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Self-assessment of riding skills and perception of trail difficulty in mountain biking - An investigation within the German-speaking mountain biking community
Abstract
Mountain biking is a popular activity in both outdoor recreation and mountain tourism. Trail difficulty rating systems attempt to help visitors to match their own skill level with the technical difficulties of recreational trails. However, the perception of trail difficulty might be related to factors like age, gender, actual skill level or mountain biking experience. This study compares (1) the perceived trail difficulties between different groups and (2) differences between self-assessed skill-level and actually manageable maximum grade of difficulty. Participants (n = 2040) were asked in an online survey to assess the trail difficulty of 30 selected mountain bike trails. These trails were presented by pictures varying in technical difficulty according to the six grades of the Singletrail-Skala (STS; 5 pictures of each grade of difficulty). The STS is a difficulty rating system for mountain bike trails used by several destinations in the European alps as well as by some internet platforms that offer mountain bike gps-tracks or maps. Individuals' actual maximum grade of difficulty according to STS was determined by asking whether participants would manage to ride a certain trail or not. Findings show that the perceived difficulty of a trail increases as the skill level of a participant decreases. No other factors affecting the perceived difficulty could be identified. Furthermore, participants’ self-assessed skill level differs from their actual maximum grade of difficulty according to STS. Whereas beginners underestimate their skill-level, more experienced mountain bikers overestimate their skill-level. Additionally, especially male mountain bike riders tend to overestimate their skill-level. In general, correlations between self-assessed riding skills and actual maximum grade of difficulty are low. The findings of this study provide information for the development and implementation of mountain bike trail difficulty ratings.
Management implications
•Since perceived difficulty of the same trails can differ more than one degree of difficulty between experts and beginners, difficulty rating of trails should not be done by highly skilled riders only.
•To prevent injury or mental or physical overload, trail recommendations and trail choices should not rely on self-assessed ability ratings only. Difficulty rating systems should include precise descriptive and objective criteria (descriptions of trail conditions, pictures, etc.) to account for the differences in perceptions between individuals.
•Based on our results we conclude, that five to six grades of difficulty should be sufficient to describe the technical difficulties of mountain bike trails. With more degrees of difficulty, there is an increased tendency for the individual degrees of difficulty to overlap too much in the perception of individual riders. What in consequence may lead to inconsistencies in the assessment of the difficulty of mountain bike trails.
•Development of a “trail app” for cell phones could increase the validity of trail ratings since a larger number of mountain bike riders could be involved in the assessment of trail difficulties.
Supplementary resource (1)
Data
December 2022
... Runners lack awareness of leave no trace policies, while mountain bikers are more skilful on trails but less willing to change their behaviour (Mueller, Taff, Wimpey, & Graefe, 2018). The difficulty in self-assessment lies in that is increasingly dependent on higher skill-level (Siebert, Herden, & Gey, 2022). Such disconnection raises questions about how participants relate to the subsequent impact. ...
... Furthermore, participants paid less attention to non-visual impacts, such as noise, which can affect sensitive animals like reindeer. As Siebert et al. (2022) indicate, mountain bikers found it especially challenging to minimise their impact, as it requires technical skills to navigate over wooden footpaths, as shown in Image 9. Steven (Fjällmaraton) echoed this priority: "… it has both a minimal impact on nature and there is a focus on safety and the positive aspect of people being in nature, getting exercise and having the opportunity to enjoy the natural environment". The competitive element and the need for technical solutions were all seen as obstacles. ...
... The occasions bring togetherness and nature experiences, but they could not assess the impacts from these values. Similar to previous research on experience of impacts on nature (Siebert et al., 2022;Graus et al., 2023;Martin & Butler, 2021), not only did participants fail to recognise trail damages or loss of animals as impacts, but the economic space of the event shifts responsibility away from personal self-limitation. Participants trust that organisers and government authorities have taken appropriate measures. ...
... Often trail use and trail-related experiences are associated with trail terrain characteristics (e.g., elevation, grade, cross slope), which combined can be expressed in a trail difficulty term-a useful indicator for determination of experiences that disabled users demand (Moseley 1979). Studies relating to trail difficulty rating are very limited, nontechnologybased; and focus mostly on trail terrain (Fialová et al. 2018) and nondisabled trail users, assessing trail landscape mapping (Clius et al. 2012), determination of the real accessibility to rail trails (Ventura-Fernández, González-Relaño, and Gavira-Narváez 2017), trail difficulty rating based on energy equivalent value (Hugo 1999a(Hugo , 1999bHong et al. 2015), perception of trail difficulty in mountain biking (Siebert, Herden, and Gey 2022), and difficulty classification of mountain bike trails (Langer et al. 2020). A literature gap related to better understanding the issue of accessible tourism for mobility-impaired people and the inclusion of advanced technology-based trail classification system to inform about trail accessibility as well as trail difficulty exists as per prior scholars (Burns, Paterson, and Watson 2009;Chikuta, du Plessis, and Saayman 2019;Menzies et al. 2021;Nyman, Westin, and Carson 2018). ...
... The assumptions made by Imrie and Kumar (1998) show that information access schemes are dominated by the able-bodied population, thus indicating the neglect of people with disabilities in such information schemes and with mobility impairments when it comes to trail access. The literature review identifies previous trail accessibility and difficulty rating approaches (Table 1) according to trail terrain (Fialová et al. 2018), land cover and declivity (Clius et al. 2012), surface and latitudinal slope (Lepoglavec et al. 2023), type of terrain and elevation change (California State Parks n.d.), gauging accessibility based on wheelchair users' subjective opinion (Horncastle 1999), a spaces configuration and performance-based analysis (Setola, Marzi, and Torricelli 2018), surface, width, obstacles, rest areas, grade, cross slope (Government of Canada 2023), hiker energy consumption (Coetzee 2018;Hugo 1999a), determination of the real accessibility to rail trails (Ventura-Fernández, González-Relaño, and Gavira-Narváez 2017), perception of trail difficulty in mountain biking (Siebert, Herden, and Gey 2022) and difficulty classification of mountain bike trails using an endto-end deep learning approach (Langer et al. 2020). ...
This study introduces a novel approach to trail accessibility and difficulty rating tailored specifically for individuals, including those with mobility impairments, aiming to promote accessible trail tourism. Grounded in theoretical frameworks of inclusive outdoor recreation, equality, and complex adaptive systems, the proposed rating system incorporates criteria addressing physical access, terrain challenges, and amenities to accommodate diverse user needs. This study employed a sensor technology, called wheeled instrumentation sensor package (WISP) within the framework of the high-efficiency trail assessment process (HETAP) to develop a new quantitatively based trail classification scheme. A case study trail and two hypothetical synthetic data trails were used to demonstrate both the trail wheelchair accessibility binary classification approach and the proposed trail difficulty classification approach. This research pioneers trail accessibility and difficulty rating and underscores the importance of integrating accessibility considerations into trail management practices to create truly inclusive outdoor recreational experiences.
... Additionally, walking style, nutrition, Forests 2024, 15,1853 2 of 29 levels [4]. In other cases, systems such as the single-track scale are used to evaluate trail features, such as terrain, obstacles, slope, and the category of curves, to offer six different difficulty levels [5]. Furthermore, trail difficulty models that consider factors such as distance, slope, elevation change, obstacles, and potential hazards have been developed to recommend suitable courses to users [6]. ...
... Additionally, walking style, nutrition, levels [4]. In other cases, systems such as the single-track scale are used to evaluate trail features, such as terrain, obstacles, slope, and the category of curves, to offer six different difficulty levels [5]. Furthermore, trail difficulty models that consider factors such as distance, slope, elevation change, obstacles, and potential hazards have been developed to recommend suitable courses to users [6]. ...
