Asurvey of U.S. National Park Service (NPS) rangers examined perceived isolation, personality, and organizational variables. Park areas in a variety of isolated and nonisolated settings were sampled. Statistical indices in this study address issues of isolation previously noted as important in NPS areas. Indices relating to park distance from small urban areas reflect substantial elements of perceived isolation ratings. Models based on these indices provide more information regarding relative isolation perceptions than do personality, organizational, or existing official NPS classification variable models.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Altman, I. (1975). The environment and social behavior. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
2.
Bechtel, R. B. , & Ledbetter, C. B. (1980). Post occupancy evaluation of a planned community in arctic canada (Special report 80-6). Hanover, NH: U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory.
3.
Bessken, D. P. (1985). Social isolation among national park service rangers. Unpublished master's thesis, Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA.
4.
Doll, R. E. , & Gunderson, E. K. E. (1970). The relative importance of selected behavioral characteristics of group members in an extreme environment. Journal of Psychology, 75, 231-237.
5.
Everhart, W. C. (1972). The national park service. New York: Praeger.
6.
Gibbs, M. S. (1985). The instrumental-expressive dimension revisited. Academic Psychology Bulletin, 7, 145-155.
7.
Gunderson, E. K. E. (1971). Psychological studies in Antarctica (Report No. 71-14). San Diego: Navy Medical Neuropsychiatric Research Unit.
8.
Harrison, A. A. , & Connors, M. M. (1984). Groups in exotic environments. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 49-87). San Francisco: Academic Press.
9.
Johnson, D. R. , Field, D. R., Machlis, G. E., & Converse, R. S. (1983). The national park service employee survey of 1983: Statistical abstract. Seattle, WA: National Park Service, Cooperative Park Studies Unit, University of Washington.
10.
Larsen, R. J. , & Diener, E. (1987). Affect intensity as an individual difference characteristic: A review. Journal of Research in Personality, 21, 1-39.
11.
Moos, R. H. (1987). The social climate scales: An overview. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
12.
Palinkas, L. (1985). Sociocultural influences on psychosocial adjustment in Antarctica (Report No. 85-49). San Diego: Naval Health Research Center.
13.
Radloff, R. , & Helmreich, R. (1968). Groups under stress: Psychological research in SEALAB II. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Sells, S. B. (1973). The taxonomy of man in enclosed space. In J. E. Rasmussen (Ed.), Man in isolation and confinement (pp. 281-303). Chicago: Aldine.
16.
Sommer, R. , & Sommer, B. B. (1986). A practical guide to behavioral research: Tools and techniques (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
17.
Spence, J. T. (1985). Achievement and achievement motivation: A cultural perspective. In J. T. Spence & C. E. Izard (Eds.) Motivation, emotion, andpersonality (pp. 65-75). New York: Elsevier.
18.
Spence, J. T. (1984). Masculinity, femininity, and gender-related traits: A conceptual analysis and critique of current research." In B. H. Maher (ed.), Progress in experimental personality research (Vol. 13, pp. 1-97). San Francisco: Academic Press.
19.
Spence, J. T. , & Helmreich, R. L. (1978). Masculinity and femininity: Theirpsychological dimensions, correlates, and antecedents. Austin: University of Texas Press.
20.
Spence, J. T. , Helmreich, R. L., & Holahan, C. K. (1979). Negative and positive components of psychological masculinity and femininity and their relationships to self-reports of neurotic and acting out behaviors. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37,1633-1644.
21.
Suedfeld, P. (1987). Extreme and unusual environments. In D. Stokols & I. Altman (Eds.), Handbook of environmental psychology (pp. 863-887). New York: Wiley.
22.
Suedfeld, P. (in press). Groups in isolation and confinement: Environments and experiences. In A. A. Harrison, Y A. Clearwater, & C. P. McKay (Eds.), From Antarctica to outer space: Life in isolation and confinement.
23.
Valen, R. (1987, August). Isolated national park units as analogs to long duration spaceflight. Paper presented at The Human Experience in Antarctica: Applications to Life in Space, Sunnyvale, CA.
