The Devil Made Me Do It: Influence of Values on Interpretation and Behaviors for Tasmanian Devils

Abstract

Zoos are becoming more intentional about embedding messaging in their interpretation to promote pro-conservation behaviors, essentially acting as agents of social change. Values theory suggests that, be effective, interpretation including these pro-conservation messages needs to broadly align with visitors’ values. Using the Schwartz value system, this study modeled the relationships between visitors’ values, perceptions of interpretation, emotional connectivity to Tasmanian Devils, and behavioral intent, including a comparison of different types of on-site and post-visit pro-conservation behaviors. Most visitors held moderate to strong conservation values, which were predictive of positive perceptions of interpretation, emotional connectivity, and pro-conservation behaviors. However, the results suggest that while visitors’ values align with their perceptions of interpretation, they are only weak predictors of behavioral intent. Visitors’ perceptions of interpretation and behavioral intent aligned more strongly with emotional connectivity than with their values. Overall, behavioral intentions were low for all pro-conservation behaviors. Liking a Facebook post about the conservation of Tasmanian Devils was the behavior most likely to be performed.