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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine changes in motivations for outdoor adventure recreation pursuits over a short period of time (pre- to posttest) for participants with different levels of development. Subjects were 100 undergraduate recreation majors from separate similar summer session Outdoor Education Practicum courses, each of which included 7 days in a camp-like resident outdoor education setting plus a 6-day wilderness canoe trip in New York's Adirondack Park. Prior to the start of the course and again on the last fill day of the course, respondents completed the Adventure Recreation Model Instrument (Ewert & Hollenhorst, 1989). Besides ranking 19 motives on a 9-point Likert importance scale, participants also provided self-reports on three variables related to level of development in adventure recreation (experience level, perceived skill, and frequency of participation). After these three items were combined to yield one scale, each respondent was then assigned to one of four categories (beginner, intermediate, advanced, or expert). When pretest scores were compared to posttest scores for all respondents using dependent t-tests, 7 motives increased significantly over time (p < .05). however, when mean motive scores were compared for each level of development, the pattern of change differed. although beginners' scores increased for
achievement, they decreased for
fun and
competition. Intermediates' scores increased for four different motives:
excitement, self-enhancement, risk-taking, and
career. A third set of motives became significantly more important for advanced participants:
challenge, skill development, and
creativity. Finally, experts' scores increased for
novelty, achievement (like beginners), and
risk-taking (like intermediates). Based on this study, adventure recreationists' motives change differently over a short period of time as follows: while beginners struggle to achieve, intermediates are drawn more by excitement and risk, advanced participants focus on self-actualization, and experts seek new challenges to stay involved.
Parent Publication
Citation
Todd, Sharon L.; Anderson, Lynn; Young, Anderson; Anderson, Dale. 2003. Differences in motivations over time by level of development: an examination of pre/post adventure recreation experiences. In: Schuster, Rudy, comp., ed. Proceedings of the 2002 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-302. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 125-131
