Cognitive and Behavioral Adaptations To Perceived
Crowding: A Panel Study of Coping and Displacement
Walter F. Kuentzel
Department of Rural Sociology
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Thomas A. Heberlein
Department of Rural Sociology
Center for Resource Policy Studies
and Programs
University of Wisconsin-Madison
This paper uses panel data of boaters at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore to test the relationship of perceived crowding in 1975 to attitude changes
(cognitive coping strategies), and behavioral shifts (intrasite displacement and
discontinued participation at the Apostle Islands) in the following decade,
based on a hierarchical coping model. Those feeling less crowded in 1975
should use either no coping strategies or cognitive coping strategies in the
face of increasing use. Those participants feeling more crowded in 1975
should be more likely to shift to less used locations within the same site when
visitation increases. Finally, the model proposes that chose who feel most
crowded will quit boating at the Apostle Islands. The panel data failed to
support the model. Those who felt most crowded in 1975 avoided the more
crowded islands on subsequent trips. The crowding scores of those who did
not use cognitive coping strategies were not significantly different from those
who did. Those who stopped boating at the Apostle Islands did not do so
because they felt most crowded in 1975. These findings indicate that intrasite
displacement provides an adequate coping strategy for boaters at the Apostle
Islands. The notion that increasing use levels will necessarily drive the most
sensitive users away is not supported among boaters at the Apostle Islands.
The social and physical impacts of increasing visitor numbers at a
recreational site are assumed to present a negative stimulus (Manning &
Ciali, 1980; Stankey & McCool, 1984) that motivates various coping strategies (Gramman, 1982). Participants who feel crowded may employ (1)
cognitive coping mechanisms such as product shift, altered expectations
and preferences, or dissonance reduction (Chambers & Price, 1986; Shelby
& Heberlein, 1986), or (2) behavioral coping mechanisms such as encounter
avoidance (Hammitt & Patterson, 1991), intrasite displacement to an alternate location at a single site with lower use levels (Anderson & Brown,
1984), or intersite displacement-i.e., leaving the area, presumably to participate in the activity elsewhere (Becker, 1981). This prevailing approach
to social carrying capacity assumes a situation evaluated as crowded produces a tension that drives a person toward some preferred baseline state
considered “normal.” Our goal in this paper is to explore further these
coping phenomena using panel data.
At least two theoretical approaches detail the coping process. First,
Gratiann’s (1982) social agitation framework relies primarily on sociological
principles derived from the classic urban crowding studies of the Chicago
School (Park, Burgess & McKenzie, 192511984), and highlights stimulus
378
KUENTZEL AND HEBERLEIN
overload and social interference traditions. Stimulus overload refers to the
negative affect people experience when density in a social setting constrains
one’s behavioral options and “the individual is unable to reduce the stimulation through adaptive strategies” (p. 111). He cites urban crowding
models (Simmel, 1901/1964; Wirth, 1938) that characterize stimulus overload as the product of diverse and rapid spatial mobility that encourages
the substitution of primary social interaction (family and friendship
groups), with secondary social interaction (functional mean/ends relationships). The secondary social interaction that accompanies greater social
density produces an increased potential for social interference. Social interference implies that people will feel crowded when the behavior (conflict
oriented crowding effects) or presence (spatial crowding effects) of others
“is incompatible with an important goal and thus interferes with its attainment” (Gramman, 1982; p. 112).
The collective work of Shelby, Heberlein, and Vaske (Heberlein, 19’77;
Shelby, Heberlein, Vaske, & Alfano, 1983; Shelby & Heberlein, 1986;
Shelby, Vaske, & Heberlein, 1989) employs a normative approach to crowding. While the social agitation framework focuses more on the behavioral
origins of crowding, research in the social norms framework focuses more
on the cognitive elements that constitute crowding. This approach empahsizes the participant’s normative evaluations (Shelby & Heberlein, 1986)
that derive from the perceived use value of a given resource, where specific
conventions of activity and behavior are socially generated. Each evaluation
relates to a socially prescribed expectation of appropriate use of the resource. Crowding, then, is not purely a question of density, but is contingent
on evaluations about appropriate use levels in conjunction with specific
activities and settings. People perceive that an area is crowded when the
number of actual encounters exceeds the number of contacts expected and/
or the number of contacts preferred (Shelby et al., 1983). Expectations and
preferences, however, are bounded by the context of the situation. Thus,
the social norm framework’s emphasis on cognitive evaluation highlights
its relativity across situations and people.
