ANOMIE,EGO-ENHANCEMENT AND TOURISM ANOMIE,EGO-ENHANCEMENT,AND FANTASY From the above descriptions of anomie and ego-enhancement,it should be clear that not only does travel represent the fulfillment of certain basic needs in the potential tourist,but that in so doing it offers him an alternative world to that in which he daily lives.It can be argued,for instance,that in the monotomy of suburbia,the faceless city or the public village,life only becomes tolerable with the thought that there are chances of periodic escape from such an existence,and that travel provides the ideal outles.Additionally,however,travel has the advantage of permitting the traveller to behave in a manner normally circumvented by the dictates of convention. When on holiday the tourist can overstep the bounds of fashion,tell a few stories normally deemed improper or inappropriate,wear flashy clothes,eat exotic food, get drunk,become more sexually permissive,alter his timetable,stay up half the night,listen to loud local music,etc.,in short,indulge in those kinds of behavior generally frowned upon in his home environment.The possibility of actually doing what he wishes in his world of travel,surely underlies that essentially such a world is one of fantasy,for fantasy is a wish or desire,expressive of a need,which cannot be fulfilled in terms of current role expectations,but which is capable of defining situa- tions once these role expectations,or the circumstances in which they are found,have been modified or removed.Related to anomie,the fantasy world of travel seeks to overcome the humdrum,the normlessness and meaninglessness of life,with more satisfying experiences.As regards ego-enhancement,travel presents the tourist with the opportu- nity to boost his ego in acting out an alien personality.Just what sub-types of fantasy are associated with anomie and ego-enhancement has been treated elsewhere.3 ANOMIE AND EGO-ENHANCEMENT PUT TO THE EMPIRICAL TEST Interspersed throughout the interview schedule were several items,which,when clustered,formed two scales,one indicative of anomie,the other of ego-enhancement. In the analysis of the data,a correlation matrix for each scale was computed and the following points noted:First,in each scale there was strong positive association among all items,Application of an F-test revealed all correlations to be significant at the 0.001 level.Second,further intercorrelation between anomie and ego-enhancement items either yielded weak or negative coefficients,thereby indicating the independence of the two sets of items.Third,calculation of the mean inter-item correlation for each item in the two scales demostrated no significant weakness of any one item.Consequent- ly there was no need for item deletion.Finally,the mean inter-item correlation for each scale was computed and from these two figures alpha coefficients of reliability calculated.The anomie scale yielded an alpha value of 0.86.For the ego-enhancement scale an alpha value of 0.804 was recorded.A degree of confidence in the two scales concerning their inherent reliability was therefore obtained.For a discussion of theoreti- cal validity,however,it is necessary to examine each of the items separately. 188 ANNALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH,Mar/Apr77ANOMIE, EGO--ENHANCEMENT AND TOURISM ANOMIE, EGO-ENHANCEMENT, AND FANTASY From the above descriptions of anomie and ego-enhancement, it should be clear that not only does travel represent the fulf'lllment of certain basic needs in the potential tourist, but that in so doing it offers him an alternative world to that in which he daily lives. It can be argued, for instance, that in the monotomy of suburbia, the faceless city or the public village, life only becomes tolerable with the thought that there are chances of periodic escape from such an existence, and that travel provides the ideal outles. Additionally, however, travel has the advantage of permitting the traveller to behave in a manner normally circumvented by the dictates of convention. When on holiday the tourist can overstep the bounds of fashion, tell a few stories normally deemed improper or inappropriate, wear flashy clothes, eat exotic food, get drunk, become more sexually permissive, alter his timetable, stay up half the night, listen to loud local music, etc., in short, indulge in those kinds of behavior generally frowned upon in his home environment. The possibility of actually doing what he wishes in his world of travel, surely underlies that essentially such a world is one of fantasy, for fantasy is a wish or desire, expressive of a need, which cannot be fulfilled in terms of current role expectations, but which is capable of defining situa￾tions once these role expectations, or the circumstances in which they are found, have been modified or removed. Related to anomie, the fantasy world of travel seeks to overcome the humdrum, the normlessness and meaninglessness of life, with more satisfying experiences. As regards ego-enhancement, travel presents the tourist with the opportu￾nity to boost his ego in acting out an alien personality. Just what sub-types of fantasy are associated with anomie and ego-enhancement has been treated elsewhere. 3 ANOMIE AND EGO-ENHANCEMENT PUT TO THE EMPIRICAL TEST Interspersed throughout the interview schedule were several items, which, when clustered, formed two scales, one indicative of anomie, the other of ego-enhancement. In the analysis of the data, a correlation matrix for each scale was computed and the following points noted: First, in each scale there was strong positive association among all items, Application of an F-test revealed all correlations to be significant at the 0.001 level. Second, further intercorrelation between anomie and ego-enhancement items either yielded weak or negative coefficients, thereby indicating the independence of the two sets of items. Third, calculation of the mean inter-item correlation for each item in the two scales demostrated no significant weakness of any one item. Consequent￾ly there was no need for item deletion. Finally, the mean inter-item, correlation for each scale was computed and from these two figures alpha coefficients 8 of reliability calculated. The anomie scale yielded an alpha value of 0.86. For the ego-enhancement scale an alpha value of 0.804 was recorded. A degree of confidence in the two scales concerning their inherent reliability was therefore obtained. For a discussion of theoreti￾cal validity, however, it is necessary to examine each of the items separately. 188 ANNALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Mar/Apr '77