International Journal of Hospitality Management 36(2014)188-196 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Hospitality Management ELSEVIER journal homepage:www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhosman The application of social psychology theories and concepts in CrossMark hospitality and tourism studies:A review and research agenda Liang (Rebecca)Tang* Department of Apparel,Education Studies.Hospitality Management,College of Human Science,lowa State University,12 MacKay Hall,United States ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: The purpose of this study was the review of 282 papers that pertain to the application of social psychology Social psychology theories and concepts presented in 12 leading academic journals published between 1999 and 2012.The Review papers were sorted by theory and concept,application level,journal,publication year.subject area,and Theory Concept statistical technique.The most frequently used theories were found to be social exchange,equity,and cognitive dissonance theories.The present paper offers a pioneering attempt to evaluate the use of social psychology theories and concepts in hospitality and tourism studies as well as identifying future research opportunities. 2013 Elsevier Ltd.All rights reserved. 1.Introduction managers and other consumers(Singh,2008).Social psychology which places an emphasis on the individuals within the social inter- It has been widely accepted that interactions between psychol- action paradigm,has been widely used as a theoretical foundation ogy and hospitality and tourism management(HTM)studies have to explain human behavior in this field(Huan and Beaman,2004) been fruitful (Woodside and Mazanec,2004).Knowledge of psy- Previous studies which examine social psychology have largely chology in relation to human resources and consumers is valuable adopted specific components(i.e.,theories or terms)from this field in determining the success of hospitality and tourism ventures to explain phenomena in the hospitality and tourism disciplines (Ross.1998).Psychology offers a broad canvas of subfields.Pearce For example,Kwon and Jang (2012)explained the effects of com- and Stringer(1991)stated that pensation for service recovery with equity theory.Nunkoo et al. ..the analysis of psychology's contribution to tourism proceeds (2010)examined island residents'identities and their support from by considering psycho-biological and ergonomic studies,cog- tourism using the social exchange theory and the identity theory. nition,individual difference approaches,and the work in social Usakli and Baloglu(2011)identified the brand personality oftourist psychology as applied to tourism. destinations with the application of the self-congruity theory. Although piecemeal social psychology theories and concepts Stringer and Pearce(1984)further suggested that more empha- have been widely used by academic researchers to identify and sis should be given to the "models of man"and to the applications understand various issues that may arise in hospitality and tourism of social psychology in the hospitality and tourism disciplines. disciplines,the only existing review of this research was con- Social psychology has been defined as a social science that aims ducted around 30 years ago (Pearce,1982:Stringer and Pearce. to examine and comprehend the influence of the actual,imagined 1984).Pearce(1982)collated scattered research from diverse dis- or implied presence of others on an individual'thoughts,experi- ciplines to create a social psychological account of tourist behavior ence,and behavior (Allport.1984).Social psychological behavior He examined the economic,geographical,anthropological,and takes into consideration not only what is occurring socially to sociological backgrounds of tourism,investigated the social role of the individual,but also what occurs mentally and emotionally tourists,tourist motivation,and social contact between tourists and within a person,which,in turn,impacts social behavior (Brown hosts.He also evaluated the relationship between tourists and envi- 2006).The hospitality and tourism industry is also called a service ronmental features.Stringer and Pearce (1984)briefly mentioned industry(Darnay.1998).A significant number of studies in this that social psychology could serve as an academic discipline which field have stressed that the consumer's consumption experience might serve tourism research.However,to the author's knowledge, is influenced by many other people,including workers,employees, no such comprehensive study has been conducted which applies specific social psychology theories and concepts to a review of HTM studies. *Tel.:+15152948489:fax:+15152946364 The current study aims to fill this research gap.It attempts E-mail address:rebeccat@iastate.edu to give an updated and comprehensive overview of prior HTM 0278-4319/S-see front matter 2013 Elsevier Ltd.All rights reserved. http:/dx.doi..org/10.1016i-ihm.2013.09.003
