitudes and behaviors, and assessing the effects of communication programs about natural resource issues.

Ipsative Crystallization Effects on Wildland Fire Attitude—Policy Support Models

ABSTRACT Understanding public attitudes toward wildland fire management policies is important for effectively managing natural resources and communicating with the pubic. Ipsative crystallization is a measure of individual attitude consensus. This article examines the utility of ipsative crystallization (IC) measures in better understanding attitudes toward and support for three wildland fire management policies (let the fire burn, contain the fire, and put the fire out). Data were obtained from a mailed survey of 1269 visitors to three national forests adjacent to large urban areas of the western United States. IC was operationalized as each respondents standard deviation from repeated measures of policy support across a set of wildland fire scenarios, and ranged from 0 (high crystallization) to 3.21 (low crystallization). Results indicated that between 41% (let the fire burn) and 53% (contain the fire) of the respondents were highly crystallized in their support for wildland fire policies. IC moderated the effect of attitudes toward wildland fire on support for each wildland fire policy. Results provide evidence that IC may be an important, unrecognized variable in ongoing efforts to affect wildland fire policy support.

Assessing the Development of Environmental Virtue in 7th and 8th Grade Students in an Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound School.

This study attempted to assess the development of environmental virtue in 7th and 8th grade students in an Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound (ELOB) school using an instrument developed for this study—the Childrens Environmental Virtue Scale (CEVS). Data for this study were obtained by administering the CEVS survey (pretest and posttest) to students in an ELOB school (n = 45) that included a 10-week expeditionary learning unit. The internal consistency of the survey instrument was determined using Cronbachs alpha reliability coefficients. Mean environmental virtue scores were compared using paired samples t-tests. Significant results indicated a decrease in the mean environmental virtue scores for students who participated in the expeditionary learning unit. Limitations of the study are presented.