A Novel Anti-Environmental Forest Experience Scale to Predict Preferred Pleasantness Associated with Forest Environments

• Main Authors: Ernest Bielinis, Jianzhong Xu, Aneta Anna Omelan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-09-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: forest environments; forest experience; psychometric test
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/18/6731

In this study, a method for predicting the preferred pleasantness induced by different forest environments, represented by virtual photographs, was proposed and evaluated using a novel Anti-Environmental Forest Experience Scale psychometric test. The evaluation questionnaire contained twenty-one items divided into four different subscales. The factor structure was assessed in two separate samples collected online (sample 1: <i>n</i> = 254, sample 2: <i>n</i> = 280). The internal validity of the four subscales was confirmed using exploratory factor analysis. Discriminant validity was tested and confirmed using the Amoebic Self Scale (spatial–symbolic domain). Concurrent validity was confirmed using the Connectedness to Nature Scale. Predictive validity was based on an assessment of pleasantness induced by nine different photographs (control—urban landscapes, forest landscapes, dense forest landscapes), with subscales differently correlated with the level of pleasantness assessed for each photograph. This evaluation instrument is appropriate for predicting preferred pleasantness induced by different forest environments.