6 then linked to tourist characteristics.As the detailed work on the tapestry of tourist motives evolves,contemporary work on motivation patterns may identify common staged or sequential patterns closely aligned to Cohen's formulation. Destination choices One way,but not the only way,of integrating travel motivation studies into other aspects of tourism research lies in connecting the motivation models and patterns to destination choice studies.There are many kinds of travel decisions and choices including selecting transport,accommodation and activity options.In more recent times the advent of consumer referral and evaluation systems,including popular internet sites such as TripAdvisor,have stimulated researchers'interest in tourists within-destination choices.Nevertheless,the overriding historical concern of tourism researchers has been in destination image and selection(March Woodside,2005; Pike,2002).Two broadly similar models,that of Um and Crompton(1990)and Woodside and Lysonski(1989)have dominated the field.These approaches and their derivatives systematically pursue a highly rational,choice set based,sequential process.This process consists of tourists supposedly engaging in an orderly sorting of alternatives,refining and filtering the options according to individual motives and the tourists'personal circumstances,and ultimately selecting the one final destination. The approach implicitly leans on the structured,orderly choice model of decision making summarised in earlier cognition and social psychology studies by Janis and Mann(1973)】 Goldstein(2011)reports more up-to-date work in cognition which reveals that the nature of decision making and the processes it involves are powerfully affected by how problems are presented.In some circumstances individuals will be rational and follow logical routes while in others a range of biases and emotion-charged heuristics will be employed.The application of the heuristics approach to decision making can be illustrated by considering accommodation choices linked to TripAdvisor.How are the comments read?Do would-be accommodation users follow a carefully structured elimination process built on rational consideration of the available options?Or do they glance at the first two or three comments and search for a heuristic such as a really negative comment which overpowers all the others? The potential answers to these questions are being worked out in the consumer behaviour and tourism studies literature and are beginning to involve the use of tourist motivation perspectives to illuminate the process (e.g.Yoo Gretzel,2008;Zhang, Pan,Smith,Li,2008).Motivation patterns provide the value and importance to the weightings of risk that tourists make in using information.The operation of availability heuristics(existing and recent knowledge)and representativeness heuristics(tried routines)seem to figure in some tourists'decisions and play a role in the emotional input into choices (De Martino,Kumaran,Seymour,Dolan,2006). These influences interact with the rational processes that are the focus of approaches such as expected utility theory,the approach which has underpinned most tourism models of destination decision making (Goldstein,2011). Despite these beginnings,a fully adequate link between understanding motives theoretically and applying them to destination choice models and problems has not yet been developed.Much of the tourism industry and applied literature uses features of the destination as de facto motives and while this contradicts the proper definition of motives as inherently push factors,there is a need to construct more bridges between these kinds of applied inquiries into motives and choices and the more formal academic literature
6 then linked to tourist characteristics. As the detailed work on the tapestry of tourist motives evolves, contemporary work on motivation patterns may identify common staged or sequential patterns closely aligned to Cohen’s formulation. Destination choices One way, but not the only way, of integrating travel motivation studies into other aspects of tourism research lies in connecting the motivation models and patterns to destination choice studies. There are many kinds of travel decisions and choices including selecting transport, accommodation and activity options. In more recent times the advent of consumer referral and evaluation systems, including popular internet sites such as TripAdvisor, have stimulated researchers’ interest in tourists’ within-destination choices. Nevertheless, the overriding historical concern of tourism researchers has been in destination image and selection (March & Woodside, 2005; Pike, 2002). Two broadly similar models, that of Um and Crompton (1990) and Woodside and Lysonski (1989) have dominated the field. These approaches and their derivatives systematically pursue a highly rational, choice set based, sequential process. This process consists of tourists supposedly engaging in an orderly sorting of alternatives, refining and filtering the options according to individual motives and the tourists’ personal circumstances, and ultimately selecting the one final destination. The approach implicitly leans on the structured, orderly choice model of decision making summarised in earlier cognition and social psychology studies by Janis and Mann (1973). Goldstein (2011) reports more up-to-date work in cognition which reveals that the nature of decision making and the processes it involves