Immersive reflections: the new diver’s changing conceptualization of the marine environment

Abstract

ABSTRACT Scuba diving is a popular recreational and ecotourism activity. Dive certification organizations, tdive operators, and resorts are embracing marine environmental awareness and action. This study explores how 81new scuba dive students create meaning of their relationship to the marine environment and how that might be shaped by their dive experiences. Emerging divers possess: (a) positive Nature Relatedness and marine Place-Attachment that did not significantly change through the dive experience, and (b) differences in how they conceptualized the marine environment throughout the dive training and dive experience. New dive students draw upon social constructs to embed their understanding of the marine environment, transforming it from a physical space to an oceanscape imbued with meaning. These findings can inform dive certification organizations and their partner dive operators and resorts about how to further promote marine conservation through understanding that the cognitive impact of learning to dive goes beyond attaining a certification card.