Influence of the onsite experience on recreation experience preference judgments

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the impact of actual experience on experience preference. Experience preference measurements were taken before and after a hiking experience. A shift between pre-activity and post-activity experience preference judgments was hypothesized due to the effect of psychological adjustment to reduce dissonance between pre-activity experience preference and the actual experience. Subjects were divided into two groups based upon whether or not they achieved a given experience during their onsite activity. The application of dissonance theory suggested that "achievers" would increase their reported preference for a given experience between the pre- and post-assessments, while "non-achievers" would decrease their reported preferences. Consistent with the application of dissonance theory, repeated-measures ANOVAs indicated the presence of an interaction effect between experience achievement and time (pre/post-activity) for the experience preference domains of "physical exercise" and "escaping civilization".

Citation

Stewart, William P. 1992. Influence of the onsite experience on recreation experience preference judgments. Journal of Leisure Research 24(2):185-198