Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0371-0027

Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

Department

Recreation, Parks and Tourism Resources

Committee Chair

David Smaldone

Committee Member

Chad Pierskalla

Committee Member

Robert Burns

Abstract

Communicating the importance of rules and warnings to visitors of recreational parks through signage can be difficult. However, it is one of the most important things to keep visitors safe. Oftentimes, these signs use fear of punishment or injury to discourage certain behaviors. According to studies following the Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM), using threats can backfire and cause visitors to use maladaptive fear responses to counteract a threat message if the content is too extreme or too psychologically close. Humor is a versatile tool that can be used to grab attention, temper perceptions, and influence decision-making. Comedians like Jon Stewart and George Carlin, for example, have leveraged their position to bring controversial and often difficult-to-digest issues to large audiences through the use of humorous threats.

This study aimed to explore the effect of humorous threats on the reception of messages with the intent of changing behavioral intentions in recreation areas. Participants were asked to complete an online survey about prior attitudes towards rules in recreation areas, past experiences with risk factors, frequency of visitation to recreation areas, and preferred activities. They were then randomly be exposed to one informational rule sign out of four combinations of humor and threat content: normal (control), humor, threat, and humorous threat. After exposure to the sign, they were asked about their emotional and cognitive responses to the content. The study looked for relationships between sign content, perceptions of messages, and behavioral intentions.

The study found that humor, threats, and humorous threats do not have any effect on the behavioral intention decision phase of the EPPM. The study also showed through ANOVA and non-parametric tests that there was a relationship between the sign content and perceptions of risk. The study sheds light on the effectiveness of using humor, fear, and humorous threats for park managers to better communicate with visitors and manage park resources.

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