Coping With Crowding
If recreationists consider crowding an adverse condition encountered
in the environment, how does this affect their experience! Researchers
consistently find low correlations between perceived crowding and overall
satisfaction with their experience (Graefe, Vaske, & Kuss, 1984; Shelby &
Heberlein, 1986). People have positive experiences in the face of steadily
increasing use. Therefore, does crowding indeed produce a drive to reduce
the tension caused by this allegedly negative’condition? Researchers (Shelby
& Heberlein, 1986; Chambers & Price, 1986) account for this discrepancy
between crowding and satisfaction by suggesting at least four common
strategies that participants use to adapt to the negative impacts of perceived
ADAPTATIONS TO PERCEIVED CROWDING
379
crowding-site succession, product shift, dissonance reduction, and displacement. The first three strategies approximate cognitive coping mechanisms suggested by the social norms framework, while the last strategy is
a behavioral coping mechanism implied by the social agitation framework.
Site succession refers to the way appropriate use values shift and evolve
over time at a particular site, given changes in use levels, activities, and
styles of participation. This approach asserts that use levels encountered
during one’s first visit constitute the normative expectations for future
encounters (Nielsen & Endo, 1977). Coping with increased use requires
one to alter previously established evaluative standards to correspond with
the successional forces of an area. The product shift strategy involves moving beyond changes in one’s evaluative expectations, to changing the label
applied to the experience. Participants, in effect, “change (their) mind about
the product (they) are getting” (Shelby & Heberlein, 1986; p. 56). This
relabeling process adjusts the encounter norms, and restructures the context of the situation such that the participant minimizes or eliminates the
negative effects of perceived crowding, and thereby makes the best of
unexpected conditions. The dissonance reduction coping strategy suggests
a tendency for individuals to maintain a state of cognitive consistency or
balance (Festinger, 1957; Heider, 1958). Two dissonant cognitions produce
a state of tension that the individual endeavors to alleviate by (1) seeking
new, consonant information, (2) discounting the importance of a cognition,
(3) changing one’s attitudes, or (4) changing one’s situation. Recreationists
cope with the negative impacts of crowding by a rationalizing process that
minimizes the dissonance caused by crowding and augments the positive
aspects of the experience. Finally, the displacement hypothesis suggests
that people will choose to alter their participation patterns and seek more
remote, less used areas (Nielsen & Endo, 1977). They may (1) actively avoid
encounters with others (Hammitt & Patterson, 1991), (2) shift their activity
to less dense areas of a single location (Anderson & Brown, 1984), or (3)
shift participation to a different location (Becker, 1981, Shelby et al, 1988).
These adaptive strategies suggest a hierarchical structure to the way
people cope with increased use levels and perceived crowding. People who
feel most crowded are presumed to be most prone to leaving the area
(Becker, 1981). Thus, at lower levels of perceived crowding, participants
may only require a cognitive reappraisal (Lazarus, Kanner, & Folkman,
.1980) to diminish the negative effects of crowding. Shelby, Bregenzer, and
Johnson’s (1988) study of product shift and displacement implies a hierarchical structure to coping. They measured product shift by asking users
if they would change their attitudes before becoming dissatisfied or displaced
to another area. Where cognitive coping strategies fail, recreationists may
then need to use behavioral coping measures such as intralocational movement to less crowded places, or leaving an area. For those who are displaced
elsewhere, no cognitive coping mechanism may be sufficient to alleviate
the negative impacts, and leaving the’area may be the only perceived option
to deal with crowding.
380
KUENTZEL AND HEBERLEIN
Empirical Tests
Tests of the coping process in a recreational setting are sparse, and
the results are mixed. Nielsen and Endo (1977) and Vaske, Donnelly, and
Heberlein (1980) test the succession model and demonstrate that visitors
with more experience at an area do indeed feel more crowded. They do
not, however, test for altered normative expectations, but instead implicitly
assume that contact expectations and preferences change by virtue of the
fact that people continue to visit the area. Manning and Ciali (1980) and
Chambers and Price (1986) found no support for the dissonance reduction
hypothesis. Isolating two dissonant cognitions in a field setting is, however,
extremely difficult from a methodological standpoint. Shelby et al’s (1988)
test of the product shift hypothesis found that 34% of the users on the
Rogue River in Oregon said they would change the way they thought about
the river before becoming displaced because of unexpected encounters on
the river. Their question, however, was phrased hypothetically and does
not reflect how people actually coped.
