Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Understanding Tolerance: Measuring and Modeling Human-Black Bear Interaction in Oregon

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/kw52jg854

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  • The social sciences are increasingly used in conservation to describe interactions and relationships between humans, wildlife, and ecosystems. Scientists and policy-makers have concluded that promoting human tolerance for wildlife is critical to the success of conservation efforts. Yet, the concept of tolerance is relatively new in the context of human-wildlife interaction and varies in its interpretation from the theoretical literature to how it is empirically operationalized. Tolerance is defined here as a multidimensional disposition to wildlife and wildlife management action that may or may not manifest itself in human behavior. Grounding tolerance in psychology, this study developed a theoretically informed measure of tolerance, with black bears (Ursus americanus) as the case subject and western Oregon as the context. The results of this exploratory factor analysis identified five hypothesized dimensions of tolerance. Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), with a different sample population, we confirmed four of the five interrelated dimensions of tolerance for black bears: antipathy, connection, lethal control (damage), and lethal control (danger to pets). The fifth dimension safety from the exploratory results was not confirmed in the CFA. Results indicated that these four dimensions are not independent constructs, and we may need all of them to explain expressions for tolerating black bears. We then aimed to delineate the psychological determinants of this measure of tolerance. With structural equation modeling analysis, we tested whether direct experience related to the four dimensions of tolerance for black bears both directly and indirectly (via the relationship with risk perception, self-assessed knowledge, and factual knowledge). We found that direct experience related to all tolerance dimensions and that all dimensions were related differently by the other predicted factors. Risk perception was the strongest predictor of antipathy (negative beliefs) and connection (positive beliefs), whereas self-assessed knowledge was a stronger predictor of an individual’s propensity to accept lethal measures to manage black bears (lethal control [damage] and lethal control [danger to pets]). In its entirety, the research helps clarify the meaning, measurement, and psychological determinants of tolerance for wildlife that can provide actionable recommendations to promote tolerance for black bears.
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  • Intellectual Property (patent, etc.)
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  • 2020-09-04 to 2022-10-04

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