are powerfully affected by how problems are presented. In some circumstances individuals will be rational and follow logical routes while in others a range of biases and emotion-charged heuristics will be employed. The application of the heuristics approach to decision making can be illustrated by considering accommodation choices linked to TripAdvisor. How are the comments read? Do would-be accommodation users follow a carefully structured elimination process built on rational consideration of the available options? Or do they glance at the first two or three comments and search for a heuristic such as a really negative comment which overpowers all the others? The potential answers to these questions are being worked out in the consumer behaviour and tourism studies literature and are beginning to involve the use of tourist motivation perspectives to illuminate the process (e.g. Yoo & Gretzel, 2008; Zhang, Pan, Smith, & Li, 2008). Motivation patterns provide the value and importance to the weightings of risk that tourists make in using information. The operation of availability heuristics (existing and recent knowledge) and representativeness heuristics (tried routines) seem to figure in some tourists’ decisions and play a role in the emotional input into choices (De Martino, Kumaran, Seymour, & Dolan, 2006). These influences interact with the rational processes that are the focus of approaches such as expected utility theory, the approach which has underpinned most tourism models of destination decision making (Goldstein, 2011). Despite these beginnings, a fully adequate link between understanding motives theoretically and applying them to destination choice models and problems has not yet been developed. Much of the tourism industry and applied literature uses features of the destination as de facto motives and while this contradicts the proper definition of motives as inherently push factors, there is a need to construct more bridges between these kinds of applied inquiries into motives and choices and the more formal academic literature
7 ATTITUDES AND SATISFACTION New directions in attitude research Some human behaviours have a predominantly instinctual or fixed biological basis; breathing,coughing,laughing,salivating,and becoming sexually aroused are only partially under conscious control.Much other human behaviour is assumed to be reliant on the operation and influence of a"mental or neural state of readiness. organised through experience,exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individual's response to all objects and situations with which it is related"(Allport, 1935:799).These states are attitudes.The long history of attitude research in psychology has seen several shifts of emphasis but there is continuing agreement that attitudes have an affective or evaluative component,a cognitive or knowledge based dimension and an implicit behavioural link(Furnham,2008;McGuire,1986).Unlike motives,attitudes are not so much drivers of behaviour but subtle summaries,shapers and modifiers of behavioural directions. The assessment of attitudes in tourism study is the basis of much research activity. There are appraisals of tourists'attitudes to destinations(e.g.,Litvin MacLaurin, 2001;Nadeau,Heslop,O'Reilly Luk,2008;Um and Crompton,1990)and tourism products(e.g.,Chang,Kivela Mak,2010;MacKay Campbell,2004;Park and Gretzel,2011).There are also traditions of assessing attitudes to the people tourists encounter while travelling (e.g.,Anastasopoulos,1992;Nyaupane,Teye Paris, 2008;Uriely Reichel,2000).In turn,studies of residents'attitudes to tourists occupy considerable space in the pages of tourism journals and monographs(e.g., Jurowski Gursoy,2004;Lindberg Johnson,1997;Vargas-Sanchez,Porras-Bueno, Plaza-Mejia,2011;Ward Berno,2011).A caveat about knowing what has been borrowed and how that study topic may be changing was delivered in the introduction to this paper.Such a caution is of particular relevance to the theme of attitudes The issues of interest can be developed by exploring some of the history of,and fundamental challenges to attitude research.In an early phase of attitude research in psychology-a period both pre-dating and flowing from Allport's definition-there was much emphasis on how to measure attitudes.The Likert and Thurstone scales used in much attitude research derive from this period in the 1930s and were developed through studies of soldiers'attitudes,work concerned with racial prejudice and reactions to the introduction of television in the 1950s and 1960s(Oppenheim, 1966:Sellitz,Jahoda,Deutsch Cook,1959).Studies of the relationships between attitudes and behaviour,followed by concerns with how to influence behaviour through persuasive communication(built largely on the much cited Reasoned Action model of Fishbein and Ajzen,1975 and its subsequent development,Ajzen's 1991 Theory of Planned Behaviour)were major steps in the trajectory of attitude work These traditions continue but have been relocated to some extent by an integration of attitude studies into the broad social cognition field which deals with how information is processed.Howarth(2006)characterises this approach as a view of human beings as "thinking machines".Importantly,there is now a pervasive interest in dual processing approaches to understanding such thinking,much of which is relevant to attitude analysis.In essence it is frequently argued that attitudes can be developed in one of two ways,the first is by deep processing or mindfulness and the second by