Forest trail difficulty levels must be investigated to promote their safe usage. However, exercise-based physiological changes are difficult to estimate in a forest environment. Hence, studies comparing indoor and outdoor environmental activities are required. We aimed to investigate the physiological traits associated with different usage grades of national forest trails in the Republic of Korea. We conducted both field and indoor experiments to measure different variables of 20 healthy participants aged 40–50 years to evaluate the exercise intensity and physiological effects of hiking on these trails. Significant variations in physiological responses were observed based on trail difficulty, with the highest heart rate and energy expenditure recorded during the most challenging uphill segments. Specifically, the heart rate increased from 115.4 ± 13.7 bpm in easy segments to 140.3 ± 15.6 bpm in difficult segments, whereas energy expenditure ranged from 404.1 ± 112.2 kcal/h to 518.1 ± 131.0 kcal/h. This study highlights the importance of considering both objective trail difficulty and users’ physiological reactions, including perceived exertion, to enhance user safety and optimize the health benefits of national forest trails. These findings provide essential data for developing comprehensive exercise programs and improving the national forest trail usage grade system.
... Trails also serve as primary gateways to natural environments. The demand for pleasant environments is increasing due to increased leisure time and greater standards of living, with growing urbanization [9][10][11][12][13] giving considerable rise to widely favored activities such as hiking, jogging and mountain biking that are facilitated by the utilization of trails [9,10,[14][15][16][17][18]. Trails are also used for traditional purposes, such as forest operations. ...
The significant increase in hiking, wood extraction, and transportation activities exerts a notable impact on the environmental balance along trails and forest roads in the form of soil degradation. The aim of this study was to develop a Deformation Classification Model for the surface of a multi-use trail, as well as to calculate sediment deposition and generate a flood hazard map in a partially forested region. The eBee X mapping Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) equipped with the senseFly S.O.D.A. 3D camera and Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) technology flew over the study area of 149 ha in Northern Greece at an altitude of 120 m and achieved a high spatial resolution of 2.6 cm. The specific constellation of fixed-wing equipment makes the use of ground control points obsolete, compared to previous, in most cases polycopter-based, terrain deformation research. Employing the same methodology, two distinct classifications were applied, utilizing the Digital Surface Model (DSM) and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for analysis. The Geolocation Errors and Statistics for Bundle Block Adjustment exhibited a high level of accuracy in the model, with the mean values for each of the three directions (X, Y, Z) being 0.000023 m, −0.000044 m, and 0.000177 m, respectively. The standard deviation of the error in each direction was 0.022535 m, 0.019567 m, and 0.020261 m, respectively. In addition, the Root Mean Square (RMS) error was estimated to be 0.022535 m, 0.019567 m, and 0.020262 m, respectively. A total of 20 and 30 altitude categories were defined at a 4 cm spatial resolution, each assigned specific ranges of values, respectively. The area of each altitude category was quantified in square meters (m²), while the volume of each category was measured in cubic meters (m³). The development of a Deformation Classification Model for the deck of a trail or forest road, coupled with the computation of earthworks and the generation of a flood hazards map, represents an efficient approach that can provide valuable support to forest managers during the planning phase or maintenance activities of hiking trails and forest roads.
... There has been scant academic attention paid to trail difficulty with most research being done on hiking trails (see Calbimonte et al., 2021, among many others). Biking specific trail rating research has focused on trail user perceptions (Siebert et al. 2022), rather than the objective measures of the trail. ...
The popularity of urban parks with smart facilities is increasing, driven by technological advancements. However , existing research focuses on passive perceptions and lacks comprehensive insights into the dynamic relationships between smart park services and user interaction. To address this gap, this study aims to discuss classification standards for smart service facilities in urban parks, develop a research model to analyze visitor usage patterns, identify factors influencing their continued engagement with smart parks, and rank visitors' recognition of smart service facilities within parks. Using Lianhuashan Park, Shenzhen, as a case study, structural equation modeling was employed to validate visitors' intentions to continue using the smart park. The findings revealed that expectation-confirmation indirectly affects visitors' intentions by mediating variables such as satisfaction, perceived usefulness, ease of use, and privacy. Perceived ease of use emerged as the strongest influence. Among the five categories of smart park service facilities, landscape interactive facilities had the highest correlation with the overall smart technology experience in parks. This study proposes a new theoretical research model, identifies directions for optimizing service quality in smart parks, and addresses the limitations of previous studies that focused on technology while neglecting user experience. Management implications: The management of smart parks involve a variety of disciplines including IoT, big data statistics, ergonomics, remote sensing science, etc. It requires the cooperation of multidisciplinary personnel, which greatly increases the difficulty of facilities management in the smart parks. Moreover, the smart park system is not perfected enough, lacks certain theoretical support, and there are few excellent cases. This research applied the ECM-ISC extended model to the field of smart park research, which will help promote the user-friendly and sustainable development of smart parks and provide visitors with a more comfortable environment and better services. This study suggests that park managers and decision makers should promote the continuance intention of smart parks by increasing visitor satisfaction and increasing investment in landscape interactive facilities.
Specialized articles and publications reveal the impact that mountain biking registers worldwide today in the field of outdoor sports and mobility. The aforementioned field is under rapid development, a fact revealed by the increasing number of practitioners, the competitions organized throughout all continents, addressing a wide range of ages and proficiency categories, from amateurs to high-performance professional athletes. Mountain biking is gaining popularity in Romania as well, where several competitions (Enduro, Downhill, Cross) are organized, engaging numerous competitors. Most of the locations where downhill skiing is practiced (and mechanical means of ascent are present, especially chairlifts) have become areas adapted for practicing mountain biking in the off-season.
Trails are important elements in the natural and cultural landscape, and many ancient pathways have developed into routes of great significance for recreation and tourism in contemporary societies. By conducting a systematic quantitative literature review, this paper report on the status of international trail research and analyzes some of the key content with focus on trails for tourism and outdoor recreation in non-urban settings. For this purpose, we reviewed 195 research papers published in peer-reviewed academic journals. Results show that research on trails for tourism and outdoor recreation is primarily from English-speaking Western countries. The most studied trail-based activity is hiking, but there has been an increase in the number of studies researching multiple activities. Results also show that international trail research to a large extent is based on the natural sciences, and focus on environmental and managerial aspects of trail use. This review identifies gaps in trail research, especially in a socio-cultural context on topics such as heritage and public health. Research on conflicts between different recreational trail-based activities is also relatively scarce, as well as studies concerning conflicts between trail-based recreation interests and other land-use interests. We also identify a need for an exploration of the trail concept, as research has not yet articulated a clear definition of what a trail is. The paper also includes analyses of changes in trail-related research over time.
This report describes results from a comprehensive assessment of resource conditions on a large (24%) sample of the trail system within Big South Fork National River and Recreational Area (BSF). Components include research to develop state-of-knowledge trail impact assessment and monitoring methods, application of survey methods to BSF trails, analysis and summary of results, and recommendations for trail management decision making and future monitoring. Findings reveal a trail system with some substantial degradation, particularly soil erosion, which additionally threatens water quality in areas adjacent to streams and rivers. Factors that contribute to or influence these problems are analyzed and described. Principal among these are trail design factors (trail topographic position, soil texture, grade and slope alignment angle), use-related factors (type and amount of use), and maintenance factors (water drainage). Recommendations are offered to assist managers in improving the sustainability of the trails system to accommodate visitation while enhancing natural resource protection.
Mountain biking is an outdoor activity with growing popularity internationally. Prior to mid-1980s it was largely a North American phenomenon, but since then mountain biking activities have emerged in most continents, mostly notable in Australia and Europe (Webber, 2007; Pickering, et al., 2010b). The continued increase in mountain biking participation is accompanied by diversifying riding styles, including trail riding, cross-country and freeriding. Each mountain biking style is associated with different set of management issues. This presentation focuses on the management concerns about one particular style of mountain biking – freeriding. The key element of a freeriding experience is technical challenges (Webber, 2007). Mountain biking trails that traverse rough terrains offer such opportunities naturally, but when challenging terrains are limited or non-existent human-made trail technical features (TTFs) are often created to provide such experience. IMBA (2004) defined TTFs as obstacles on the trail requiring negotiation and natural obstacles that add challenge by impeding travel or features introduced to the trail to add technical challenge. While some TTFs are formally provided by public land agencies, many are built unofficially by mountain bikers using local or foreign materials. The existence and use of unofficial TTFs raise management concerns about potential ecological impacts and visitor safety, though such concerns can also be applied to their official counterparts (Newsome and Davie, 2009; Pickering et al., 2010). The purpose of this presentation is to provide the first international overview of TTFs as an emerging visitor impact management issue. Specifically, we highlight and discuss results from initial assessments of TTFs from Australia, the United States, Germany and Portugal.
