Past Experience and Behavioral Choice Among Wilderness Users

Introduction Research in recreation choice behavior has provided insight into the experiences people seek from recreation, setting attributes that are important to recreation experiences, and factors that influence choice behavior (Stankey & McCool, 1985). In wilderness recreation, understanding the factors that influence site choice is important in redistributing use, in maintaining the isolation and solitude characteristics of the wilderness experience, and reducing user conflicts and congestion (Lucas, 1990). The amount of experience in a recreational activity or setting has been cited as one factor influencing site choice (e.g, Bryan, 1977; Virden & Schreyer, 1988; Williams & Huffman, 1986). Bryan's (1977) theory of recreation specialization, of which past experience is one component, suggests that as individuals gain experience in an activity they progress through stages of development accompanied by changes in setting preferences, social group affiliation, and attitudes. This developmental approach assumes that individuals choose recreational settings that are consistent with their preferences and attitudes. However, constraints such as site availability, distance to substitute sites, costs, social pressures, and socioeconomic factors may intervene and limit the congruency between individual preference and actual site choice (Kuentzel & Heberlein, 1992; Watson, Roggenbuck, & Williams, 1991). While studies have examined the association between past experience and preferred recreational settings, little research examines whether differences in preferences translate into different recreation site choices (Kuentzel & Heberlein, 1992) and how site choice changes with experience. This paper extends the literature by assessing the influence of past experience on actual site choice. Specifically, we use a conceptual model of recreation choice behavior to examine the association between recreation site choice behavior, past experience, setting preferences, social factors, and constraints among wilderness users. Past Experience and Setting Preferences A common tenet in recreation site choice is that individuals engage in recreational activities at sites where the preferred combination of physical, social, and managerial settings are available to produce satisfying experiences (Driver & Brown, 1978). However, several factors can affect preferences or intervene to affect site choice. One factor associated with setting preferences is the amount of experience an individual has in an activity or setting. Experience has been included as a component in various concepts including recreation specialization (e.g., Bryan, 1977), experience use history (e.g., Schreyer, Lime, & Williams, 1984), and indices of past experience (e.g., Hammitt & McDonald, 1983; Watson & Niccollucci, 1992). Bryan (1977) proposed the concept of recreation specialization to explain differences in observed behaviors among anglers. Specialization is usually considered as a multidimensional construct with behavioral and affective aspects of which past experience is a strong component. Bryan hypothesized that the amount of experience with and commitment to an activity follows a sequence with some individuals progressing through sequential stages of development. As individuals progress along this continuum they become specialized in their behaviors and their attitudes and preferences change. Thus, more experienced users prefer more natural types of conditions and less management intervention. In his study of anglers, Bryan observed that as participants became specialized they joined a leisure social world of fellow anglers who held similar beliefs and attitudes and engaged in similar behaviors. Furthermore, attitudes shifted from a consumptive orientation to preservation and the setting of the activity became more important. He concluded that anglers at different stages of specialization choose different settings in which to fish and that these settings can be predicted by knowing the level of specialization. …