Research in Progress: Does Environmental Interpretation Influence Behaviour through Knowledge or Affect?

Extract

Interpretation is frequently seen as effective in managing tourist-wildlife interactions because it increases awareness about a species and encourages a conservation ethic (Beckmann 1991, Moscardo 1998). Interpretation has been advocated as the most effective management strategy for wildlife encounters (Orams 1996). Implicit in this belief is that by changing people's attitude, interpretation will change their behaviour (Roggenbuck 1992).

Petty et al. (1997) define an attitude as an evaluation of an object (eg. people, animal, etc.) that exists along a dimension ranging from positive to negative. In reflecting on attitude change it helps to conceptualise an attitude as comprised of three main components: affect, cognition, and behaviour. The affective component consists of a person's feeling towards an object, the cognitive component consists of a person's knowledge and understanding of an object and the behavioural component involves a person's actual behaviour towards the object (Knudson et al. 1999).

Although attitude is conceptualised as having three main components, most past research on interpretation has focused on changes in cognition (Beckmann 1991). Howard (1998) suggested that as people attend interpretive programs at leisure affective realms are important, and as such, mood theory might improve our understanding of: the intrinsically rewarding feelings that characterise this type of leisure experience; and how interpretation may influence people's behaviour. The influence of affective realms on interpretive programs is poorly understood and not well researched (Howard 1998). This paper contributes to our understanding of cognition and affect in interpretive setting by providing the results of a preliminary study conducted at Mon Repos Conservation Park.