International Journal of Hospitality Management 36 (2014) 188–196 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Hospitality Management journal homepag e: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhosman The application of social psychology theories and concepts in hospitality and tourism studies: A review and research agenda Liang (Rebecca) Tang∗ Department of Apparel, Education Studies, & Hospitality Management, College of Human Science, Iowa State University, 12 MacKay Hall, United States a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: Social psychology Review Theory Concept a b s t r a c t The purpose ofthis study was the review of 282 papers that pertain to the application of social psychology theories and concepts presented in 12 leading academic journals published between 1999 and 2012. The papers were sorted by theory and concept, application level, journal, publication year, subject area, and statistical technique. The most frequently used theories were found to be social exchange, equity, and cognitive dissonance theories. The present paper offers a pioneering attempt to evaluate the use of social psychology theories and concepts in hospitality and tourism studies as well as identifying future research opportunities. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction It has been widely accepted that interactions between psychology and hospitality and tourism management (HTM) studies have been fruitful (Woodside and Mazanec, 2004). Knowledge of psychology in relation to human resources and consumers is valuable in determining the success of hospitality and tourism ventures (Ross, 1998). Psychology offers a broad canvas of subfields. Pearce and Stringer (1991) stated that . . .the analysis of psychology’s contribution to tourism proceeds by considering psycho-biological and ergonomic studies, cognition, individual difference approaches, and the work in social psychology as applied to tourism. Stringer and Pearce (1984) further suggested that more emphasis should be given to the “models of man” and to the applications of social psychology in the hospitality and tourism disciplines. Social psychology has been defined as a social science that aims to examine and comprehend the influence of the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others on an individual’ thoughts, experience, and behavior (Allport, 1984). Social psychological behavior takes into consideration not only what is occurring socially to the individual, but also what occurs mentally and emotionally within a person, which, in turn, impacts social behavior (Brown, 2006). The hospitality and tourism industry is also called a service industry (Darnay, 1998). A significant number of studies in this field have stressed that the consumer’s consumption experience is influenced by many other people, including workers, employees, ∗ Tel.: +1 515 294 8489; fax: +1 515 294 6364. E-mail address: rebeccat@iastate.edu managers and other consumers (Singh, 2008). Social psychology, which places an emphasis on the individuals within the social interaction paradigm, has been widely used as a theoretical foundation to explain human behavior in this field (Huan and Beaman, 2004). Previous studies which examine social psychology have largely adopted specific components (i.e., theories or terms) from this field to explain phenomena in the hospitality and tourism disciplines. For example, Kwon and Jang (2012) explained the effects of compensation for service recovery with equity theory. Nunkoo et al. (2010) examined island residents’ identities and their supportfrom tourism using the social exchange theory and the identity theory. Usakli and Baloglu (2011)identified the brand personality oftourist destinations with the application of the self-congruity theory. Although piecemeal social psychology theories and concepts have been widely used by academic researchers to identify and understand various issues that may arise in hospitality and tourism disciplines, the only existing review of this research was conducted around 30 years ago (Pearce, 1982; Stringer and Pearce, 1984). Pearce (1982) collated scattered research from diverse disciplines to create a social psychological account of tourist behavior. He examined the economic, geographical, anthropological, and sociological backgrounds of tourism, investigated the social role of tourists,tourist motivation, and social contact between tourists and hosts. He also evaluated the relationship between tourists and environmental features. Stringer and Pearce (1984) briefly mentioned that social psychology could serve as an academic discipline which might serve tourism research. However,to the author’s knowledge, no such comprehensive study has been conducted which applies specific social psychology theories and concepts to a review of HTM studies. The current study aims to fill this research gap. It attempts to give an updated and comprehensive overview of prior HTM 0278-4319/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2013.09.003