Tests of the intersite displacement hypothesis have shown mixed results. Nielsen and Endo (1977) looking at the history of river runners,
found that only 30% of their sample moved to areas of declining densities
over time. They did not, however, measure respondent’s perceptions of
crowding, and cannot conclude any causal link between crowding and displacement. Becker (1981) found indications of a displacement effect among
river users from the St. Croix river to the Upper Mississippi. Of 3364 users
surveyed, however, only 46 (or 3%) indicated the St. Croix was too crowded.
Finally, Shelby et al’s (1988) study showed that as many as 22% of the users
on the less crowded Illinois River in Oregon had been displaced from the
nearby Rogue River.
Tests of the intrasite displacement hypothesis are more convincing.
Vaske et al (1980) found that more experienced boaters at the Apostle
Islands in 1975 altered their itinerary to avoid more crowded islands. Anderson and Brown (1984) found that 70% of the more frequent visitors to
the Boundary Waters Canoe Area altered their entry points because of
anticipated crowds along certain routes. They conceded numerous factors
that were not controlled in their analysis such as lifestyle changes, knowledge of alternatives, propensity to explore, leisure time, and changes in
economic status. Hammitt & Patterson (1991) showed that backpackers at
the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, who were most sensitive to
encounters, were more likely to camp out of sight of others, avoid the park
at peak use times, and plan trips at times when fewer encounters are
expected. Further, they were more likely to avoid talking to others along
the trail, and less likely to initiate contact with others. Their study, however,
only tested coping behaviors motivated by the desire for privacy and solitude. They did not directly test whether these displacement behaviors are
reactive responses to perceived crowding.
ADAPTATIONS TO PERCEIVED CROWDING
381
Time Series Analysis
These studies offer mixed support for the notion that people change
their attitudes about a resource and are displaced from an area because of
perceived crowding. Each of these studies, however, used a cross sectional
analysis that implicitly asked the respondent to link cognitive or behavioral
change to perceived crowding. The crucial test of a coping model requires
the use of panel data that can observe attitudinal and behavioral changes
among a sample over time. This allows the measurement of the negative
stimulus (crowding) at time one, and then the observation of cognitive and/
or behavioral change that takes place over the ensuing time period. This
paper uses data from a panel study of overnight sail boaters at the Apostle
Islands National Lakeshore on the coast of Lake Superior in Northern
Wisconsin. The sample was first contacted in 1975, and followed up again
in 1985. Each time, respondents were asked questions pertaining to crowding, satisfaction, resource degradation, motives, commitment to boating,
life course changes, and use patterns. This paper investigates the behavioral
and attitudinal consequences of perceived crowding and asks if perceived
crowding in 1975 produces observable coping behavior over the next ten
years.
A Hierarchical Coping Model
This paper extends the collective crowding research by (1) testing a
crowding model using panel data, and (2) by testing a heirarchical coping
model that hypothesizes different coping strategies corresponding to different levels of perceived crowding in an area with increasing use. Thus,
how does the participant manage his or her level of perceived crowding
within normatively appropriate latitudes of acceptance in the face of increasing use over time? Figure 1 models this hierarchical coping hypothesis.
The X-axis of this graph represents perceived crowding at time one, while
the Y-axis reflects the attitudinal or behavioral response to crowding observed at time two. This hierarchical model hypothesizes four discrete
responses to perceived crowding that are dependent on the severity of a
participant’s negative evaluation. Corresponding to different levels of perceived crowding, boaters can (1) maintain their attitudinal and behavioral
status quo about the area, (2) change their attitudes about an area, (3) shift
participation within the same site to less crowded places, or (4) leave the
area. Thus, those who leave an area should feel most crowded at time 1,
and should feel that the other options are not adequate coping options.
Formally stated, this analysis tests the hypothesis that the perceived crowding scores at time 1 for each coping group should be aligned as follows:
no cope < cognitive coping < intrasite displacement < intersite displacement.