7 ATTITUDES AND SATISFACTION New directions in attitude research Some human behaviours have a predominantly instinctual or fixed biological basis; breathing, coughing, laughing, salivating, and becoming sexually aroused are only partially under conscious control. Much other human behaviour is assumed to be reliant on the operation and influence of a “mental or neural state of readiness, organised through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individual’s response to all objects and situations with which it is related” (Allport, 1935: 799). These states are attitudes. The long history of attitude research in psychology has seen several shifts of emphasis but there is continuing agreement that attitudes have an affective or evaluative component, a cognitive or knowledge based dimension and an implicit behavioural link (Furnham, 2008; McGuire, 1986). Unlike motives, attitudes are not so much drivers of behaviour but subtle summaries, shapers and modifiers of behavioural directions. The assessment of attitudes in tourism study is the basis of much research activity. There are appraisals of tourists’ attitudes to destinations (e.g., Litvin & MacLaurin, 2001; Nadeau, Heslop, O’Reilly & Luk, 2008; Um and Crompton, 1990) and tourism products (e.g., Chang, Kivela & Mak, 2010; MacKay & Campbell, 2004; Park and Gretzel, 2011). There are also traditions of assessing attitudes to the people tourists encounter while travelling (e.g., Anastasopoulos, 1992; Nyaupane, Teye & Paris, 2008; Uriely & Reichel, 2000). In turn, studies of residents’ attitudes to tourists occupy considerable space in the pages of tourism journals and monographs (e.g., Jurowski & Gursoy, 2004; Lindberg & Johnson, 1997; Vargas-Sánchez, Porras-Bueno, & Plaza-Mejía, 2011; Ward & Berno, 2011). A caveat about knowing what has been borrowed and how that study topic may be changing was delivered in the introduction to this paper. Such a caution is of particular relevance to the theme of attitudes. The issues of interest can be developed by exploring some of the history of, and fundamental challenges to attitude research. In an early phase of attitude research in psychology – a period both pre-dating and flowing from Allport’s definition – there was much emphasis on how to measure attitudes. The Likert and Thurstone scales used in much attitude research derive from this period in the 1930s and were developed through studies of soldiers’ attitudes, work concerned with racial prejudice and reactions to the introduction of television in the 1950s and 1960s (Oppenheim, 1966; Sellitz, Jahoda, Deutsch & Cook, 1959). Studies of the relationships between attitudes and behaviour, followed by concerns with how to influence behaviour through persuasive communication (built largely on the much cited Reasoned Action model of Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975 and its subsequent development, Ajzen’s 1991 Theory of Planned Behaviour) were major steps in the trajectory of attitude work. These traditions continue but have been relocated to some extent by an integration of attitude studies into the broad social cognition field which deals with how information is processed. Howarth (2006) characterises this approach as a view of human beings as “thinking machines”. Importantly, there is now a pervasive interest in dual processing approaches to understanding such thinking, much of which is relevant to attitude analysis. In essence it is frequently argued that attitudes can be developed in one of two ways, the first is by deep processing or mindfulness and the second by
8 shallow processing or mindlessness (Langer 1989,2009).There are other terms for these two pathways including the Elaboration Likelihood Model(Petty Cacioppo 1986)and two systems approach(Kahneman,2011)but at core,one route provides well learned and accessible recall of information and perspectives while the other involves a ready acceptance of information which later may not be recalled or employed.Further attention to the specifics of the dual processing approach will be pursued in a later section on memory(Smith DeCoster,2000). Much of the development of these directions in attitude research occurred in North America.A largely European re-assessment of the cross-Atlantic work has been growing in recent decades.The challenge to existing approaches is fuelled by the limited success of linking attitudes and behaviour and the modest outcomes of persuasive communication efforts.The European researchers have been led in particular by those espousing a social representations framework(Farr and Moscovici. 