Information quantity and communication effectiveness: Low‐impact messages on wilderness trailside bulletin boards

This study assessed the attention wilderness visitors gave to environmental messages encouraging low‐impact practices posted on trailside bulletin boards at a national wilderness area, the ability of visitors to retain message content, and their ability to correctly identify agency‐recommended practices. The number of posted messages was varied from two to eight, as well as whether there was a map posted beside the messages, to assess the effect of information quantity and a message attractant. Hikers experienced a significant increase in knowledge levels following exposure to messages, but there was evidence of information overload when numerous messages were posted. As the number of messages increased, total message attention increased, but the attention devoted to each message and the ability to retain message content declined. This finding helps explain why hikers exposed to all eight messages could not identify any more of the agency‐recommended low‐impact practices than those exposed to only two messages. Posting a map had no effect on message attention or message content retention.