Social Psychological Assumptions of User Attitude Surveys: The Case of the Wildernism Scale

Abstract

Surveys of user attitudes often neither help managers meet user needs nor preserve recreational resources because these studies have little grounding in attitude theory. Three issues in attitude theory are discussed and their relevance for user attitude surveys illustrated with examples from the wildernism scale developed by Hendee and associates (1968). The organization of attitudes—vertical and horizontal structures and their centrality to the actor—is as important as individual preferences. It is unlikely that knowledge of user attitudes can help the manager either predict or change user behavior since the bulk of empirical material studies suggest there is no clear linear relationship between single attitudes and behavior. Finally evidence is presented to show that the possibility of changing user attitudes is very low.¹