Edward Ruddell

The Psychological Utility of Visual Penetration in near-view Forest Scenic-Beauty Models:

Empirical studies of the perceived scenic beauty of forest settings have followed either the psychophysical or psychological traditions of environmental-perception research. Although psychophysical models of forest scenic beauty have proven useful to resource managers, they tend to lack theoretical content. On the other hand, psychological research often fails to produce results directly applicable to landscape management. This paper reports on an analysis combining the strong points of both the psychophysical and psychological approaches to environmental-preference research. Psychological theories of aesthetic response are used to deduce a variable, visual penetration, which is evaluated in psychophysical models of forest scenic beauty. Visual penetration is shown not only to be a significant positive contributor to explained variance, but also to be more important in accounting for scenic beauty evaluations than measures more typical of psychophysical models.

Goal orientation, norms, and noise‐induced conflict among recreation area users

Abstract This study evaluated Jacob and Schreyers (1980) theory of recreation conflict using data from a survey of winter visitors to Padre Island National Seashore, Texas. Jacob and Schreyer defined interpersonal conflict as goal interference attributed to the behavior of another and proposed that variations in the standards of appropriate behavior for a setting were a major source of such interference. However, their theory did not address the possibility that some goals may be more vulnerable to interference from physically obtrusive behavior than others. In this study, visitors motivated by the goal to be with people who were considerate and respectful of others were more likely to perceive interference from loud radios than were visitors motivated by the goal to be with friends and other people like themselves. We concluded from this that the more that goal achievement rests on factors beyond the direct control of the actor, the greater the actors vulnerability to goal interference. Visitors whose ...

The effect of goal orientation and place dependence on select goal interferences among winter backcountry users

Abstract This study examines a newly emerging conflict, helicopter skiing, among winter recreationists within the framework of Jacob and Schreyers (1980) goal‐interference theory of conflict. In this model, conflict is defined as goal interference attributed to anothers behavior. Among the sources of goal interference consistent with Jacob and Schreyers propositions are goal orientation and place dependence. This study examined the effect of these two variables on select goal interferences in two samples of winter backcountry users. Group type was the strongest predictor of goal interference when attributions were made to helicopter skiing. Relationships between goal orientation, place dependence, and goal interference varied depending on the kind of interference attribution made and the kind of goal involved. Goal orientation was associated with setting‐based goal interferences regardless of whether attributions were made to helicopter skiing or more general discourteous behavior. Place dependence was...

Fear Perceptions in Public Parks Interactions of Environmental Concealment, the Presence of People Recreating, and Gender

This research examined the effect of concealment (environmental cues), presence or absence of people recreating (social cues), and gender on individuals’ fear of crime in a community park setting. Using a 7-point single-item indicator, 732 participants from two samples (540 park visitors and 192 college students) rated their estimates of fear of crime to 24 photographic representations of a community park. All three, two-factor interaction effects were significant in the park visitor sample, but in the student sample, only the Presence of People Recreating × Gender effect was significant. These results suggest that social and environmental cues may jointly affect fear experiences and that the presence of other people recreating in a park environment and the gender of an individual may influence fear of crime when recreating alone in a park setting. Implications include design and management techniques that promote safe park environments.

The benefit of recreational physical activity to restore attentional fatigue: the effects of running intensity level on attention scores.

Abstract The primary aim of this study was to examine the effects of running intensity level and physical activity level on the recovery of attentional fatigue while controlling for duration, environment, and activity type in a sample of recreational runners. Attention Restoration Theory served as the theoretical frame for the study. Relationships among these and related variables were evaluated at the group level in an experimental, between subjects design. The data allowed hypothesis testing about differences between group means at four levels of intensity: self-regulated, low, high, and comparison to a resting control group on the dependent variable attention. High intensity running restored attention significantly more than the control group. Implications for theory, and recreation research and practice are discussed.

Framing for sustainability: the impact of language choice on educational outcomes

Because what people do is not based entirely on what they know, the way educators frame sustainability concepts is critical. Framing influences recognized antecedents of pro-environmental behavior such as attitudes, and traditional educational outcomes such as critical thinking. Yet, because commonly used frames are based in metaphors that tend to portray nature as resource and resist ecological complexities, sustainability educators may be undermining their own goals. This paper makes the case for a promising new construct synthesized from the education and attitude literature, called critical elaboration, and examines the impact of framing on this variable. College student participants read texts portraying humans as either a part of nature (systems metaphor) or apart from nature (non-systems metaphor) in either an active or passive voice, then responded using a thought-listing technique. Frames employing a systems metaphor rather than a non-systems metaphor elicited significantly more critical elaboration, as did frames that employed active voice. Data suggest that education for sustainability requires thoughtful consideration of metaphor underlying message frames.

An illustration of the quest genre as spiritual metaphor in adventure travel narratives.

Abstract Adventure travel narratives are often written within a quest genre. The quest as genre is a romantic narrative that follows a pattern of sequential steps: the call to journey, preparation, the journey, and returning home. This paper proposes that the quests in which adventure travellers embark upon are spiritual in nature. Therefore, the quest genre is a metaphorical vehicle for narrating a spiritual journey. The term “spiritual,” in this context, refers to connecting to something outside of oneself. The purpose of this paper is to describe adventure travel as spiritual questing and to illustrate this idea with three popular adventure travel narratives. It is important to understand the common themes and constructions within adventure travel narratives because of their ability to frame travel expectations and influence various factors in the travel and tourism industry (trip choice, travel mode, destination choice, and intention to travel).

The benefits of mystery in nature on attention: assessing the impacts of presentation duration.

Although research has provided prodigious evidence in support of the cognitive benefits that natural settings have over urban settings, all nature is not equal. Within nature, natural settings that contain mystery are often among the most preferred nature scenes. With the prospect of acquiring new information, scenes of this type could more effectively elicit a persons sense of fascination, enabling that person to rest the more effortful forms of attention. The present study examined the direct cognitive benefits that mystery in nature has on attention. Settings of this sort presumably evoke a form of attention that is undemanding or effortless. In order to investigate that notion, participants (n = 144) completed a Recognition Memory Task (RMT) that evaluated recognition performance based on the presence of mystery and presentation duration (300 ms, 1 s, 5 s, and 10 s). Results revealed that with additional viewing time, images perceived high in mystery achieved greater improvements in recognition performance when compared to those images perceived low in mystery. Tests for mediation showed that the effect mystery had on recognition performance occurred through perceptions of fascination. Implications of these and other findings are discussed in the context of Attention Restoration Theory.

Creating an Environment for Sportsmanship Outcomes

(2006). Creating an Environment for Sportsmanship Outcomes. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance: Vol. 77, No. 7, pp. 13-17.

Images Relating to Park Titles and Ambient Qualities at Select National Park Service Areas

This study examined the effect of nomenclature (i. e., titles) on the perceived ambient qualities associated with park areas. Different designated park lands, currently managed by the National Park Service, served as the focus of the study. Survey respondents were asked to profile select park titles (e.g., national park, national recreation area, national historic park, and national seashore) with a given set of ambient qualities (e.g., near-far, public-private, urban-rural, etc.). Factor analysis of the data resulted in four major dimensions that characterized and differentiated park titles. The data suggest that most park titles, while influenced by the aggregate profile which resulted in the “national park” designation, have strong, relatively well-established images. The study proposes that park images may be: 1) driven by the title of a park rather than its actual park design or management, and 2) dominated in some park systems by a single predominant park type (e.g., national park) and the image associated with that particular park designation.