Abstract
The one model that easily lends itself to application in the evaluation of scenic resources in Ontario is the Kaplans' Informational Model of Landscape Preference, published in 1982. In this model, Kaplan and Kaplan proposed a cognitive theory of landscape preference that contained the dimensions of mystery, complexity, coherence, and legibility. Work by Brown and Itami published in the same year used this theory as the basis for assessing scenic quality in rural landscapes. Preference research by Herbert in 1981 has validated the theoretical basis for the scenic assessment framework proposed by Brown and Itami; however, one component of the model, namely mystery, has not been suitably incorporated. This study looks at the validation of a refined definition of mystery to see whether observers perceive this dimension as an independent attribute of landscape scenery, and examines the physical factors which contribute to this perception. Over 200 black and white photographs of rural landscape scenery were presented to 36 observers who rated each photograph on a five point scale for the degree of mystery according to the Kaplans' definition. The data were analyzed using Multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) to determine the amount of agreement among observers as to the perception of mystery and to identify physical landscape attributes that contribute to this perception. Results from the MDS revealed high agreement among observers as to the perception of mystery. Analysis of the composition of the photographs identified five physical landscape attributes consistently associated with differences in mystery ratings.
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