Psychological Reward Values Associated with Wilderness Use

Initially, wilderness users suggested about 30 types of rewards they felt they gained from wilderness experience. Importance ratings suggesting the value of these rewards were obtained from a sample of college students. Individual rewards rated most important were tranquility, natural beauty, and escape from the hectic urban pace. Factoring the importance ratings of the 30 reward items yielded five categories of rewards gained in wilderness which were somewhat similar to those found in previous research: emotional or spiritual experience, challenge and adventure, esthetic enjoyment of natural settings, escape from urban stresses, and, perhaps, an antisocietal sentiment. These college students also indicated their expectations for achieving the 30 rewards in five different leisure environments including wildemess. In general, expectations decreased progressively from wildemess, through improved mountain-forest country, parks and other urban outdoor settings, to indoor recreational settings and home. The implications of this pattern were discussed in terms of a potentially diminished opportunity structure if wilderness land becomes unavailable for public use, possibly resulting in socially undesirable Alternative means for gaining rewards.