This study examined the relative impact of hikers, horses, motorcycles, and off-road bicycles in terms of water runoff and sediment yield from 108 sample plots on existing trails in or near Gallatin National Forest, Montana. A modified Meeuwig drip-type rainfall simulator was used to reproduce natural rainstorm events. Treatments of 100 passes were applied to each plot. The results confirmed the complex interactions that occur between topographic, soil, and geomorphic variables noted by others, and the difficulty of interpreting their impact on existing trails. None of the hypothesized relationships between water runoff and slope, soil texture, antecedent soil moisture, trail roughness, and soil resistance was statistically significant. Five independent variables or cross-products explained 42% of the variability in sediment yield when soil texture was added as a series of indicator variables. Ten variables combined to explain 70% of the variability in sediment yield when trail user was added as a second series of indicator variables. Terms incorporating soil texture (37%), slope (35%), and user treatment (35%) accounted for the largest contributions. Multiple comparisons test results showed that horses and hikers (hooves and feet) made more sediment available than wheels (motorcycles and off-road bicycles) and that this effect was most pronounced on prewetted trails. /// Cette étude examine l'impact relatif des randonneurs à pied, des chevaux, des motocyclettes et bicyclettes tous-terrains, en termes de ruissellement d'eau et de production de sédiments sur 108 parcelles échantillons de sentiers de montagne situées à l'intérieur ou au voisinage de la forêt nationale de Gallantin, dans l'état du Montana. Un simulateur de pluies de Meeuwig modifié, type dégouttement, a été utilisé pour reproduire des tempêtes de pluie naturelles. Les traitements de 100 passes ont été appliqués à chaque parcelle. Les résultats confirment les interactions complexes entre les variables topographiques, édaphiques et géomorphiques qui avaient été observées par d'autres chercheurs, et la difficulté d'interpréter leur impact sur les sentiers de montagne existants. Aucune des supposées relations entre le ruissellement d'eau et la pente, la texture du sol, l'humidité antérieure, l'inégalité du sentier et la résistance du sol n'est statistiquement significative. Cinq variables indépendantes ou produits en croix expliquent 42 pour cent de la variabilité de la production de sédiments lorsque la texture du sol est ajoutée en tant que série de variables indicatrices. Dix variables se combinent pour expliquer 70 pour cent de la variabilité de la production de sédiments lorsque l'utilisateur du sentier est ajouté en tant que seconde série de variables indicatrices. Les termes incorporant la texture du sol (37 pour cent), la pente (35 pour cent) et le traitement par l'utilisateur (35 pour cent) rendent compte des contributions les plus importantes. Des comparaisons multiples des résultats de tests indiquent que les chevaux et les randonneurs (sabots et chaussures) produisent plus de sédiments que les motocyclettes et bicyclettes tous-terrains (roues) et que cet effet est plus prononcé sur les sentiers déjà humides. /// Diese Studie untersucht an 108 verschiedenen Teststellen in oder nahe dem Gallatin National Forest, Montana, Nutzungsbelastungen auf Bergpfaden anhand von Abfluß und Sedimentfreigabe. Ein abgänderter Meeuwig Tropfensimulator wurde benutzt, um natürlichen Regen zu imitieren. Jede Stelle wurde 100 mal belastet. Die Ergebnisse bestätigen komplexe Wechselwirkungen zwischen topographischen, bodenbedingten und geomorphischen Variablen. Dies und die Schwierigkeit, ihre Einwirkungen auf bestehende Bergpfade zu erklären, wurde bereits von anderer Seite festgestellt. Keine der angenommenen Beziehungen zwischen Abfluß und Hangneigung, Bodenstruktur, vorhandener Bodenfeuchte, Wegoberfläche und Bodenwiderstand waren statistisch bedeutsam. Fünf unabhängige Größen oder ihre Crossprodukte erklärten 42% der Variabilitat des Sedimentertrages, wenn man die Bodenstruktur in die Reihe der Anzeigevariablen einschloß. Insgesamt zehn Variablen erklärten 70% der unterschiedlichen Sedimentfreigabe, wenn die Wegbenutzung als zweite Größe einbeschlossen wurde. Die größten Beiträge lieferte die Berücksichtigung der Bodenstruktur (37%), Hangneigung (35%) und Nutzungsart (35%). Vergleicht man viele Testresultate, dann zeigt sich, daß Pferde und Wanderer (Huf- und Trittbelastung) mehr Sediment freisetzen als Räder (Motor- und Geländefahrräder) und dies war auf nassen Wegen besonders auffällig.
Remnant urban forests are often popular sites for recreational activities such as hiking, biking and motorised recreation. This can result in the formation of extensive trail networks, fragmenting vegetation into patches separated by modified edge effects and ultimately contributing to the degradation of the ecosystem as a whole. Here we use a GIS approach to assess the extent and diversity of trail-based fragmentation across 17 remnants of endangered urban forest (total area 829 ha, Tall Open Blackbutt Forest) in southeast Queensland, Australia. Fourteen different trail types totalling 46.1 km were mapped with informal biking and hiking trails the most common (57%, 26.5 km). More than 47 ha (5.7%) of forest have been lost to trails and their edge effect, nearly equal to the area recently cleared for urban development. The degree of fragmentation in some remnants was in the same order of magnitude as found for some of the most popular nature-based recreation sites in the world. In localised areas, the fragmentation was particularly severe as a result of wide trails used by motorised recreation, but these trails were generally uncommon across the landscape (5%). Spatial regression revealed that the number of access points per remnant was positively correlated with the degree of fragmentation. We encourage more landscape-scale research into trail-based fragmentation due to its capacity to impact extensive areas of endangered ecosystems. Management should seek to minimise the creation of informal trails by hardening popular routes, instigating stakeholder collaboration and centralising visitor flow.
Conflict has traditionally been defined in terms of goal interference (interpersonal conflict) where the physical presence of one individual or group interferes with the goals of another individual or group. Recent research has identified social values differences as an alternative explanation for conflict. Social values conflict can occur between users with different beliefs and values, even if there is no contact between them. This article builds on this conceptual distinction by examining social values and interpersonal conflict reported by hikers (n = 210), mountain bikers (n = 163), and those who participate in both activities (n = 400). Data for this article were obtained from onsite surveys. Respondents evaluated unacceptable behaviors associated with hiking and mountain biking. Across all three groups, less conflict was reported for hiking than for mountain biking. To the extent that conflict did exist for hiking, mountain bikers and dual-sport participants were more likely than hikers to report unacceptable behaviors. For evaluations of mountain biking behavior, hikers were more likely than mountain bikers to experience conflict, whereas dual-sport participants fell in between these two extremes. All three groups reported more interpersonal than social values conflict.
The paper examines mountain biking as an increasingly popular adventure recreation activity. Some
of its extreme derivatives have been incorporated into international events (e.g. Olympics). We
review trends in mountain biking, consider the appropriateness of this activity in public natural
areas with a conservation mandate (e.g. national parks, nature reserves) and consider alternative
locations. We conclude that (1) mountain biking will continue to increase in popularity; and (2)
venues developed in rural areas outside of national parks have provided economic benefits to local
communities; but (3) the evidence of social conflict with other users and/or environmental impacts
is not clear, mainly because of data limitations. Careful management of natural areas designated for
recreation and conservation is required as a precautionary approach. Successful models operate outside
of national parks that demonstrate a ‘win–win’ solution for stakeholders.
