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 relationshipsL. Tang / International Journal of Hospitality Management 36 (2014) 188–196 189 research in the light of social psychology theories and con￾cepts, 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 follow￾ing 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 com￾parison, (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 fol￾lowing 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 cogni￾tion 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, bal￾ance, 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). Cogni￾tive 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 elab￾oration likelihood model proposed by Petty and Cacioppo (1981, 1986) provides a framework for comprehending the cognitive pro￾cesses underlying effective persuasions (Angst and Agarwal, 2009; Manceau and Tissier-Desbordes, 2006). Attribution theory pro￾posed 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 cogni￾tion 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 likeli￾hood model to understand how people process advertising on the internet. Asmus (1986) identified the achievement motiva￾tion 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 com￾parisonofthe 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 perspec￾tive 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 pri￾marily 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 peo￾ple’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 set￾tlement (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 sys￾tem with the justice theory. Mui (1992) examined caregiver strain among black and white daughter caregivers from a role theory per￾spective. 2.3. Social reinforcement Social reinforcement refers to experiences that people encounter all around them, such as smiles, approval, compli￾ment, 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’ satis￾faction/dissatisfaction is a comparative outcome between actual performance and predictive expectations (Ryzin, 2006). Selectiv￾ity 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 the￾ory 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