An interaction effect of visitor moral emotions and perceived defensible space on flower picking in national forest recreation areas.

The purpose of this study was to explore the interaction effects of visitors' moral emotions and their perception of defensible space on flower picking in national forest recreation areas. Moral emotions consist of guilt, embarrassment, and shame. Perceived defensible space is composed of perceived environmental image, traces of occupancy, and symbolic barriers. Self-reported data were collected from 237 visitors to the Kenting National Forest Recreation Area and 266 visitors to the Tengjhih National Forest Recreation Area through a questionnaire on moral emotions, perceived defensible space, and flower picking. Data were analyzed using a multiple regression analysis and slope analysis of the response functions. The results indicated an interference interaction effect of moral emotions and perceived defensible space on flower picking. Specifically, the results pointed out that visitors’ moral emotions were not significantly related to flower picking if they perceived the defensible space of the area as more obvious, but their moral emotions significantly influenced flower picking if they perceived the defensible space of the area as less obvious. Perceived defensible space was not significantly related to flower picking among visitors with higher moral emotions, but the perceived defensible space significantly influenced flower picking among visitors with lower moral emotions. Implications of the results are further discussed in the study.