Goal orientation, norms, and noise‐induced conflict among recreation area users

Abstract

This study evaluated Jacob and Schreyer's (1980) theory of recreation conflict using data from a survey of winter visitors to Padre Island National Seashore, Texas. Jacob and Schreyer defined interpersonal conflict as goal interference attributed to the behavior of another and proposed that variations in the standards of appropriate behavior for a setting were a major source of such interference. However, their theory did not address the possibility that some goals may be more vulnerable to interference from physically obtrusive behavior than others. In this study, visitors motivated by the goal to be with people who were considerate and respectful of others were more likely to perceive interference from loud radios than were visitors motivated by the goal to be with friends and other people like themselves. We concluded from this that the more that goal achievement rests on factors beyond the direct control of the actor, the greater the actor's vulnerability to goal interference. Visitors whose individual norms for radio volumes were equal to or less tolerant than the social norm were more likely to experience interference from radios whose loudness exceeded the social norm, supporting the role of normative violations in recreation conflict. Finally, although the potential for conflicts between recreation activities was high at this site, non‐activity‐based behavior, such as littering, drunkenness, and rowdiness, was rated as a more serious source of interference by visitors.