CONSENSUS IN LANDSCAPE PREFERENCE JUDGEMENTS

This study explores three possible explanations to account for variability in preference judgements for particular landscape scenes. Variance is examined and discussed in relation to the level of preference/scenic quality, in relation to possible group differences, and in relation to mental representations of the landscape type in the visual stimuli. The scenes in the study are from a specific, marketed and positively loaded landscape type, the farmland grasslands in the Swedish traditional cultural landscape. It is suggested that a strong commonly shared mental representation exists for this landscape type, resulting in quick and holistic judgements of preference and high consensus for scenes judged as good examples of this landscape type. An effect of scenic quality on variability was also found with results showing higher consensus for the high preference landscapes than for the low preference landscapes. However, this effect is possibly connected to the positive image of the landscape type pasture. No effect was found of group differences in responses accounting for the variability.