Garrett Duncan

(Graduated May 2001)

Comparing the Effectiveness of Interpretive and Sanction Messages for Influencing Wilderness Visitor Behavior

This study examined interpretive messages as an alternative to sanction messages in wilderness. A laboratory experiment was designed to compare the effectiveness of written messages. Questionnaires were presented to a total of 237 people randomly assigned to one of three treatments (control, sanction, and interpretation). All subjects viewed a series of slides of a hypothetical wilderness outing. The slides shown to the sanction and interpretation treatments included signs containing messages related to human waste disposal, disposal of food scraps, building of wood fires, and disturbing cultural artifacts. The control group viewed no such messages. All subjects then responded to four written scenarios and indicated the likelihood, on a scale of 0% to 100%, that they would perform three different behaviors (one correct, two incorrect) in response to each of the four scenarios. Analysis revealed that in three of the four scenarios the interpretation message was as effective as the sanction message, and both were more effective than no message. In the fourth scenario the interpretation message was more effective than the sanction message, which in turn was more effective than no message.

Garrett is currently a Ph.D. student in Geography at UC Davis, and owns his own business: Sierra West Masonry Construction.

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