1984:Moscovici,1990).In this view it is not sufficient to describe the content of attitudes and how they might develop or change solely at the individual level because they must be explained in relation to the social world in which the individual moves (Jahoda,1992;Moscovici,1990).The move amounts to a re-direction of attitude research emphasising the socially shared nature of people's summary and anticipatory responses and directing attention to,for example,racist talk and discourse rather than racist attitudes(Augoustinous Reynolds,2001;Wetherell Potter,1992).The approach is able to handle contradictory attitudes (or at least differences in attitudes expressed in survey responses as opposed to those expressed in conversation)and provides a strong basis for researchers to re-engage in critical commentary regarding issues of power and social justice.Such critical commentary tends to be marginalised when working within the strongly individualist tradition that treats people only as thinking machines The implications for tourism study may be developed as follows.Tourism researchers have arguably lost the dynamic,performative and communication dependent character of attitudes by reducing their assessment to tables of means derived from Likert scale responses(Crang,1997;Moore,2002).It can be suggested, following the recent reviews of the term,that the attitudes tourists hold towards the people and places visited are not fixed and standard entities but shifting,socially negotiated communications.Such exchanges are highly dependent on to whom tourists are speaking,the context of the conversation and its implications.In this sense attitudes and the values they represent are context dependent and contain insights about the people who trade these reactions. It has of course been convenient in psychology and tourism studies to be able to measure attitudes in numerical terms and to use these measures to develop a statistically based understanding of the patterns and forces shaping attitude change (cf. Pizam Mansfeld,2000).The recurring criticism here though is that this approach has been less effective in stimulating thought about the ways in which people acquire their views,present their attitudes and influence others.It is possible therefore to suggest ways in which the current work can be supplemented. A focus on the storytelling of tourists represents one way to conceive of this more social,communication linked role of attitudes(cf.Woodside,Cruikshank Dehuang, 2007).Many researchers are now suggesting that the concept of narrative or storytelling can be seen as central to the tourist experience(Guthrie Anderson
8 shallow processing or mindlessness (Langer 1989, 2009). There are other terms for these two pathways including the Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986) and two systems approach (Kahneman, 2011) but at core, one route provides well learned and accessible recall of information and perspectives while the other involves a ready acceptance of information which later may not be recalled or employed. Further attention to the specifics of the dual processing approach will be pursued in a later section on memory (Smith & DeCoster, 2000). Much of the development of these directions in attitude research occurred in North America. A largely European re-assessment of the cross-Atlantic work has been growing in recent decades. The challenge to existing approaches is fuelled by the limited success of linking attitudes and behaviour and the modest outcomes of persuasive communication efforts. The European researchers have been led in particular by those espousing a social representations framework (Farr and Moscovici, 1984; Moscovici, 1990). In this view it is not sufficient to describe the content of attitudes and how they might develop or change solely at the individual level because they must be explained in relation to the social world in which the individual moves (Jahoda, 1992; Moscovici, 1990). The move amounts to a re-direction of attitude research emphasising the socially shared nature of people’s summary and anticipatory responses and directing attention to, for example, racist talk and discourse rather than racist attitudes (Augoustinous & Reynolds, 2001; Wetherell & Potter, 1992). The approach is able to handle contradictory attitudes (or at least differences in attitudes expressed in survey responses as opposed to those expressed in conversation) and provides a strong basis for researchers to re-engage in critical commentary regarding issues of power and social justice. Such critical commentary tends to be marginalised when working within the strongly individualist tradition that treats people only as thinking machines. The implications for tourism study may be developed as follows. Tourism researchers have arguably lost the dynamic, performative and communication dependent character of attitudes by reducing their assessment to tables of means derived from Likert scale responses (Crang, 1997; Moore, 2002). It can be suggested, following the recent reviews of the term, that the attitudes tourists hold towards the people and places visited are not fixed and standard entities but shifting, socially negotiated communications. Such exchanges are highly dependent on to whom tourists are speaking, the context of the conversation and its implications. In this sense attitudes and the values they represent are context dependent and contain insights about the people who trade these reactions. It has of course been convenient in psychology and tourism studies to be able to measure attitudes in numerical terms and to use these measures to develop a statistically based understanding of the patterns and forces shaping attitude change (cf. Pizam & Mansfeld, 2000). The recurring criticism here though is that this approach has been less effective in stimulating thought about the ways in which people acquire their views, present their attitudes and influence others. It is possible therefore to suggest ways in which the current work can be supplemented. A focus on the storytelling of tourists represents one way to conceive of this more social, communication linked role of attitudes (cf. Woodside, Cruikshank & Dehuang, 2007). Many researchers are now suggesting that the concept of narrative or storytelling can be seen as central to the tourist experience (Guthrie & Anderson