We argue for the hierarchical primacy of cognitive coping mechanisms
over behavioral coping mechanisms for two reasons. First, perceived crowd-
KUENTZEL AND HEBERLEIN
382
R
e
;
0
n
s
e
A
t
t
1
t
u
d
e
s
Perceived Crowding
Figure I, Hierarchical Coping Model
ing is a psychological evaluation related as much to expectations and preferences as physical contacts (Shelby et al., 1983). Changing one’s mind
seems an easier and more specific form of adjustment than altering one’s
trip. Festinger (1957) points out that it is easier to alter one’s evaluations
about the new car he or she just purchased given new dissonant information, than to get rid of the car and buy a different one. Similarly, at the
Apostle Islands, it is more expedient to change one’s evaluations about
unexpected encounters than to make behavioral adaptations, given the
time, effort, and expense of choosing this particular experience. Second,
research in the emotion literature shows that people tend to cognitively
manage their emotions in highly charged situations through the use of
display rules and feeling rules appropriate to the situation (Hochschild,
1979). Thus, the personal and economic commitment required of an Apostle Islands boating trip should encourage people to manage the emotion
caused by perceived crowding such that it does not conflict with the image
and expectation of a quality trip. This point of view is consistent with the
low correlations found between satisfaction and crowding (Shelby & Heberlein, 1986). Given this participatory commitment, behavioral adaptations should occur only at more extreme levels of crowding.
Methods
Study Area
The Apostle Island National Lakeshore offers a unique recreational
opportunity for boaters interested in a wilderness like experience. The area
ADAPTATIONS TO PERCEIVED CROWDING
383
contains 2 1 differ-ent islands and 12 miles of Lake Superior coastline along
the mainland of Northern Wisconsin. The topology of the islands features
heavily forested islands with brown sandstone cliffs and long sandy beaches.
Many of the islands have developed campsites with outhouses, docks and
protected anchorages, ranger stations, and lighthouses. Though nearly two
thirds of the visitors are overnight boaters (90% of these visit the islands
in sailboats and 10% in motorboats), the islands offer many other overnight
and day use recreational opportunities for a variety of people. Some of
these activities include camping, backpacking, hiking, swimming, sunbathing, lighthouse tours, and narrated boat tours.
Testing a hierarchical model requires that use levels increase over time.
Boater use of the Apostle Islands more than doubled between 1975 and
1985. Park Service records report 7,082 user days among boat campers in
1976, and 15,828 user days in 1985. Heberlein and Vaske estimate that
1723 boaters used the islands in 1975, while McKinnell (1988) estimates
that 7,342 boaters used the islands in 1985. Further, boaters in 1975 reported seeing 6.8 other boaters moored overnight with them, while a different sample of 1985 boaters reported seeing 8.8 other boaters moored
with them (t = 5.9, P = .OO; McKinnell & Heberlein, 1987).
Data for this study were taken from a panel study administered to
Apostle Islands users first in 1975, and to the same group again in 1985.
The 1975 survey sampled boaters, campers and day users by setting up
self-registration stands at Stockton Island, the most popular of the islands
in the area. Each person over the age of 14 was instructed to fill out a
registration card. Observation at the registration stands showed that 94%
of the campers and day users filled out a card while only 38% of the boaters
filled one out. To reach the boaters missed in the self-registration process,
four Bayfield area marinas were asked to provide names and addresses of
people who rented a boat or put in at marina slips during the season. Three
of the four marinas provided the requested information. Registration cards
were then sent to this group so the names of all people on board could be
compiled. These combined sampling strategies provided a list of 2253 individuals over the age of 14 who visited the Apostle Islands in 1975.’ A
systematic random sample of 1200 was then selected from this list. A total
of 846 questionnaires were returned out of this list. When excluding 56
undeliverable surveys, the response rate was 74%. Of those who responded
‘Heberlein and Vaske (1979) conclude that this number is a good representation of the Apostle
Island user population in 1975. This number was slightly lower than the user number generated by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource overflight surveys. The three marinas
provided a total of 723 names to the total list of users. Given the one marina that did not
provide names, Heberlein and Vaske (1979) are confident that the total number could not
have exceeded 3000.
384
KUENTZEL AND HEBERLEIN
647 boaters at the Apostle Islands. Only the boaters were included
in the 1985 follow-up survey.
