Whizzing through the High North: Motorists' Psychological Experience of the Countryside

Abstract

Exposure to natural environments can positively influence us, yet it is unknown whether that is also the case for people who drive through natural environments, often at fast speeds. What restorative impact might driving through High North countrysides have on motorists and how might that affect their feelings of curiosity and interest relevant for the desire to explore where they are? Psychological mechanisms that may contribute to transforming rural spaces into such eudaimonically engaging places were explored with questionnaire data collected from 98 motorists in the North American High North. They were grouped by mindset (journey and/or destination) and then compared in terms of four aspects of perceived restorativeness (being away, extent, fascination and compatibility), emotion (positive and negative) and their effect on two curiosity measures (exploration and absorption) and affective interest. We found that travel mindset was related mostly to perceived restorativeness, particularly among those who were more destination-oriented, and to interest. Regression analyses revealed that feelings of restorativeness also enhanced the predictability of curiosity and interest, though the four aspects of perceived restorativeness did so in different ways. The complexity of these experiences is discussed in terms of their theoretical value and possible implications for practice.

Key Words:

• drive tourism
• attention restorativeness
• positive emotion
• curiosity
• interest

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding

This article is written as part of the research project Northern InSights (http://www.opplevelserinord.no/), which is partly financed by The Norwegian Research Council [grant number 195306/140].