Pathway curvature and border visibility as predictors of preference and danger in forest settings

The authors investigated pathway curvature and pathway border visibility as predictors of preference and perceived danger in forest settings. Participants rated 56 forest settings containing pathways for one of four variables--mystery, visual access, pathway length, and pathway width--or for one of four additional predictors. Pathway curvature was unrelated to preference, danger, or mystery. Border visibility and visual access were positively related to preference, negatively related to danger, and positively related to each other. Preference and danger were negatively related. Danger was more strongly related to the predictors than was preference. Mystery had a modest negative relation with preference and substantial relations with danger (positive) and visual access (negative). Factor analysis of the predictor intercorrelations revealed a visibility construct. Visibility scores were positively related to preference and negatively related to danger. For within-forest settings, danger seems to be more salient than preference, and visibility is a major concern. Keywords: preference; danger; mystery; curvature; visibility