In 1985, an initial letter was mailed to the addresses of all 647 boaters
asking them to confirm their address. If they sent no reply another letter
was sent to a friend or relative (provided in the 1975 questionnaire) asking
for a current address for the respondent. Of the original 647 boaters, 500
were located, 13 had died, and 134 were not found. Follow-up questionnaires were then sent to each of the 500 respondents that had been successfully located. Out of that group, 397 people responded representing a
79.4% response rate. The response rate in 1985 from the original 647
boaters was 61.4%. Analysis of the 1975 data showed that nonrespondents
(those unable to locate and those who did not return a 1985 survey) differed
significantly from respondents on only 1 of 20 variables used in this analysis.
Nonrespondents in 1985 were less likely to agree that the Apostle Islands
were a wilderness in 1975. Crowding scores did not differ between respondents and nonrespondents.
Measurment
The analysis divided the sample into four discrete groups that reflect
the coping hierarchy: (1) no-coping respondents who did not avoid the
crowded Islands, and did not change their opinions about the islands over
the ten year period, (2) cognitive copers who did not avoid the crowded
islands, but changed their opinions about the islands, (3) behavioral copers
who avoided the more crowded islands during the ten year periocl, and (4)
those who stopped boating at the Apostle Islands between 1975 and 1985.
Among those who had stopped boating at the Apostle Islands, only 38 out
of 245 had ceased boating altogether. This group’s crowding scores did
not differ significantly from those who had stopped boating at the Apostle
Islands, but still boated elsewhere. Thus, we combined these two groups
in subsequent analysis.
Discontinued participation was measured as a dichotomous variable
by asking what year the respondent last took a boating trip to the Apostle
Islands. Those responding from 1975 to 1984 were coded 1 for having
stopped boating at the islands. Two thirds of the sample quit boating at
the Apostle Islands during the ten year period (n = 245). Those responding
1985 were coded 0 for still boating (n = 152). Seventeen people in the
sample indicated their last trip to the islands was prior to 1985, but they
still planned to return in future years. These people were coded 0 for still
boating. The avoidance of crowded islands variable was also measured as
a dichotomous yes/no variable. Eighty three of the 152 people still boating
in 1985 had avoided the more crowded islands at sometime during the ten
year period.
This analysis measured cognitive coping by the tendency to “change
one’s mind” about the physical and social impacts on a resource over time,
as suggested by the product shift phenomenon (Shelby et al., 1988). Its
ADAPTATIONS TO PERCEIVED CROWDING
385
premise maintains thnt crowding facilitates change in user evaluations of
an area. A user, who feels that an area is wilderness like initially, may
attenuate that evaluation ten years later given increased use. Similarly, a
person who disagrees that the campsites are overused may be less inclined
to disagree with this statement, given a threefold increase in use over a ten
year period. Changing one’s mind about an area means a person shifts
their attitude in a direction inconsistent with increased use. A person who
felt the area was wilderness like at time one shifts his or her definitional
criterion of wilderness and continues to label the area a wilderness in spice
of increased use. Similarly, the person who initially disagreed that the
campsites were overused alters his or her evaluation of appropriate campsite impact and continues to feel that the campsites are not overused in
spite of real increases over time.
Thus, we measured cognitive coping by the tendency to change one’s
attitude in a direction inconsistent with increased use of an area. If a boater
felt the islands were being damaged by overuse in 1975, they should agree
with this statement even more strongly in 1985 given the increase in use
at the Apostle Islands. If a boater’s score on this question remained the
same, or moved toward the disagree end of the scale, we presumed the
respondent had employed a cognitive coping strategy, in the face of increased use. Table 1 shows the four different social evaluations and six
different physical evaluations used to measure cognitive coping. The social
items were measured on a five point scale where 1 was strongly disagree,
3 was neutral, and 5 was strongly agree. The physical items were measured
with a four point scale where 1 was strongly disagree, 2 was probably
disagree, 3 was probably agree, and 4 was strongly disagree. Table 1 summarizes the expected direction of attitude change given increased use of
the Apostle Islands, and the direction of change that opposes these expectations if cognitive coping mechanisms were used. If the respondent’s
attitudes changed in the expected direction between 1975 and 1985, they
were coded as 0 for no-coping. If their attitudes remained the same, or
changed in the unexpected direction over the ten year period, they were
coded 1 for having used a cognitive coping strategy. We then added the
four dummy responses for the social variables to create a social coping
scale (Cronbach’s o( = .31), and the six dummy responses for the physical
variables to create a physical coping scale (Cronbach’s c1 = .89).
