Social Groups and the Meanings of Outdoor Recreation Activities

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Abstract
Individuals studying leisure behavior have focused attention on the social group as a potentially important determinant of outdoor recreation activity. Presently, however, little is known about how social groups influence leisure behavior. The focus of this study is on the different meanings within an activity and the social group as the source of those different meanings. The hypothesis that different social groups engaging in the same activity would assign different meanings to that activity was tested. Results indicated that different social groups do attribute different meanings to the same activity. The extent of these differences, however, appears to vary by type of activity. The importance of these findings is discussed in light of existing “social group” research as well as the value of this information in understanding group interaction and user conflicts from a management perspective. Suggestions are made for future research.

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