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Abstract
Crowding research has suggested expectancy theory as one explanation to perceptions of crowding expressed by participants in outdoor recreation activities. Expectancy theory states that an individual enters into an activity with a preconceived set of expectations for the outcome of the experience. In this study, anglers fishing on the opening day of Pennsylvania's trout season were surveyed in an effort to determine if level of expected contacts influenced perceptions of crowding. Anglers were assigned to one of two groups, those with prior experience fishing the site on opening day and those new to the site for opening day. Mann-Whitney tests for two independent samples suggests prior experience does not play a role in explaining anglers' perceptions of crowding. A discussion of the importance of the temporal and situational dimensions of crowding research is also provided.
Parent Publication
Citation
Miller, Craig A. 1995. Effect of experience, expectation and resource availability on perceptions of crowding among trout anglers in Pennsylvania. In: Vander Stoep, Gail A., ed. Proceedings of the 1994 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium; 1994 April 10-12; Saratoga Springs, NY.: Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-198. Radnor, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 44-46
