Cognitive schemes and affective experience: The case of angler specialization

Abstract

Qualities of recreational experiences are analyzed using the scheme theory (Eckblad, 1981). According to this theory, emotional, motivational, and cognitive processes interchangeably influence each other. Knowledge about one process promotes understanding of others. An analysis was conducted to review cognitive and affective conditions among anglers using the river Rena in southeastern Norway. The subjects (n = 210) were asked to imagine a perfect fishing experience and to report how well a set of affective terms characterized that incident. The results show that highly specialized anglers regard a perfect fishing experience as a more active and deeply intense event than reported by less specialized anglers. It is concluded that specialists pursue a different kind of fishing project than nonspecialists, involving mental constructions of challenging subgoals during the fishing event. Implications for management are discussed.

Keywords:

• Scheme theory
• flow
• goals
• satisfaction
• specialization