A Cognitive Analysis of Preference for Natural Environments: Mountains, Canyons, and Deserts

Abstract

Preferences for natural environments featuring uneven terrain (mountains, canyons, and desert rock formations) were studied as a function of content categories, viewing time, and six predictor variables: spaciousness, texture, coherence, complexity, mystery, and identifiability. A nonmetric factor analysis of the preference ratings for the longest viewing-time condition yielded five dimensions: Deserts, Snowy Mountains, Smaller Mountains, Narrow Canyons, and Spacious Canyons. The mountain categories were best liked, while the narrow canyons were least liked, ldentifiability was a consistently positive predictor of preference. For deserts, complexity and mystery were also positively related to preference. The narrow canyons were characterized by relatively low preference but very high mystery, and the two variables were negatively correlated—an unusual set of findings for natural environments. Reliable category differences in preference were obtained with very brief viewing times, and only minor modifications occurred with longer viewing times. The overall pattern of results supports the Kaplans' informational model of environmental preference.