Human recreation has been implicated in the decline of several populations of desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni). Managers are concerned about the impact of increased recreation on desert bighorn sheep in Canyonlands National Park (NP), Utah, USA, where visitation increased 325% from 1979 to 1994. We compared behavioral responses of Sheep to recreational activity between a low visitor use area and a high visitor use area during 1993 and 1994 by observing behavioral responses, distances moved, and duration of responses to vehicles, mountain bikers, and humans on foot. Hikers caused the most severe responses in desert bighorn sheep (animals fled in 61% of encounters), followed by vehicles (17% fled) and mountain bikers (6% fled), apparently because hikers were more likely to be in unpredictable locations and often directly approached sheep. We observed considerable individual heterogeneity in responses of bighorn sheep to the greater human use: some animals lived close to the road corridor and were apparently habituated to the human activities, but other animals avoided the road corridor. In the high-use area, we observed 3 radiocollared sheep that lived closer to the road than expected and found evidence of fewer responses to vehicles by females in spring, less response time of all sheep to vehicles in spring, and fewer responses to mountain bikers compared to the low-use area. Overall, there was an avoidance of the road corridor by most other bighorn sheep in the high-use area where all animals, on average, were found 39% farther from roads (490 ± 19 m vs. 354 ± 36 m) than in the low-use area. This avoidance of the road corridor by some animals represented 15% less use of potential suitable habitat in the high-use area over the low-use area. Increased sensitivity to hikers in the high-use area was suggested by a greater responsiveness by males in autumn and greater distance fled by females in spring. Responses of bighorn sheep were greater when human activity approached at the same elevation, when sheep were moving or standing, when female interactions occurred in spring and summer and male interactions occurred in autumn, and when sheep were farther from escape terrain. We recommend managers confine hikers to designated trails during spring lambing and the autumn rut in desert bighorn sheep habitat.
Conflict has traditionally been defined in terms of goal interference (interpersonal conflict) where the physical presence of one individual or group interferes with the goals of another individual or group. Recent research has identified social values differences as an alternative explanation for conflict. Social values conflict can occur between users with different beliefs and values, even if there is no contact between them. This article builds on this conceptual distinction by examining social values and interpersonal conflict reported by hikers (n = 210), mountain bikers (n = 163), and those who participate in both activities (n = 400). Data for this article were obtained from onsite surveys. Respondents evaluated unacceptable behaviors associated with hiking and mountain biking. Across all three groups, less conflict was reported for hiking than for mountain biking. To the extent that conflict did exist for hiking, mountain bikers and dual-sport participants were more likely than hikers to report unacceptable behaviors. For evaluations of mountain biking behavior, hikers were more likely than mountain bikers to experience conflict, whereas dual-sport participants fell in between these two extremes. All three groups reported more interpersonal than social values conflict.
We evaluated foraging and nesting behavior, territory size, and nest success of Golden-cheeked Warblers (Dendroica chrysoparia), a federally endangered songbird, relative to mountain biking trail use. We conducted our study at two mountain biking sites and two control sites at Fort Hood Military Base and in Austin, Texas, in spring 2002 and 2003. Territories of male Golden-cheeked Warblers in biking sites (2.2 ha) were >1.5 times as large as those in non-biking sites (1.4 ha). Mayfield nest success in biking sites (n = 33) was 35% compared to 70% in non-biking sites (n = 22). Nest abandonment was three times greater in biking areas (15%) than non-biking areas (5%). Seven nests were depredated in biking sites, but only two nests were depredated in non-biking sites. Texas rat snakes (Elaphe obsoleta) were the most frequent nest predator at biking sites, accounting for 71% of the predations. We conducted behavioral observations of male Golden-cheeked Warblers in biking (n = 139) and non-biking (n = 204) sites. Males spent similar amounts of time in diurnal behaviors in biking and non-biking sites. We used video-camera systems to record female nesting behaviors at 17 nests in biking sites and 15 nests in non-biking sites. Nesting behaviors of females did not differ between biking and non-biking sites. The cumulative effect of disturbance from mountain biking trail use on Golden-cheeked Warbler foraging and nesting behavior appears to be minimal, but fragmentation and alteration of habitat by mountain biking trails may reduce quality of nesting habitat for Golden-cheeked Warblers.
The aim of this paper is to give a brief overview of recent research on perceived difficulty and perceived exertion, and to bridge a gap between this domain and some central topics in sport psychology. In the first section, we present the methodologies and results of a psychophysical approach of the perception of difficulty and exertion. The main conclusion of this approach is that perceived difficulty reflects mainly the amount of resources, or effort, that subjects have invested in the task, to reach a given level of performance. In a second section, we try to establish a link between this psychophysical approach and goal setting studies. The third section is concerned with interindividual differences in the perception of difficulty. Finally, we adopt in the fourth section a more qualitative point of view, linking perceived difficulty with motivational orientation. Abstract (French translation): L'objectif de cet article est de proposer un bref aperçu de travaux récents sur la perception de la difficulté et de l'effort, et de jeter un pont entre ce domaine et d'autres sujets centraux en psychologie du sport. Dans la première partie, nous présentons les méthodologies et résultats d'une approche psychophysique de la perception de la difficulté et de l'effort. Le résultat principal de cette approche est que la difficulté perçue reflète essentiellement la quantité de ressources, ou d'effort, que les sujets ont investi dans la tâche, pour atteindre un niveau donné de performance. Dans la seconde partie, nous tentons d'établir un lien entre cette approche psychophysique et les recherches sur la fixation de buts. La troisième partie est consacrée aux différences interindividuelles dans la perception de la difficulté. Enfin nous adoptons dans une quatrième partie un point de vue plus qualitatif, liant difficulté perçue et orientation motivationnelle.
Outdoor recreation has the potential to disturb wildlife, resulting in energetic costs, impacts to animals' behavior and fitness, and avoidance of otherwise suitable habitat. Mountain biking is emerging as a popular form of outdoor recreation, yet virtually nothing is known about whether wildlife responds differently to mountain biking vs. more traditional forms of recreation, such as hiking. In addition, there is a lack of information on the ''area of influence'' (within which wildlife may be displaced from otherwise suitable habitat due to human activities) of different forms of recreation. We examined the responses of bison (Bison bison), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) to hikers and mountain bikers at Antelope Island State Park, Utah, by comparing alert distance, flight distance, and distance moved. Within a species, wildlife did not respond differently to mountain biking vs. hiking, but there was a negative relationship between wildlife body size and response. We determined the area of influence along trails and off-trail transects by examining each species' probability of flushing as perpendicular distance away from a trail increased. All three species exhibited a 70% probability of flushing from on-trail recreationists within 100 m from trails. Mule deer showed a 96% probability of flushing within 100 m of recreationists located off trails; their probability of flushing did not drop to 70% until perpendicular distance reached 390 m. We calculated the area around existing trails on Antelope Island that may be impacted by recreationists on those trails. Based on a 200-m ''area of influence,'' 8.0 km (7%) of the island was potentially unsuitable for wildlife due to disturbance from recreation. Few studies have examined how recreationists perceive their effects on wildlife, although this has implications for their behavior on public lands. We surveyed 640 backcountry trail users on Antelope Island to investigate their perceptions of the effects of recreation on wildlife. Approximately 50% of recreationists felt that recreation was not having a negative effect on wildlife. In general, survey respondents perceived that it was acceptable to ap-proach wildlife more closely than our empirical data indicated wildlife would allow. Recrea-tionists also tended to blame other user groups for stress to wildlife rather than holding themselves responsible. The results of both the biological and human-dimensions aspects of our research have implications for the management of public lands where the continued coexistence of wildlife and recreation is a primary goal. Understanding wildlife responses to recreation and the ''area of influence'' of human activities may help managers judge whether wildlife pop-ulations are experiencing stress due to interactions with humans, and may aid in tailoring recreation plans to minimize long-term effects to wildlife from disturbance. Knowledge of recreationists' perceptions and beliefs regarding their effects on wildlife may also assist public lands managers in encouraging positive visitor behaviors around wildlife.