Because the reliability of the social coping scale was so low, we also
used changes in contact preference and contact expectations as alternate
single item measures of cognitive coping. Preferences and expectations
were measured by a ten item response scale where 0 through 5 were single
categories followed by “6-10,” “11-15,” “ 16-20,” and “greater than 20.” The
strategy of using changes in contact preferences and expectations as a
measure of cognitive coping is suggested by the site succession literature
(Nielsen & Endo, 1977). As use levels increase, people who initially feel
more crowded must increase expectations and preferences for the number
of other people they will encounter to attenuate the negative impacts of
386
KUENTZEL AND HEBERLEIN
TABLE 1
Direction of Attitude Change Over Time for Copers and No-Coping Respondents
Given the Increase in Use at the Apostle Islands
COPING SCALES
CHANGE IN ATTITUDE BETWEEN
1975 AND 1985
Expected Change
(Given Increased Use)
Copin g Response
Social Coping
The islands would be more desirable if use
were limited
The islands are not being damaged by
overuse
A reservation system should be adopted
for the islands
I would consider the Apostle Islands a wilderness
The degree you feel the following environmentally damaging conditions exist at
the Apostle Islands:
Excessive litter
Trampling of vegetation
Overuse of campsites
Overuse of trails
Overuse of docks
Poor water quality
Increase
Same or Decrease
Decrease
Same or Increase
Increase
Same or Decrease
Decrease
Same 01‘ Increase
Increase
Increase
ItlCI%iSe
InCreaSe
Increase
InClXlS~
Same
Same
Same
Same
Same
Same
or
or
or
or
or
or
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
Decrease
increased contacts. This point of view assumes that those whose encounter
expectations and/or preferences remain the same or even decrease are not
initially bothered by crowding and feel no need to use a coping strategy.
Cognitive coping from this perspective entails a redefinition of appropriate
use levels. Those whose expectations increase have redefined the number
of contacts they feel is appropriate at a certain area. Those whose preferences increase have redefined their encounter norms (Shelby & Heberlein, 1986) to accommodate increased use of a resource.
Perceived crowding was measured with an index of four different
variables. The 1975 questionnaire was constructed prior to the time when
the nine point crowding scale became a convention for measuring perceived
crowding (Shelby et al, 1989). Consequently, this paper follows McKinnell
and Heberlein (1987) by measuring crowding as an index of four different
items, including, “the places we stopped were often too crowded,” “it bothered me to see so many people using the islands,” “I think we met too many
387
ADAPTATIONS TO PERCEIVED CROWDING
people during our trips to the islands and “it bothered
me more people
were not using the islands” (this item was reverse coded). These items were
each measured with a five point Likert scale from “strongly disagree” to
“strongly agree,” and added to create a perceived crowding scale ranging
from 1 to 20 (M = 11.09, Std. Dev. = 3.05; Cronbach’s (Y = .66).
Results
The results, shown in Table 2, generally did not support the hierarchical coping model. Analysis of variance shows that those who did not use
any cognitive coping mechanisms did not feel the least crowded in 1975.
No-coping respondents did not feel less crowded in 1975 than those who
did use cognitive coping strategies. Among all four coping measures, nocoping respondent’s crowding scores did not differ significantly from the
crowding scores of those who did use coping strategies. Further, no-coping
respondents did not feel less crowded than those who stopped boating at
the Apostle Islands. Thus, the 1975 crowding scores for three groups of
boaters-no-coping respondents, cognitive copers, and those who stopped
boating-did not differ significantly from each other.
Intrasite displacement was the only coping strategy where crowding
scores differed significantly from other strategies. Those who reported
avoiding the crowded islands in the post 1975 period felt significantly more
crowded in 1975 than those who used cognitive coping strategies on two
of the four coping measures (physical evaluations and contact preference).
Those who avoided the crowded islands also felt more crowded than those
TABLE 2
Mean Crowding Scores Among Boaters Using Four Types of Coping Strategies
COGNITIVE COPING
MEASURES
Social Coping Scale
Physical Coping Scale
Contact Expectations
Contact Preferences
COPING STRATEGIES
COGNITIVE
BEHAVIORAL
ADAPTATIONS
ADAPTATIONS
Cognitive
Avoid
Leave Apostle
No Coping
Islands
Islands
Respondents
Coping
9.63,
(25)
10.24,
(29)
10.12,
(57)
10.70,,,
(46)
10.67,,
(44)
10.45.
