Associations between environmental value orientations and landscape preferences Bjørn P. Kaltenborn * , Tore Bjerke Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Division for Man–Environment Studies, Fakkelga ˚rden, Storhove, NO-2624 Lillehammer, Norway Received 25 July 2000; received in revised form 29 May 2001; accepted 30 October 2001 Abstract Why do group differences in landscape assessment exist? In the present paper, we explore the hypothesis that landscape preferences are associated with people’s environmental value orientations, operationalised according to Thompson and Barton’s [J. Environ. Psychol. 14 (1994) 199] distinctions between anthropocentric, ecocentric, and apathetic orientations toward the environment. Preferences for local landscapes and environmental value orientations were surveyed in a sample of the adult population of Røros, southern Norway. The highest preference was expressed for wildland scenes containing water, followed by cultural landscapes and traditional farm environments. Landscapes with elements of modern agricultural practises were the least preferred category. Significant positive correlations were found between the ecocentric environmental value orientation and a preference for wildlands with water, and for cultural landscapes. The anthropocentric value orientation correlated positively with a preference for farm environments, while environmental apathy was negatively associated with a preference for wildlands and cultural landscapes. The respondents agreed to ecocentric, but were neutral to anthropocentric statements. The findings indicate that the majority of the people in the area should be responsive to ecocentric arguments when development and conservation plans are presented. # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Landscape preferences; Environmental values; Anthropocentrism; Ecocentrism; Norway 1. Introduction During the last 25 years, a large number of studies of affective and aesthetic evaluation of landscapes have been published (see reviews by Zube et al., 1975; Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989; Bourassa, 1990). One consistent finding has been that people from various cultures prefer (like) natural environments better than built or otherwise human-influenced environments, and that park- or savannah-like land- scapes often receive the highest ratings (Ulrich, 1993). Human influence may be appreciated, however, pro- vided that it is perceived as in balance with natural elements, like in nature scenes containing old struc- tures like stone walls or stone bridges (Strumse, 1994). In combination with findings which show that natural scenes contribute to restoration from stress (Ulrich et al., 1991), these studies have been interpreted as supporting an evolutionary theory of human landscape preferences. Several researchers have concluded that similarities in evaluations of natural scenes far out- weigh the differences across cultures or smaller groups (Ulrich, 1993). Landscape and Urban Planning 59 (2002) 1–11 * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ47-61-28-7900; fax: þ47-61-28-7901. E-mail address: bjorn.kaltenborn@nina.no (B.P. Kaltenborn). 0169-2046/02/$20.00 # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII:S0169-2046(01)00243-2