People's impressions of the quality of their performances are often surprisingly inaccurate. In this paper, I discuss three specific factors that contribute to error in self-assessment. First, at a most basic level, individuals must possess a certain level of knowledge to simply distinguish weak from strong performances. Thus, a lack of skill can contribute to erroneous self-assessments. Second, even those who possess skill might rely on the wrong information to evaluate their performances. I discuss how relying on preexisting self-views can lead estimates of one's performance astray. Third, I discuss how motivational forces can play an indirect role in overconfidence. In particular, theories of intelligence that inspire people to think well of themselves also inspire behaviors that contribute to overconfident impressions of how well one has performed on a task. Finally, I discuss how we can draw on this research to improve accuracy in self-assessments.
= 406), highlight some important issues concerning the design and management of wildland recreation environments that are
primarily used for mountain biking. For example, bikers were found to significantly prefer water bars above all other tested
soil erosion management techniques; trail erosion factors, including the presence of rocks, roots, and gullies, all added
to biking experiences on average; trail design factors, such as the presence of turns, bumps, jumps, and obstacles, all added
to biking experiences in general. These findings were used to address questions that resource managers should consider when
striving to effectively manage wildland recreation areas primarily used for mountain biking.
Subjective driving skill is commonly assessed with self-reports and many studies have found that drivers have overly positive beliefs in their own skill. The purpose of this review was to examine how subjective driving skill has been measured in different studies. Secondly, the aim was to discuss the methods used from a measurement perspective, i.e., to discuss the reliability and the validity of the measures and methods used. The findings from the review indicated that studies about subjective driving skills can be divided into three different domains with respect to the methodology used. In two of the domains, subjective driving skill is measured by comparing the individual’s own skill to internal criteria: the skill of the average driver and specific aspects of driving skill. In the third domain, the subjective skill is compared with an external criterion, i.e., the actual skill in order to determine if drivers have an accurate perception of their own skill. The conclusion of the review was that there are several methodological problems with the reference to the average driver that can result in biased assessments. Moreover, this methodology cannot be used to conclude whether drivers’ are overconfident or not. In order to obtain indicators of reliability and validity, the measurement of subjective driving skill should incorporate judgments of specific aspects of driving skills. By the use of this methodology, subjective driving skill can be validated through comparison with actual driving skill.
A variety of social and physical impacts are attributed to mountain biking. In many cases, the perception of these impacts differs from the reality of on-site experiences. This distinction is explored in two ways. First, a brief review of impact issues associated with mountain bikes is carried out. Second, results are presented from a survey of 370 walkers on a multi-day natural track where biking has been allowed on a trial basis. Walker opinions are surprisingly positive toward bikes. These opinions are found to be more positive among those walkers who had actual encounters with bikes. By contrast, more negative opinions were found among those who had no such encounters. Such distinctions between perception of a conflict and the actual outcome from an experience have important implications for park managers responsible for providing a range of different recreation opportunities.
Level of ability within rock climbing is generally expressed in terms of a "best ascent", rated using various grading systems within the sport. The most common method of obtaining this information is via self-report. The aim of this study was to examine the validity of self-reported climbing grades. Twenty-nine competitive rock climbers (17 males, 12 females) were first asked to report their current (defined as within the last 12 months) best on-sight lead ascent grade (Aus/NZ). The participants then climbed a specifically designed indoor route, under on-sight conditions (one attempt, no route practice or preview), to obtain an assessed grade. The route increased in difficulty, and was such that the distance achieved by the climber corresponded to a particular grade. The mean (±standard deviation) self-reported and assessed grade was 22.6 ± 3.4 and 22.0 ± 3.0 (Aus/NZ) respectively. Despite slight over- and underestimations in males and females respectively, there was no statistically significant difference between self-reported and assessed on-sight climbing grades. The results of this study suggest that self-reported climbing grades provide a valid and accurate reflection of climbing ability.
Injury research on mountain biking has been mostly limited to examining professional riders and off-road biking. Mountain bikes represent the largest segment of bike sales in the United States. Recreational mountain bike use is popular and understudied.
To describe the scope, distribution, and trends of mountain bike-related injuries treated in US emergency departments.
Descriptive epidemiologic study.
A retrospective analysis was conducted with data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission for patients aged ≥ 8 years from 1994 through 2007. Sample weights provided by the system were used to calculate national estimates of mountain bike-related injuries based on 4624 cases. Bivariate comparisons between categorical variables were assessed with injury proportion ratios and 95% confidence intervals.
Nationwide, an estimated 217 433 patients were treated for mountain bike-related injuries in US emergency departments from 1994 to 2007, an average of 15 531 injuries per year. The annual number of injuries decreased 56%, from a high of 23 177 in 1995 to 10 267 in 2007 (P < .001). The most common injuries were upper extremity fractures (10.6%) and shoulder fractures (8.3%). Patients aged 14 to 19 years sustained a greater proportion of traumatic brain injuries (8.4%) than did patients aged 8 to 13 years and ≥ 20 years combined (4.3%). A greater proportion of female riders (6.1%) than male riders (4.5%) were hospitalized.
Mountain bike-related injuries decreased from 1994 to 2007. Upper extremity fractures were the most common injury. Girls and women may be more likely than boys and men to sustain more severe injuries requiring hospitalization. Despite the decline over the past decade, more can be done to improve safety and reduce injuries in this popular recreational activity.
An exploratory literature review was conducted into the biophysical and social impacts of mountain biking in Australia and around the world. This review provided the basis for an impact assessment method that could be applied to mountain biking in natural areas. Mountain biking is increasing in popularity in Australia and this is adding to the demand for more space in natural areas for recreational activities (Goeft & Alder, 2001, Faulks, Richtie & Fluker 2007, Standing Committee on Recreation and Sport 2006, CALM 2007). Mountain biking can have negative impacts on the natural environment but the extent and significance of impacts is not fully understood (Goeft & Alder 2001, Chiu & Kriwoken 2003, Hasenhauer 2003, Sprung 2004, White, Waskey, Brodehl & Foti 2006). This situation constitutes a problem for managers as they need impact information to ensure mountain biking in natural areas is sustainable.
This report addresses mountain biking as a recreational activity by examining styles of riding and the corresponding demands of riders. It also identifies the major impacts of mountain biking and explores potential management techniques for developing sustainable mountain biking activities in natural areas. A method of assessing mountain biking impacts has been field-tested. The study was conducted in John Forrest National Park (JFNP), a popular recreation area in the Perth metropolitan area, Western Australia. Park rangers have previously identified areas in the Park where mountain bikers have created informal trail networks and technical trail features. Such findings are recognised to be having a negative impact on the Park. A GPS and GIS assessment method was field tested in JFNP to quantify this impact and proved to be useful in quantifying areas impacted by mountain bike activities.
The number of people riding mountain bikes (MTBs) with electrical assistance (eMTB) is growing rapidly, creating a substantial switch from conventional mountain biking to electrically assisted mountain biking. Electrical support has the potential to alter riding behaviour on mountain bikes, associated with a change in destination choice and physiological demand. Hence, this study conducted test rides with 10 sport science students riding on conventional and electrically assisted mountain bikes with the purpose to examine how electrical assistance affects the spatio-temporal riding parameters mean speed, total distance, total climb and surface type. In addition, we recorded the physiological parameter heart rate and calculated the energy expenditure when riding conventional MTBs and eMTBs. We found higher speed associated with longer distance and elevated climb on eMTBs, combined with a higher percentage in the use of singletrails. At the same time, participants riding mountain bikes with electrical assistance showed lower heart rates and lower energy expenditure. Moreover, our results indicate that e-assisted participants are able to reach higher altitudes despite a lower endurance performance. Accordingly, the increasing use of eMTBs is leading to an augmentation of the movement capacity of people in natural mountain areas and thus, promoting physical activity and nature experiences on the one hand. However, a higher number of people in sensitive natural systems is also related to increasing risks for flora and fauna, particularly when riding gets “faster - higher – farther”. Informing people about the risks to increase awareness and promote appropriate behaviour in combination with the setting of a proper trail management, is of crucial importance to successfully merge recreation and nature protection in mountain systems.