(40)
1 1 .%I,,
(12)
9.70,
P
(23)
11.88,
(83)
11.8X,,
(83)
11.88,
(83)
11 .a,
(83)
10.94,,,
(245)
10.94,
(245)
10.94,,,
(245)
10.94,,,,
(245)
NOIP. Subscripts compare crowding scores of the four coping strategies for each coping scale
using Analysis of Variance. Different subscripts differ at the .05 level.
ADAPTATIONS TO PERCEIVED CROWDING
389
Discussion
Cognitive Coping vs. Bchavioral Coping
The results did not support the hierarchical coping model proposed
in this paper. Crowding at time 1 did not predict whether one would stop
boating at the Apostle Islands. Further, crowding at time 1 did not predict
whether one would either change their mind about the resource, or change
their contact expectations and preferences. Crowding at time 1 did predict
redistribution to less popular locations within the Apostle Islands. These
findings replicate the findings of’ Anderson and Brown (1984) and Hammitt
and Patterson (1991). These people who avoided the more crowded islands
were equally as likely to use some form of cognitive coping as those who
did not avoid the more crowded islands. That is, among those still boating
in 1985, the avoiders were just as likely to recognize social and physical
degradation of’ the islands associated with increased use as those who dicl
not avoid the crowded islands. They were also just as likely to change their
contact preferences (and more likely to change their contact expectations).
These avoiders, however, were more sensitive to crowding. This finding
suggests that cognitive coping is not a discrete strategy, but that all users
make some degree of’ cognitive adjustment when confronted with negative
pel-ceptions of’ crowding. Those most sensitive to crowding, however, are
more likely to make behavioral adjustments-i.e. intrasite displacement.
Three points may help explain this finding.
First, intrasite displacement correlates significantly with
boat olvnership (r = .25; #J = .OO), suggesting that those who avoided the more
crowded islands did so because they coulcl. Boat owner-s, also, r\.ere more likely to
take charge of the navigational chores. Hoat ownership correlates positively with
being the pilot, rather than passenger on a boat (t- = .Sl; p = .OO). Thus, those
w,ho owned and pilotecl their own boats avoided the more crowded islands because
they were more likely to influence the itinerary of the trip. Further, Vdske et al.
(1980) slhow that among this same sample of boaters, those with more experience
felt more crowded. Similarly, Nielsen and Enclo’s (1977) notion of the “last settler
syndrome” predicts that less experienced users are more tolerant of crowds. Consequently, experienced boaters may also be the crowded boat owners who avoid
the more crowded islands.
Second, the hierarchical model may not be valid because some boaters may be
committed to boating in the Apostle Islands as a wilderness like resource. This
experience may be tied to a person’s identity as a boater and as a wilderness user.
Thus, to cognitively change one’s mind about the islands, or to cognitively adapt
to increased use of the Islands may negate the image of the Apostle Islands as a
wilderness, and thereby nqgate the person’s identlty as a boater in a wilderness
setting. Thus, the only coping alternative available is to behaviorally seek out the
remaining wilderness like locations left within the Island complex. Further research
is needed to explore this identity/coping lit&,.
CoCgnilive Coping. Third, the lack of difference between the 1’475 crowding
scores of the no-coping respondents and those that used a cognitive coping strategy
may reflect limitations of the coping meas,ures. Certainly, the reliability of the social
copmg scale is problematic. The validity of these measures, however, may be the
/tl/msi/r Displucemen~.
390
KUENTZEL AND HERERLEIN
mol-e vexing problem. The social coping and physical coping measures wcrc de-
veloped with the product shift phenomenon in mind. These measures, however,
in no way indicate whether people actually “changed their mind” about the Apostle
Islands. They only indicate that people noticed physical and social changes over
time that may, or may not, have been related to one’s overall image of the area.
The use of contact expectations and preferences as measures of coping was
also troubling. These measures reflected the site succession framework that suggests
people increase their contact expectations and preferences to cope with increasing
use of an area. However, only 12 out of 69 people who did not use an intrasite
displacement strategy changed their contact expectations over the ten year period,
suggesting that the majority of the sample may not have been aware of increasing
use of the islands. Similarly the minority (n = 23) of people, who used a cognitive
coping strategy by adjusting their preferences to account for increased use, had a
lower crowding score in 1975 (A4 = 9.70) than those whose preferences stayed the
same (M = 10.70), although this difference was not significant at the .05 level.