L Tang International Joural of Hospitality Management 36(2014)188-196 189 research in the light of social psychology theories and con- 2.2.Social comparison cepts,and provides directions for future research.Specifically,282 articles from 12 major academic journals in the field between Social comparison is a cornerstone in social psychology which 1999 and 2012 were collected and reviewed with the follow- influences people's reasoning,knowledge,and practice (Suls and ing goals:(1)to profile social psychology's research according to Wills,1991).People frequently make social comparisons-the com- theory and concept,publication journal and year,subject area, parison ofthe selfand others(Gibbons and Buunk,1999).Whenever and statistical technique;(2)to make suggestions for future people receive information about others,such as what others do. directions regarding the application of social psychology to HTM how others are,or what others have achieved or failed,they are research. inclined to connect the information to themselves (Dunning and Hayes,1996).Five primary theories and concepts on the perspec- tive of social comparison have been assessed in this study,including 2.Literature review the frustration-aggression theory,justice theory,social learning theory,role theory,and conflict management. Chadee(2011)suggested social psychology could be classified The frustration-aggression theory proposed by Barker et al. into four categories,including(1)social cognition,(2)social com- (1941)suggests that individuals'frustration is inclined to develop parison,(3)social reinforcement/exchange,and (4)the self.The into aggression when they feel that they are being precluded from theories and concepts from these four areas have been widely reaching a goal(Berkowitz,1989).Justice theory is the classic work applied to understand human cognition,affection,experience and of John Rawls (Rawls,1971).Rawls offered a model of a fair choice behavior in diverse disciplines,including health (e.g.,Miller et al. circumstance within which parties are assumed to select mutually 2006).humanities (e.g.,Brehm,1966).marketing (e.g.,Jae and suitable rules of justice (Husted and Folger,2004).Social learning DelVecchio,2004),media communication(e.g.,O'Keefe and Jensen. theory suggests that individuals'social behavior is learned pri- 2008),education (e.g.,Graham et al.,1991),human resources(e.g., marily by observing and imitating the behaviors of others,and is Douglas and Martinko,2001),and many other areas.In the fol- also impacted when they are rewarded and/or punished for these lowing subsections,the theories,concepts,and examples of these behaviors (Tu,2000).Role theory indicates that networks of peo- applications in various disciplines for each of the four perspectives ple's social roles constitute a structure into which groups,activities are discussed. in organizations,and even society as a whole are organized(Eagly et al.,2000).Social roles are a set of duties,expectations,norms. regulations,and behaviors that an individual must fulfill(Solomon 2.1.Social cognition et al.,1985).Conflict management describes the activities in which the parties continue the conflict but adopt less extreme tactics set- Social cognition assumes that parts of a person's acquired tlement (Daniels and Walker,2001;Montoya-Weiss Massey and knowledge are impacted by observing others within the context 5ong.2001). of social interaction (Fiske and Taylor,1984).Social cogni- These theories and concepts explored from the angle of social tion describes mental activities,including encoding,storing, comparison offer a fundamental psychological mechanism which retrieving.and information processing (Gallese et al.,2004). informs individuals'decisions,experiences,and actions in different Chadee (2011)suggested five theories and one model from this disciplines.For example,Hamermesh and Soss (1974)explained perspective,including the theories of reactance,attribution,bal- the problem of suicide with the frustration-aggression theory ance,and cognitive dissonance,and the elaboration likelihood Hagan(1989)discussed the connections between the imposition of model. political power and organizational forms in the criminal justice sys- Reactance theory explains that individuals increase resistance to tem with the justice theory.Mui (1992)examined caregiver strain persuasion when their specific behavioral freedoms are threatened among black and white daughter caregivers from a role theory per- or eliminated (Brehm,1966;Van Dyne and Ellis,2004).Cogni- spective. tive dissonance theory describes individuals'internal drive to keep their attitudes and beliefs in harmony and avoid disharmony when 2.3.Social reinforcement people face a situation involving conflicting opinions or behaviors (Elliot and Devine,1994:Gawronski and Strack,2004).The elab- Social reinforcement