Management implications
This study reveals clear differences in riding behaviour, trail choice and physiological response when riding conventional mountainbikes and mountainbikes with electrical assistance in mountain systems. With electrical assistance allowing less restricted access to physically demanding terrain, an increasing number of mountain bikers may reach sensitive ecosystems in high altitudes. To minimise ecological consequences such as vegetation damage and disturbance of wildlife, it is vital to adequately adjust management solutions. Our results highlight the need for clear regulations and informing of people, translating into a considerate and sustainable behaviour and trail choice and hence the prevention of conflicts with nature conservation and human stakeholders like recreationists or farmers.
An important and relevant issue for contemporary tourism, sport and recreation planners is how to further develop trails and mountain bike areas that are in keeping with the demands of proficient mountain bike riders. In this article, we offer an overview of the affective experiences ensuant with mountain biking over a range of common ride obstacles and terrain. By adopting a post-modern subcultural approach, our analysis reveals the link between rider affect and different components on mountain bike tracks. In doing so, our paper brings together the voices of dedicated and experienced mountain bike riders in New Zealand.
The increased interest in mountain biking on trails in natural areas necessitates the systematic management of mountain biking. In Slovenia, access to forest singletracks and signposted mountain trails, which are highly preferred by mountain bikers, is generally not legal. There is also a lack of mountain biking management and infrastructure at the national level. An important challenge for mountain biking management in natural areas is conflicts with other user groups, particularly hikers. This paper investigates the relationships between riding preferences and styles, conflicts, and attitudes towards mountain biking management among Slovenian mountain bikers. The survey results reveal four riding preference groups, largely consistent with three identified main riding styles of mountain biking in natural areas: gravity, all-mountain, and cross country. The identified key predictors for encountering a conflict with hikers are preferences for riding on hiking trails, the importance of downhill speed, and the frequency of practicing gravity riding in bike parks. Opinions about different management measures suggest the ineffectiveness of formal sanctioning, but a high willingness for volunteer participation in trail maintenance activities. The findings imply that the successful management of mountain biking in Slovenia should combine legislative measures for opening access to trails in natural areas, the establishment of single-use trails for specific riding styles, and indirect management actions to promote education in the fields of nature protection, responsible access, and trail tolerance. Mountain biking clubs and associations may offer a promising avenue for stimulating active involvement of mountain bikers and promoting education and bridge-building actions (e.g., volunteer work).
Over the past two decades, mountain biking has emerged as an increasingly popular recreational activity. However, at least in Austria official trails do not necessarily match the preferences of bikers and therefore they often ride on unofficial trails or on trails where biking is not allowed. This behavior can result in conflicts with other trail users, landowners, hunters and conservationists. With data from an online choice experiment we confirm and extend results from previous studies on mountain biking, such as riders preferring technically challenging trails with lots of singletrack and vertical climb. However, the specific preferences depend on rider characteristics, especially experience and age. Through a simulation of market shares and the calculation of compensating surplus for riders in the study area in forests close to Vienna, we demonstrate how this research can provide insights about how to adjust trails to better match the interests of bikers while still respecting regulations which are in the interests of landowners, hunters and ecological concerns.
Management implications
● To avoid conflict with other trail users, we propose tailoring trails specifically to the needs of the diverse group of bikers.
● For example, trails should have large amounts of technically challenging singletrack, at least on down hill sections.
● Trails should vary in their attributes such as vertical climb or length, to fit the preferences of riders with different socio-demographic background and experience.
● Multi-use trails for bikers and hikers can be recommended, however, horses on the same trails should be avoided.
Introduction Evaluating Data Quality Number of Scale Points Labeling Scale Points No-Opinion Filters Epilogue
The management of recreational mountain biking is examined in this paper, based on. the findings of social and environmental research undertaken in Wellington Park, near Hobart, Tasmania. A review of existing research on the impacts of off-road mountain biking on the physical environment and on other recreational users is presented, followed by the findings of a questionnaire survey of mountain bikers and other park users and an environmental impact study of mountain biking. The questionnaire survey results (n = 255) revealed that conflicts between mountain bikers and other recreational users of Wellington Park were uncommon and there was considerable tolerance for mixed use of tracks. The concerns of non-bikers were mostly about bicycles travelling at excessive speed and not giving an approach warning. A physical impact study, which measured changes in track surface elevation under different conditions, revealed no significant difference between the level of impacts caused by mountain bikers and walkers under the conditions tested. Riding on wet sites and up steep hills and skidding were shown to have significantly greater levels of impacts than riding on flat, dry sites. User education and suitable track maintenance regimes are suggested as the favoured options for managing the main areas of concern relating to off-road mountain biking, namely environmental damage, safety issues and quality of experience.
A frequently encountered consideration in the construction of social survey opinion questions is whether respondents should be offered the choice of a middle response option that states a neutral response. This paper reports the results of six split-ballot tests in each of which a random half of the sample was offered the middle option and the other half was not. As in many earlier studies, the explicit offer of the middle option was found substantially to increase the proportion of respondents expressing a neutral response. An analysis of whether the size of this effect differed according to the socio-demographic subgroup of the respondent found few such interactions to be significant.
Since mountain bikers have become one of the dominant groups of public land users in the last 25 years, many new challenges and concerns have arisen. Previous research suggests that the social compatibility of this new user group with the existing pedestrian and equestrian groups is of largest concern. The nature of the issues that exist between the user groups generally are of interpersonal conflict, dealing with the relations and social exchanges between users based on their activities. To best understand the nature of the conflicts and to come up with policy solutions the user groups can adhere to, I identified my study groups as the three activity participant groups; pedestrians, equestrians, and mountain bikers. Through a four question open-ended interview, I have collected opinions from each user group regarding what they perceive as the problem and how it might be resolved. The objective of this research is to use the perceptions of each user group to recommend policy to accommodate social compatibility between the groups. This ultimately is hoped to reduce interpersonal conflict, increase safety for all users, and reduce environmental impact by accommodating user groups specific trail needs. I found that individual users tend not to have strong opinions, but are mainly concerned with personal safety and disruption by other users. Most solutions were concerned with separating user groups. This may be an area for further study to determine the effectiveness of such a solution.
Features the essential methodologies and statistical tools for developing reliable and valid survey questionnaires Modern survey design requires the consideration of many variables that will ultimately impact the quality of the collected data. Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research outlines the important decisions that researchers need to make throughout the survey design process and provides the statistical knowledge and innovative tools that are essential when approaching these choices. Over fifteen years of survey design research has been referenced in order to conduct a meta-analysis that not only unveils the relationship between individual question characteristics and overall questionnaire quality, but also assists the reader in constructing a questionnaire of the highest relevance and accuracy. Among the book's most outstanding features is its introduction of Survey Quality Prediction (SQP), a computer program that predicts the validity and accuracy of questionnaires based on findings from the meta-analysis. Co-developed by the authors, this one-of-a-kind software is available via the book's related Web site and provides a valuable resource that allows researchers to estimate a questionnaire's level of quality before its distribution. In addition to carefully outlining the criteria for high quality survey questions, this book also: Defines a three-step procedure for generating questions that measure, with high certainty, the concept defined by the researcher Analyzes and details the results of studies that used Multitrait-Multimethod (MTMM) experiments to estimate the reliability and validity of questions Provides information to correct measurement error in survey results, with a chapter focusing specifically on cross-cultural research Features practical examples that illustrate the pitfalls of traditional questionnaire design Includes exercises that both demonstrate the methodology and help readers master the presented techniques Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research succeeds in illustrating how questionnaire design influences the overall quality of empirical research. With an emphasis on a deliberate and scientific approach to developing questionnaires, this book is an excellent text for upper-level undergraduate or beginning graduate-level survey research courses in business and the social sciences, and it also serves as a self-contained reference for survey researchers in any field.
Background
Recreational mountain biking continues to increase in popularity and is a significant source of traumatic injury, including injuries to the hand and wrist.
Methods
A prospective survey of all hand and wrist injuries sustained while participating in recreational mountain biking presenting to the emergency department at the Municipality of Whistler and the District of Squamish was conducted over a 12-month consecutive period.
