Preference and naturalness: An ecological approach

Preference judgements were obtained for a set of scenes consisting entirely of vegetation. The scenes, however, were systematically selected on the basis of three ecological variables – type of vegetation formation, structural integrity and foliar density and a fourth variable, extent of view. Preference varied significantly as a function of these variables but within the mid to upper range of the preference scale. Vegetation as such is, therefore, important in preference, however, the range in preference judgements indicates significant differentiation within the general category identified as vegetation. Type of vegetation interacted significantly with structural integrity, foliar density and extent of view and foliar density and extent of view interacted independently of the other two variables. This pattern of interactions is interpreted in terms of [Kaplan, S., Kaplan, R., 1982. Cognition and Environment: Functioning in an uncertain world. Praeger Publishers, New York] information processing model of environmental preference. However, a number of the aspects of the results are not covered by this model and are interpreted in terms of the role of tacit learning processes.