Psychological Reports, 2010, 107, 1, 213-226. © Psychological Reports 2010 DOI 10.2466/07.14.20.PR0.107.4.213-226 ISSN 0033-2941 1 Address correspondence to Rashmi Garg, Department of Psychology, Laurentian Univer- sity, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada P3E 2C6 or e-mail (rgarg@laurentian.ca). PERCEIVED PSYCHOSOCIAL BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH PERCEIVED RESTORATIVE POTENTIAL OF WILDERNESS RIVER-RAFTING TRIPS 1 R. GARG, R. T. COUTURE, T. OGRYZLO, AND R. SCHINKE Laurentian University Summary.—Analysis of the restorative experiences and psychosocial benefts of wilderness river rafing trips of varying difculty with 186 Canadian participants of diferent ages supported the restorative potential of natural setings for all age groups as measured by the Perceived Restorativeness Scale. The two-factor struc- ture (General Restorativeness and Coherence) was confrmed. Signifcant associa- tions were found between scores on the General Restorative subscale and perceived psychosocial benefts (relaxation, nature appreciation or kinship, and physical ft- ness or achievement) and positive afect. However, the fndings associated with the Coherence subscale were not conclusive. Atention Restoration Theory postulates that directed atention re- quires efort, plays an important role in achieving focus on the task (Ka- plan & Talbot, 1983; Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989; Kaplan, 1995), and is critical to generation of appropriate goal-directed behaviour. Directed atention, however, is susceptible to fatigue, ofen followed by irritability, distress, and inefectiveness. Recovery from atentional fatigue is useful to main- tain efectiveness. Restorative perception implies that a person flters, en- hances, and reconstructs the environmental stimuli in ways which provide meaning (Knopf, 1983). Research over the years has supported Atention Restorative Theory and has shown that natural setings have potential for restoring atentional defcits and promoting positive mood states (Kaplan, 1995; Kaplan, 2001; Korpela, Hartig, Kaiser, & Fuhrer, 2001; Herzog, Ma- guire, & Nebel, 2003). An environment, however, whether natural or oth- erwise, is not restorative in itself, for it should have certain properties and be considered along with the person’s interests, needs, and expectations (Scopelliti & Giuliani, 2004). People process given environmental stimuli diferently and are capable of seting goals and achieving personal out- comes (Couture, 1990; Delle, Bassi, & Massimini, 2003; Sibthorp, 2003). Four aspects are prevalent in Kaplan and Talbot’s description (1983) of what constitutes a restorative environment: being away, fascination, co- herence (extent), and compatibility. The frst aspect, being away, relates to the psychological or geographical distance from atentional demands. Restorative benefts are achieved by escaping unwanted distractions