Use of Experience Sampling Method to Understand the Wilderness Experience

There is a growing body of research documenting the benefits of outdoor adventure and wilderness-based programs with a variety of special populations. Criticisms of this body of research are that it is not grounded in theory and it is outcome-based, with no investigation into the processes causing the behavior change in individuals. This study attempted to investigate the processes that occurred during wilderness outdoor adventure experiences in relation to social integration between people with and without disabilities. The contact hypothesis, from intergroup relations and social categorization theory, was used as a framework for understanding the social integration process. The role of wilderness in that process was illuminated through the use of experience sampling method with participants with and without disabilities on a series of wilderness canoe trips. This paper focuses on how the experience sampling method was implemented across several wilderness-based canoe trips and the resultant data. Subjects were participants with an outdoor adventure company that provides trips that include people with and without disabilities. During each of the seven trips studied, 2-3 participants were randomly chosen to participate in the experience sampling study. Participants were randomly beeped 4 times per day, when they would complete an experience sampling form. The dependent variables were inclusion and interpersonal attraction. Results showed that the most salient variable related to change in the dependent variables was awareness of the wilderness environment. Social identity theory, as operationalized by the contact hypothesis, was supported as a theoretical explanation of the process of inclusion and interpersonal liking that developed during the wilderness trips. The experience sampling method was helpful in "illuminating" the inside of the "black box" of the wilderness experience.