Results
An analysis of 765 unique emergency department visits with 1,079 distinct injuries was performed. Of these injuries, 511 were sustained to the upper limb. Injury to the metacarpal and metacarpal phalangeal joints was the most common hand injury (52) followed by proximal phalanx and proximal interphalangeal joint (20).
Conclusions
Mountain biking is a frequent source of a variety of upper limb trauma, and preventative efforts are necessary to minimize the burden of these injuries.
As a consequence of the increase in recreation in protected natural areas and the expand- ing diversity of activities, recreation conflict has been identified as a concern for manag- ers. To date, researchers have focused on examining recreation conflict from a quantita- tive perspective employing predetermined scales and questionnaires. This method of inquiry has been useful in progressing the understanding of recreation conflict, however the subtleties in understanding the complexities of recreation conflict may have been overlooked. This paper draws on exploratory research findings from fieldwork and inter- views with bushwalkers to demonstrate the value and importance of understanding the user's perspective and their experiences. Findings suggest that recreation conflict inci- dents have occurred between mountain bike riders and bushwalkers when mountain bike riders engaged in inappropriate behaviour such as riding on walking-only tracks. This paper therefore highlights the complexities and subtleties of recreation conflict and pro- vides suggestions to inform the development of a more comprehensive model for recre- ation conflict management in protected areas.
The environmental impacts of mountain biking and rider preferences in Southwest Western Australia were analysed to determine appropriate trail design and to ensure that this popular nature-based activity has minimal environmental impact while meeting rider requirements. Environmental impacts such as soil erosion and compaction, trail widening and changes in vegetation cover on a recreational trail and racing track were monitored for 12 months to determine the short- and long-term effects of riding during winter (rainy) and summer (dry) seasons. Rider preferences were determined through a survey of mountain bike riders in the region. The study found that trail erosion, soil compaction, trail widening and vegetation damage can occur but they can be avoided or minimised with appropriate trail siting, design and management. The study also found that rider preferences for downhills, steep slopes, curves and jumps along with water stations and trail markings need to be included in the siting and design of the trails. When multiple-use trails are considered, mountain bikers are willing to share the trail with other users except motorised vehicles.
Research from numerous corners of psychological inquiry suggests that self-assessments of skill and character are often flawed in substantive and systematic ways. We review empirical findings on the imperfect nature of self-assessment and discuss implications for three real-world domains: health, education, and the workplace.
In general, people's self-views hold only a tenuous to modest relationship with their actual behavior and performance. The correlation between self-ratings of skill and actual performance in many domains is moderate to meager—indeed, at times, other people's predictions of a person's outcomes prove more accurate than that person's self-predictions. In addition, people overrate themselves. On average, people say that they are “above average” in skill (a conclusion that defies statistical possibility), overestimate the likelihood that they will engage in desirable behaviors and achieve favorable outcomes, furnish overly optimistic estimates of when they will complete future projects, and reach judgments with too much confidence. Several psychological processes conspire to produce flawed self-assessments.
Research focusing on health echoes these findings. People are unrealistically optimistic about their own health risks compared with those of other people. They also overestimate how distinctive their opinions and preferences (e.g., discomfort with alcohol) are among their peers—a misperception that can have a deleterious impact on their health. Unable to anticipate how they would respond to emotion-laden situations, they mispredict the preferences of patients when asked to step in and make treatment decisions for them. Guided by mistaken but seemingly plausible theories of health and disease, people misdiagnose themselves—a phenomenon that can have severe consequences for their health and longevity.
Similarly, research in education finds that students' assessments of their performance tend to agree only moderately with those of their teachers and mentors. Students seem largely unable to assess how well or poorly they have comprehended material they have just read. They also tend to be overconfident in newly learned skills, at times because the common educational practice of massed training appears to promote rapid acquisition of skill—as well as self-confidence—but not necessarily the retention of skill. Several interventions, however, can be introduced to prompt students to evaluate their skill and learning more accurately.
In the workplace, flawed self-assessments arise all the way up the corporate ladder. Employees tend to overestimate their skill, making it difficult to give meaningful feedback. CEOs also display overconfidence in their judgments, particularly when stepping into new markets or novel projects—for example, proposing acquisitions that hurt, rather then help, the price of their company's stock. We discuss several interventions aimed at circumventing the consequences of such flawed assessments; these include training people to routinely make cognitive repairs correcting for biased self-assessments and requiring people to justify their decisions in front of their peers.
The act of self-assessment is an intrinsically difficult task, and we enumerate several obstacles that prevent people from reaching truthful self-impressions. We also propose that researchers and practitioners should recognize self-assessment as a coherent and unified area of study spanning many subdisciplines of psychology and beyond. Finally, we suggest that policymakers and other people who makes real-world assessments should be wary of self-assessments of skill, expertise, and knowledge, and should consider ways of repairing self-assessments that may be flawed.
Background:
Downhill mountain biking (DMB) has become an increasingly popular extreme sport in the last few years with high velocities and bold manoeuvres. The goal of this study was to provide information on the pattern and causes of injuries in order to provide starting points for injury prevention measures.
Methods:
We performed a monthly e-mail-based prospective survey of 249 riders over one summer season ranging from April until September 2011.
Results:
A total of 494 injuries occurred during the 29 401 h of downhill exposure recorded, of these 65% were mild, 22% moderate and 13% severe, of which 41% led to a total restriction greater than 28 days. The calculated overall injury rate was 16.8 injuries per 1000 h of exposure. For experts it was 17.9 injuries per 1000 h of exposure, which is significantly higher than the 13.4 for professional riders (OR 1.34; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.75; p=0.03). A significantly higher rate of injury was reported during competition (20 per 1000 h) than during practice (13 per 1000 h) (OR 1.53; 95% CI, 1.16 to 2.01; p=0.0022). The most commonly injured body site was the lower leg (27%) followed by the forearm (25%). Most frequent injury types were abrasions (64%) and contusions (56%). Main causes of injury reported by the riders were riding errors (72%) and bad trail conditions (31%).
Conclusions:
According to our data DMB can be considered an extreme sport conveying a high risk of serious injury. Strategies of injury prevention should focus on improvements in riders' technique, checking of local trail conditions and protective equipment design.
A new psychophysical method has been developed for measuring the psychological dissimilarity of attributes. This method assumes that if two attributes tend to coexist in the same individual they are to be regarded as functionally similar, while if they are more or less mutually exclusive so that they tend not to coexist in the same individual, then they are functionally dissimilar. The degree of similarity is measured in terms of the phi-coefficient, which enables one to allocate the attributes along a single continuum, and to measure the degree of similarity by scale separations on this continuum or scale. The method may be called a method of similar attributes or a method of similar reactions. The phi-coefficient enables one to ascertain whether a series of attributes really belong functionally on the same continuum. This is done by the test of internal consistency whereby the calculated scale separations and the experimentally found scale separations can be tested for agreement and the amount of discrepancy indicated in terms of sigma. The method has been applied to the record of endorsements by 1,500 people of ten statements of opinion about the church. It is shown that these opinions can be allocated to a single continuum with measured scale separations. The purpose of this study is to make a rational formulation for the association of attributes by which the existence of continuity in a series of attributes may be experimentally established and by which their functional dissimilarities, their scale separations, may be truly measured. For these purposes correlational procedures are inadequate because correlation coefficients are not measurements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The studies reported in this paper had two aims: (a) to identify which psychological variables underlie people's overly positive assessments of their own ability and (b) to explore the relationship between these and actual ability. In a first study, over 300 drivers assessed their driving ability in comparison to that of a novice. A positive view of own driving ability was directly related to the amount of accident-free and endorsement-free driving experience a driver had had and the driver's level of Neuroticism. It was negatively related to the number of errors drivers reported in other everyday tasks. In a second study, the actual driving skills of over 100 of the original subjects were assessed by a driving instructor. It was found that self-assessments did not relate to actual ability, but instead to the comments made by the instructor and the subject's self-assessment as measured during the earlier study. These results are discussed in terms of a stable, but inaccurate, self-concept which is established as experience of the domain grows in the absence of contrary evidence.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: A rapid increase in mountain biking partici-pation over the past thirty years has led to concerns about ecological impacts to recreation environments, especially trails. It is widely accepted that recreational use of natural areas inevitably results in some degree of change to resource conditions, and managers must consider the social acceptability and ecological significance of such changes in their decision making. The ecological impacts of mountain biking, however, and rela-tionships between impacts and trail features remain poorly understood. This study uses Common Ecological Regions (CERs) as a mapped ecological framework to guide comparative analysis of differences in maximum trail incision and trail width at varying slope levels for mountain bike trails in five CERs in the southwest U.S. A point-measurement trail assessment procedure was utilized to measure maximum incision and width for 163.2 miles of mountain bike trails. Results show a significant effect of CER on trail width and maximum incision and a significant effect of trail slope on maximum trail incision. Maximum trail width and incision were greatest in the Arizona/New Mexico Mountains region, perhaps due to environmental features such as erodable soils and sparse trailside vegetation, higher use, and/or user behavior. Maximum incision increased consistently with slope for three of five CERs. Relative to other trail impact research, the sites assessed in this study were in similar condition to other trails on the specific parameters mea-sured. The findings from this study reinforce results from previous research that certain impacts to mountain bike trails, especially width, are compa-rable or less than hiking or multiple-use trails, and significantly less than impacts to equestrian or off-highway vehicle trails.
