Constructions of a wilderness experience: Using the repertory grid technique in the natural setting
Titel:
Constructions of a wilderness experience: Using the repertory grid technique in the natural setting
Auteur:
Scherl, Lea M.
Verschenen in:
Australian psychologist
Paginering:
Jaargang 23 (1988) nr. 2 pagina's 225-242
Jaar:
1988-07-01
Inhoud:
The experience of being in a wilderness setting is often claimed to be psychologically beneficial to individuals. This conclusion is drawn primarily from studies adopting a pre-post experience test design aimed at quantifying changes within the individual, Central concepts used to describe change are largely related to the “self”, for example, self-concept, self-esteem, self-satisfaction, self-awareness. Notwithstanding the heavy focus on “self” as a research variable, most studies ironically ignore detailed consideration of the individual's affective states, perceptions and cognitions associated with wilderness experiences, that is, a more descriptive stage to research. This study is set within a broader social phenomenological framework. It seeks understanding about the wilderness experience itself from the perspective of the individuals experiencing it, in a particular situational context. The paper discusses the value of using the repertory grid technique for empirically establishing the major domains individuals use to construe a structured wilderness experience. The more conventional two steps for administering the repertory grid technique (i.e., by eliciting constructs first and then later asking respondents to rate the elements on selected constructs) were combined. Since it was only appropriate to administer the technique in the context of being in the wilderness setting itself, a practical presentation needed to be devised. The method for eliciting repertory grids in wilderness is described and results are discussed.
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