Vicarious Environmental Experiences Influence Attitudes and Pursuit of Experiential Benefits

Environmental attitudes, which are feelings or beliefs about the environment, can influence environmental behaviors. Environmental behaviors can range from outdoor recreational activities or donating money to environmental causes. Previous research shows that direct outdoor experiences have a strong influence on environmental attitudes and behavior. But little is known about whether vicarious environmental education (EE) experiences, such as reading an environmentally-focused book or watching a nature program on TV, have the same effect.

People seek direct outdoor experiences for experiential recreation benefits such as relaxation, social interaction, or sense of adventure. But vicarious EE provides avenues for environmental organizations and agencies to influence audiences who may not have access to—or interest in—experiences in nature. The authors of this study tested whether vicarious EE experiences influence environmental attitudes, the pursuit of experiential recreation benefits, and support for increased funding for environmental programs.

The researchers intercepted 199 adults on the Florida National Scenic Trail (FNST). Their survey used a five-point scale to measure vicarious EE experiences (reading books or magazines about the environment, watching environmental TV programs, and subscription to environmental publications), environmental attitudes, the pursuit of experiential recreation benefits, and support for increased funding of programs. The authors then used statistical analysis to determine whether different variables had significant relationships.

Results show that vicarious EE experiences directly correlate with environmental attitudes and the pursuit of experiential recreation benefits. The results did not show any direct connection between these experiences and support for increased funding. But, environmental attitudes and the pursuit of experiential recreation benefits did have a significant positive relationship with support for increased funding of environmental programs. The results support previous research indicating that multiple interacting factors determine a person's support for increased funding of environmental programs; this study was the first to focus on the pursuit of recreational benefits as one of these factors.

All of the participants in this study were intercepted on a hiking trail; the study did not include a control group of people who only engaged in vicarious EE, which may limit the relevance of the results. Additionally, the authors acknowledge that the specificity of the questionnaire limits how broadly the results can be applied to a larger audience. For instance, the authors used examples as proxies for the broader categories of vicarious EE and environmental attitudes. They recommend that future studies should include more types of vicarious EE experiences, such as watching environmentally-themed videos on the internet. Further research across respondents with more diverse demographics and across different geographic locations would also add to a better understanding of the relationships between vicarious EE experiences, environmental attitudes, and behavior.

According to the authors, the results of this study indicated that vicarious EE experiences can encourage positive environmental attitudes and motivate people to spend time outside. This study also found that the pursuit of experiential recreational benefits motivates support for funding of environmental programs. The authors recommend that environmental organizations and agencies should promote a variety of EE opportunities, including vicarious experiences, to broaden their impact and to influence factors that may then lead to increased support for environmental programs.