The Effects of Viewer Attributes on Preference for Forest Scenes: Contributions of Attitudes, Knowledge, Demographic Factors, and Stakeholder Group Membership

Abstract

Although the primary focus on forest aesthetics research has been on identifying the relationships between landscape attributes and preference or scenic beauty, some studies have explored the relationships between viewer attributes and preference. Specifically, viewer responses to forested landscapes have been shown to vary by stakeholder group membership, demographic factors, knowledge, and attitudes. Most of these studies, however, have explored these viewer attributes in isolation. This study begins to look at the relative contributions of viewer attributes to forest preference across a range of forest scenes. The study specifically assessed the relationships between preference and: demographic factors, attitudes toward forest management, general forest management knowledge, and stakeholder group membership. Results show that attitudes toward forest management, and in particular whether or not one endorses a commodity/utilitarian perspective on forest management, had the strongest relationship with preference for forest scenes. The extent to which participants endorsed an ecosystem/amenities perspective on forest management, on the other hand, was not related to preference. Stakeholder group membership itself was not related to preference, after accounting for attitudes. Contrary to expectation, there was no significant relationship between knowledge about forest management and preference for forest scenes.