SPECIFIC LOCATIONS WITHIN UNITED STATES NATIONAL PARKS MAY ELICIT SPECIFIC POSITIVE AFFECT
Open Access
- Author:
- Hanna, Steven Richard
- Area of Honors:
- Biobehavioral Health
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Joshua Morrison Smyth, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Lori Anne Francis, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Nature
Health
National Parks
Positive Affect - Abstract:
- Many studies have explored nature, broadly defined, and its role in improving health. Few, however, have focused on specific natural locations or features and their influence on emotional well-being. This study aims to identify specific locations and features within national parks that elicit positive emotional responses from visitors. Data were collected from two diverse parks: the historical-focused Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, and the largely nature-based Catoctin Mountain Park of Maryland. 269 park visitors were surveyed in July and August 2016. Participants were predominantly white (92.6%), mean age=42.75 (range 18-74). Participants completed a brief introductory survey (e.g., reasons for visiting the park) followed by a concluding survey at the end of participant’s visit, with an open-ended question asking them to list three positive emotions they experienced in the park, and the landscape or facility features that led to those emotions. This study uses responses on the concluding survey; responses were sorted first by participant’s answers regarding the specific features that elicited positive emotions (e.g., Catoctin’s Hog Rock scenic vista, etc.). These emotions were coded according to the circumplex model of affect, labeling each response as either high activation positive affect (HAPA; e.g., excited, joyful), or low activation positive affect (LAPA; e.g., relaxed, content), based on previously published identification of affect items circumplex locations. Affect associated with specific park features was then evaluated. Participants in both types of parks (historical and natural) experienced motivational HAPA emotions more often than restorative LAPA. Although the locations which elicited these emotional responses varied, features in both parks offering an elevated view of the surrounding area (e.g., viewing tower, vistas) were the most commonly listed as eliciting a HAPA response. Elicitation of LAPA was more nuanced, associated with water features as well as elevated views. The association between specific park locations or landscape features, and positive emotional responses to them helps provide parks the ability to direct patrons towards healthy park experiences. These results also inform the promotion of the National Park Service Healthy Parks Healthy People Program and related initiatives, which encourages the use of parks as health resources, and enhance our understanding of how natural features and experiences influence affective states and health. It also suggests avenues of future research, including developing a better understanding of what components/aspects of park features/locations are related to mood.