refers to experiences that people oration likelihood model proposed by Petty and Cacioppo (1981 encounter all around them,such as smiles,approval,compli- 1986)provides a framework for comprehending the cognitive pro- ment,applause,and awareness for other individuals (Lieberman cesses underlying effective persuasions (Angst and Agarwal,2009: et al.,2001).The inforcement not only comes from an outside Manceau and Tissier-Desbordes,2006).Attribution theory pro- source,but also from internal feelings (Domjan,2009).These posed by Heider(1920)assesses the information gathering process studies of social reinforcement discussed five main theories and how it generates a causal judgment(Laczniak et al.,2001). which can potentially be applied to HTM studies,including the Besides attribution theory.Heider (1958)also created balance expectancy-disconfirmation theory,selectivity theory,equity theory.Balance theory suggests that the motivation to maintain theory,social exchange theory,and interdependence theory. cognitive consistency functions as a push toward mental balance The expectancy-disconfirmation theory is commonly known (Basil and Herr,2006). as the expectation theory.It proposes that individuals'satis- These primary theories and concepts elucidating social cogni- faction/dissatisfaction is a comparative outcome between actual tion have been widely used to explain individuals'mental activities performance and predictive expectations(Ryzin,2006).Selectiv- and to support their consequent behaviors in different fields.For ity theory is a life-span theory of motivation(Carstensen,1992). example,reactance theory explains that patients'perception of The theory indicates that people become increasingly selective threats to their control may generate noncompliance in a medical and invest more resources in achieving emotion-related goals and context (Fogarty,1997).Cho (1999)used the elaboration likeli- activities when they get older(Carstensen et al.,2003).Equity the- hood model to understand how people process advertising on ory was first proposed by John Stacey Adams,a workplace and the internet.Asmus (1986)identified the achievement motiva- behavioral psychologist (Adams,1963).The theory attempts to tion characteristics of music education and music therapy students interpret relational satisfaction based on observations of fair/unfair using attribution theory. distributions of resources among interpersonal relationships
L. Tang / International Journal of Hospitality Management 36 (2014) 188–196 189 research in the light of social psychology theories and concepts, and provides directions for future research. Specifically, 282 articles from 12 major academic journals in the field between 1999 and 2012 were collected and reviewed with the following goals: (1) to profile social psychology’s research according to theory and concept, publication journal and year, subject area, and statistical technique; (2) to make suggestions for future directions regarding the application of social psychology to HTM research. 2. Literature review Chadee (2011) suggested social psychology could be classified into four categories, including (1) social cognition, (2) social comparison, (3) social reinforcement/exchange, and (4) the self. The theories and concepts from these four areas have been widely applied to understand human cognition, affection, experience and behavior in diverse disciplines, including health (e.g., Miller et al., 2006), humanities (e.g., Brehm, 1966), marketing (e.g., Jae and DelVecchio, 2004), media communication (e.g., O’Keefe and Jensen, 2008), education (e.g., Graham et al., 1991), human resources (e.g., Douglas and Martinko, 2001), and many other areas. In the following subsections, the theories, concepts, and examples of these applications in various disciplines for each of the four perspectives are discussed. 2.1. Social cognition Social cognition assumes that parts of a person’s acquired knowledge are impacted by observing others within the context of social interaction (Fiske and Taylor, 1984). Social cognition describes mental activities, including encoding, storing, retrieving, and information processing (Gallese et al., 2004). Chadee (2011) suggested five theories and one model from this perspective, including the theories of reactance, attribution, balance, and cognitive dissonance, and the elaboration likelihood model. Reactance theory explains thatindividuals increase resistance to persuasion when their specific behavioral freedoms are threatened or eliminated (Brehm, 1966; Van Dyne and Ellis, 2004). Cognitive dissonance theory describes individuals’ internal drive to keep their attitudes and beliefs in harmony and avoid disharmony when people face a situation involving conflicting opinions or behaviors (Elliot and Devine, 1994; Gawronski and Strack, 2004). The elaboration likelihood model proposed by Petty and Cacioppo (1981, 1986) provides a framework for comprehending the cognitive