Research on the Measurement, Evaluation and Compensation of Traditional Village Residents’ Emotional Perception: A Case of 14 Traditional Villages in Guanzhong Region

Traditional village residents’ emotional perception is a mapping of the man–land relationship in rural areas, which leads to the attitudes and behaviors of the residents. Against the background of previous studies focusing on technical rationality but neglecting the exploration of “human” emotional factors, it is crucial to carry out research on the traditional village residents’ emotional perception to promote people-centered rural development of high quality. The paper selected 123 residents from 14 traditional villages in Guanzhong region and constructs an evaluation index system which includes three dimensions based on the logical framework of “spiritual attachment-functional dependence-developmental cognition”. Next, the questionnaire method was used to collect data and the empirical analysis was conducted using the obstacle degree model and the network analysis model. The research shows that: (1) the overall level of the traditional village residents’ emotional perception is in the middle-upper class and there are significant differences, and there is a non-equilibrium in different evaluation dimensions. (2) The main obstacle to the improvement of the level of traditional village residents’ emotional perception is perception of development, followed by the sense of belonging, and the sense of happiness has a greater supportive role. (3) “Sustainable development of the village” (D-07) is the central node of the network analysis model of traditional village residents’ emotional perception. Meanwhile, the nodes “willingness to live” (G-02) and “basic rights are guaranteed” (X-10) are the central nodes of the sub-networks of sense of belonging and sense of happiness. (4) The residents’ education level and the frequency of community participation have a significant positive effect on their emotional perception level. Finally, the paper explores the dynamic compensation mechanism of traditional village residents’ emotional perception. Our results provide policy guidance for achieving sustainable development of traditional villages.