Variability of the perceived crowding scale: A research note

Heberlein and Vaske's perceived crowding scale has been a useful tool to ex amine perceptions of crowding in a variety of recreational settings. Questi ons remain, however, regarding the stability of the measure across administ ration, time, and location. Data collected from recreational boaters on the Nantahala River were used to examine the effect of method of administratio n (mail-back versus on-site), response time (amount of time elapsed between on-site contact and mail-back receipt) and location (put-in, on river, and take-out) on perceived crowding. Results indicate that perceptions of crow ding were consistently higher for the mail-back method than on-site. Percei ved crowding was also higher on the river than at the put-in or take-out, i ndependent of whether crowding was measured on-site or via a mail survey. T here was no significant effect of response time. Implications for improving the measurement of perceived crowding and for considering the effect of lo cation in determining carrying capacities are discussed.