processes underlying effective persuasions (Angst and Agarwal, 2009; Manceau and Tissier-Desbordes, 2006). Attribution theory proposed by Heider (1920) assesses the information gathering process and how it generates a causal judgment (Laczniak et al., 2001). Besides attribution theory, Heider (1958) also created balance theory. Balance theory suggests that the motivation to maintain cognitive consistency functions as a push toward mental balance (Basil and Herr, 2006). These primary theories and concepts elucidating social cognition have been widely used to explain individuals’ mental activities, and to support their consequent behaviors in different fields. For example, reactance theory explains that patients’ perception of threats to their control may generate noncompliance in a medical context (Fogarty, 1997). Cho (1999) used the elaboration likelihood model to understand how people process advertising on the internet. Asmus (1986) identified the achievement motivation characteristics of music education and music therapy students using attribution theory. 2.2. Social comparison Social comparison is a cornerstone in social psychology which influences people’s reasoning, knowledge, and practice (Suls and Wills, 1991). People frequently make social comparisons – the comparisonofthe self andothers (Gibbons andBuunk, 1999).Whenever people receive information about others, such as what others do, how others are, or what others have achieved or failed, they are inclined to connect the information to themselves (Dunning and Hayes, 1996). Five primary theories and concepts on the perspective of social comparison have been assessed in this study, including the frustration-aggression theory, justice theory, social learning theory, role theory, and conflict management. The frustration-aggression theory proposed by Barker et al. (1941) suggests that individuals’ frustration is inclined to develop into aggression when they feel that they are being precluded from reaching a goal (Berkowitz, 1989). Justice theory is the classic work of John Rawls (Rawls, 1971). Rawls offered a model of a fair choice circumstance within which parties are assumed to select mutually suitable rules of justice (Husted and Folger, 2004). Social learning theory suggests that individuals’ social behavior is learned primarily by observing and imitating the behaviors of others, and is also impacted when they are rewarded and/or punished for these behaviors (Tu, 2000). Role theory indicates that networks of people’s social roles constitute a structure into which groups, activities in organizations, and even society as a whole are organized (Eagly et al., 2000). Social roles are a set of duties, expectations, norms, regulations, and behaviors that an individual must fulfill (Solomon et al., 1985). Conflict management describes the activities in which the parties continue the conflict but adopt less extreme tactics settlement (Daniels and Walker, 2001; Montoya-Weiss Massey and Song, 2001). These theories and concepts explored from the angle of social comparison offer a fundamental psychological mechanism which informs individuals’ decisions, experiences, and actions in different disciplines. For example, Hamermesh and Soss (1974) explained the problem of suicide with the frustration-aggression theory. Hagan (1989) discussed the connections between the imposition of political power and organizationalforms in the criminal justice system with the justice theory. Mui (1992) examined caregiver strain among black and white daughter caregivers from a role theory perspective. 2.3. Social reinforcement Social reinforcement refers to experiences that people encounter all around them, such as smiles, approval, compliment, applause, and awareness for other individuals (Lieberman et al., 2001). The inforcement not only comes from an outside source, but also from internal feelings (Domjan, 2009). These studies of social reinforcement discussed five main theories which can potentially be applied to HTM studies, including the expectancy-disconfirmation theory, selectivity theory, equity theory, social exchange theory, and interdependence theory. The expectancy-disconfirmation theory is commonly known as the expectation theory. It proposes that individuals’ satisfaction/dissatisfaction is a comparative outcome between actual performance and predictive expectations (Ryzin, 2006). Selectivity theory is a life-span theory of motivation (Carstensen, 1992). The theory indicates that people become increasingly selective and invest more resources in achieving emotion-related goals and activities when they get older (Carstensen et al., 2003). Equity theory was first proposed by John Stacey Adams, a workplace and behavioral psychologist (Adams, 1963). The theory attempts to interpret relational satisfaction based on observations of fair/unfair distributions of resources among interpersonal relationships
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