Enjoyment in zoos

Abstract

Zoo visits are often described as fun outings by adults and family visitors alike, yet previous research into motivations, benefits and satisfaction with such outings has yet to describe what aspects of these experiences are sources of enjoyment. This paper reports results from a study that investigated how adult visitors define enjoyment in zoo experiences. Q methodology was used in order to address the inherent subjectivity of personal enjoyment because it allowed the participants to construct unique, personal meaning, while quantitatively comparing these constructed narratives to one another. Four distinct, socially held perspectives of what enjoyment means to visitors emerged in the analysis. Each of these perspectives represented a unique combination of factors that provide new insight into how adult visitors evaluate their personal enjoyment while at the zoo. The authors conclude that these findings offer zoo managers new information by which to assess their programme offerings and satisfaction measures.

Keywords:

• enjoyment
• leisure
• motivations
• museums
• Q methodology
• zoos

Notes

1. These are just a selection of recent studies done using Q methodology. Readers interested in Q methodology, other studies using this method, as well as resources for conducting a Q methodology study, are available at the website http://www.qmethod.org.