This paper proposes that when optimally answering a survey question would require substantial cognitive effort, some repondents simply provide a satisfactory answer instead. This behaviour, called satisficing, can take the form of either (1) incomplete or biased information retrieval and/or information integration, or (2) no information retrieval or integration at all. Satisficing may lead respondents to employ a variety of response strategies, including choosing the first response alternative that seems to constitute a reasonable answer, agreeing with an assertion made by a question, endorsing the status quo instead of endorsing social change, failing to differentiate among a set of diverse objects in ratings, saying ‘don't know’ instead of reporting an opinion, and randomly choosing among the response alternatives offered. This paper specifies a wide range of factors that are likely to encourage satisficing, and reviews relevant evidence evaluating these speculations. Many useful directions for future research are suggested.
The project conceived in 1929 by Gardner Murphy and the writer aimed first to present a wide array of problems having to do with five major "attitude areas"--international relations, race relations, economic conflict, political conflict, and religion. The kind of questionnaire material falls into four classes: yes-no, multiple choice, propositions to be responded to by degrees of approval, and a series of brief newspaper narratives to be approved or disapproved in various degrees. The monograph aims to describe a technique rather than to give results. The appendix, covering ten pages, shows the method of constructing an attitude scale. A bibliography is also given.
Mountain biking is an increasingly popular, but sometimes controversial, activity in protected areas. Limited research on its impacts, including studies comparing biking with hiking, contributes to the challenges for mangers in assessing its appropriateness. The impacts of mountain bike riding off trail were compared to those of hiking on subalpine grassland in Australia using a modification of a common trampling experimental methodology. Vegetation and soil parameters were measured immediately and two weeks after different intensities of mountain biking (none, 25, 75, 200 and 500 passes across slope, 200 pass up and down slope) and hiking (200 and 500 passes across slope). There were reductions in vegetation height, cover and species richness, as well as changes in species composition and increases in litter and soil compaction with riding. Riding up and down a moderate slope had a greater impact than riding across the slope. Hiking also affected vegetation height, cover and composition. Mountain biking caused more damage than hiking but only at high use (500 passes). Further research including other ecosystems, topography, styles of riding, and weather conditions are required, but under the conditions tested here, hiking and mountain biking appear to be similar in their environmental impacts.
Hiking, horse riding and mountain biking are popular in protected areas in Australia and the United States of America. To help inform the often contentious deliberations about use of protected areas for these three types of activities, we review recreation ecology research in both countries. Many impacts on vegetation, soils and trails are similar for the three activities, although there can be differences in severity. Impacts include damage to existing trails, soil erosion, compaction and nutrification, changes in hydrology, trail widening, exposure of roots, rocks and bedrock. There can be damage to plants including reduction in vegetation height and biomass, changes in species composition, creation of informal trails and the spread of weeds and plant pathogens. Due to differences in evolutionary history, impacts on soil and vegetation can be greater in Australia than in the USA. There are specific social and biophysical impacts of horses such as those associated with manure and urine, grazing and the construction and use of tethering yards and fences. Mountain bike specific impacts include soil and vegetation damage from skidding and the construction of unauthorised trails, jumps, bridges and other trail technical features. There are gaps in the current research that should be filled by additional research: (1) on horse and mountain bike impacts to complement those on hiking. The methods used need to reflect patterns of actual usage and be suitable for robust statistical analysis; (2) that directly compares types and severity of impacts among activities; and (3) on the potential for each activity to contribute to the spread of weeds and plant pathogens. Additional research will assist managers and users of protected areas in understanding the relative impacts of these activities, and better ways to manage them. It may not quell the debates among users, managers and conservationists, but it will help put it on a more scientific footing. Yes Yes
Mountain biking is a popular activity in urban areas, including in forest remnants in Australia cities. To increase the technical challenge for riders, trail technical features such as jumps, bridges, mounds and ditches, along with informal trails are often constructed without authorisation. We assessed the social, environmental and management challenges associated with the presence of such features, developed a method for assessing them, and then used this method to examine them in an endangered forest within the Gold Coast in Australia. In a 29 ha remnant of Blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis) forest there were 116 unauthorised features, mostly jumps, ditches and mounds, which collectively resulted in an area of 1601 m2 of bare soil and 4010 m2 of undergrowth cleared. Features differed in their size, construction materials used, and their impacts on the environment. Although nearly two thirds had low to moderate safety, most were in moderate to good condition, had fall zones and optional routes for riders. Management options for land managers, in this case a publicly funded University, include (1) feature removal and site rehabilitation, (2) conversion to official features, (3) removal and provision of an alternative location for official features, or (4) maintain the status quo. There are social, financial and environmental benefits and limitations to each of these options highlighting that unauthorised trail technical features are a challenge for planners and managers that often have no easy solution. Yes Yes
Multiple studies have described in general the injuries associated with mountain biking, and detailed accounts of spine injuries sustained in hockey, gymnastics, skiing, snowboarding, rugby, and paragliding have previously been published. However, no large-scale detailed assessment of mountain biking associated spinal fractures and spinal cord injuries has previously been published.
This study was undertaken to describe the patient demographics, injuries, mechanisms, treatments, outcomes, and resource requirements associated with spine injuries sustained while mountain biking.
Case series; Level of evidence, 4.
Patients who were injured while mountain biking, and who were seen at a provincial spine referral center between 1995 and 2007 inclusive, with spinal cord injuries and/or spine fracture were included. A chart review was performed to obtain demographic data, and details of the injury, treatment, outcome, and resource requirements.
A total of 102 men and 5 women were identified for inclusion. The mean age at injury was 32.7 years (95% confidence interval 30.6, 35.0). Seventy-nine patients (73.8%) sustained cervical injuries, while the remainder sustained thoracic or lumbar injuries. Forty-three patients (40.2%) sustained a spinal cord injury. Of those with cord injuries, 18 (41.9%) were American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) A, 5 (11.6%) were ASIA B, 10 (23.3%) ASIA C, and 10 (23.3%) ASIA D. Sixty-seven patients (62.6%) required surgical treatment. The mean length of stay in an acute hospital bed was 16.9 days (95% confidence interval 13.1, 30.0). Thirty-three patients (30.8%) required intensive care unit attention, and 31 patients (29.0%) required inpatient rehabilitation. Of the 43 patients (40.2%) seen with spinal cord injuries, 14 (32.5%) improved by 1 ASIA category, and 1 (2.3%) improved by 2 ASIA categories. Two patients remained ventilator-dependent at discharge.
Spine fractures and spinal cord injuries caused by mountain biking accidents typically affect young, male, recreational riders. The medical, personal, and societal costs of these injuries are high. Injury prevention should remain a primary goal, and further research is necessary to explore the utility of educational programs, and the effect of helmets and other protective gear on spine injuries sustained while mountain biking.