A Labeled Magnitude Scale for Evaluating Recreation Youth Program Experiences

We created a labeled magnitude scale (LMS) for evaluating youth recreation experiences. A LMS is a questionnaire using an item response format in which linguistic amplifiers are located at empirically determined locations along the continuum to assist respondents in making decisions about where to place their ratings. Youth attending a residential camp (n=117) judged magnitudes of “not at all,” “very,” “quite,” “slightly,” “pretty,” “greatly,” and “extremely” using two modalities: hand dynamometer pressure and line drawing length. We calculated magnitudes and created an immersion LMS questionnaire by positioning the amplifiers at their respective locations along a graphic continuum, preceded by a description of immersion. Using the LMS, we evaluated immersion of 142 campers in a subsequent session in kayaking, ropes course, and archery. The LMS discriminated among immersion during the three activities and avoided halo effects, which are common to Likert-type response formats. Results suggest LMS can improve measurement of experiences.