These inconclusive findings indicate the need for a better measure of cognitive
coping. The items used by Hammitt & Patterson (199 1) measure coping at a more
specific level, and are a step in the right direction. Future research should continue
developing better coping measures, and should address the issue of whether cognitive coping is a discrete coping strategy, or one used to varying degrees by all
participants at a particular location.
Intersite Displacement
Our results did not support the intersite displacement hypothesis, that
those most sensitive to increasing use of a resource become crowded out,
and must find alternate locations to pursue their recreational interests.
There are two plausible explanations for this. First, the area may not be
crowded enough to produce a stimulus overload or a social interference
condition (Gramman, 1982). Only 42% of the boaters in 1985 stated they
felt some level of crowding during their visit (a score of 3 or higher on a
nine point crowding scale). When compared to the same measure of perceived crowding at 59 samples of recreationists throughout the United
States (Shelby et al, 1989), this level of perceived crowding classifies the
Apostle Islands on the low normal end of the crowding distribution. For
areas at this level of perceived crowding, Shelby et al (1989) state that a
“problem situation does not exist at this time,” and the area “offer(s) unique
low-density experiences” (p. 285). Even though Apostle Islands boaters felt
some level of crowding, they were not driven away by a sufficiently powerful
stimulus. The intrasite shifting behavior suggests that there are enough
locations within the Apostle Island complex that offer low-density wilderness like experiences even on days of most intense use.
Second, the questionnaire did not ask if the respondents had been
displaced because of crowding. This assumes, however, that people have
many more reasons besides crowding that determine whether or not they
will return to the area. Heberlein and Ervin (1990) describe the structural
effects of life course changes on discontinued participation, such as marital
ADAPTATIONS TO PERCEIVED CROWDING
391
changes (marriage, divorce, widowed), and the birth of children or children
leaving home. Again, these data show that boat ownership correlates significantly with continued participation (r = .33; p = .OO). This suggests
that purchase price, maintenance, and year round storage of a boat require
a substantial investment and on going commitment to its upkeep and use.
Boat owners are therefore more likely to seek out boating opportunities
than nonowners. Conversely, participants who either rent boats, or go
boating with friends have many more reasons and constraints against continued boating. Thus boat owners may have established vacation traditions
and leisure lifestyles surrounding their boating participation that become
reinforced over time and somewhat obligatory in their ritualistic practice.
Finally, the mid west region of the United States offers no real boating
alternatives for the wilderness like experience provided by the Apostle
Islands. Door county on Lake Michigan in Northeast Wisconsin provides
a somewhat similar environment. This area, however, is far more crowded
than the Apostle Islands falling in the “more than capacity” range of Shelby
et al’s (1989) analysis of crowding. Further, many Apostle Islands users
come from the Minneapolis area. No other area in the Lake Superior region
offers a similar island complex and accompanying marina system. Consequently, there are no apparent local alternatives for boating in an island
like setting.
Conclusion
This paper has shown that (1) people most sensitive to crowding at
the Apostle Islands in 1975 were more likely to visit less popular areas
within the island complex on subsequent visits. (2) Those who stopped
boating at the Apostle Islands between 1975 and 1985, did not do so because
they felt too crowded in 1975. (3) Changing one’s attitudes about the social
or physical characteristics of the islands, or changing one’s contact expectations and preferences was not related to perceived crowding in 1975.
These findings deal a blow to the intersite displacement concept. People
were not willing to give up boating at the Apostle Islands because of crowding. Those who were most crowded in our study area did not leave the
area but adjusted their activity patterns within the site. Further, those who
felt more crowded were no more likely than anyone else to make cognitive
adjustments to perceived crowding. Instead, behavioral adaptations worked
effectively. In sum, a four fold increase in boating use between 1975 and
1985 did not appear to be a troublesome phenomenon among most boaters
at the Apostle Islands. For those boaters who did feel more crowded,
intrasite displacement was an expedient way to deal with the problem. Thus,
the stimulus overload model is an overstated metaphor for boaters at the
Apostle Islands. At current use levels, Apostle Islands boaters are able to
maintain their perceptions of crowding within latitudes of normative acceptance, and able to adapt behaviorally when encounters do become problematic.
392
KUENTZEL AND HEBERLEIN
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Received May 6, 1991
Accepted March 1, 1992