9 2010;Moscardo,2010;Noy,2004).Stories are effective summaries of the tourists' encounters.They are packaged and delivered to others in discrete units to suit particular time frames and circumstances.Attitudes lie entangled within these narratives which draw on the broader concept of social representations;that is our everyday socially influenced theories about how the world works.Some narratives are distilled attitudes in the sense that they crystallise and highlight the positive and negative critical encounters which constitute an important part of holiday taking (Pritchard Havitz,2006).Importantly travel stories are often told more than once and in the telling and re-telling they form a solid data unit in the individual's memory store.In the re-telling process the actual people and encounters are re-imaged and re- imagined and take on the special character of central components of representations. When seen in this way attitudes derived from travel experiences are more than sets of evaluative responses to structured question formats;they are packages of information which are traded in daily life.The approach here can be seen as supplementing the standard attitude research.The latter is still of value in identifying some of what people think and experience but can benefit from newer work tracing how these perspectives are derived,communicated and updated to fit in with the commerce of social information exchange.Additional links to the nature of memory and the way information is processed and stored will be considered in a later section of this review. New dimensions in satisfaction research Studies of satisfaction in tourism represent one use of the more traditional approaches to attitudes.The work is valuable but there are ways to refresh the quality of what tourism researchers do.Ryan(2000)suggests that there are so many studies of satisfaction in the consumer behaviour literature that it would be an act of insanity or megalomania to try to review them.Potentially ignoring such advice,Bowen and Clarke(2009)do bravely provide a review of the tourism satisfaction literature which summarises both much earlier work and industry practices.Their conclusion suggests some new directions for satisfaction studies.The remarks echo earlier comments by Kozak(2001)and Pearce(2005).Bowen and Clarke conclude their review under the heading "Satisfaction is not enough"and observe: "Despite the voluminous academic writings on the subject of satisfaction and the industry obsession with satisfaction scores,perhaps it is time to think more closely about what satisfaction means in day to day conversation(something that is OK)- and figure out another more suitable term to capture what tourists truly seek"(2009: 155) The comment is timely but it is not simply a matter of finding another term.For researchers interested in the development of this area,seven challenges can be highlighted.The first and foremost issue is to recognise exactly what is meant by satisfaction.A return to mainstream psychology is again instructive at this point Within psychology satisfaction has no particular role or status as a concept.The derivation of the term in tourism research is via consumer behaviour studies and the roots of that approach are simply making an evaluative assessment of an item,good or service (Argyriou Melewar,2011;Schwarz,2006).This evaluative emphasis locates satisfaction assessment within the mainstream traditions of individual attitudes which have already been considered.Satisfaction as studied in tourism and much consumer behaviour is a specific type of attitude,one which occurs in a post-purchase or post-consumption time frame.Importantly,the interpretation of satisfaction as an
9 2010; Moscardo, 2010; Noy, 2004). Stories are effective summaries of the tourists’ encounters. They are packaged and delivered to others in discrete units to suit particular time frames and circumstances. Attitudes lie entangled within these narratives which draw on the broader concept of social representations; that is our everyday socially influenced theories about how the world works. Some narratives are distilled attitudes in the sense that they crystallise and highlight the positive and negative critical encounters which constitute an important part of holiday taking (Pritchard & Havitz, 2006). Importantly travel stories are often told more than once and in the telling and re-telling they form a solid data unit in the individual’s memory store. In the re-telling process the actual people and encounters are re-imaged and reimagined and take on the special character of central components of representations. When seen in this way attitudes derived from travel experiences are more than sets of evaluative responses to structured question formats; they are packages of information which are traded in daily life. The approach here can be seen as supplementing the standard attitude research. The latter is still of value in identifying some of what people think and experience but can benefit from newer work tracing how these perspectives are derived, communicated and updated to fit in with the commerce of social information exchange. Additional links to the nature of memory and the way information is processed and stored will be considered in a later section of this review. New dimensions in satisfaction research Studies of satisfaction in tourism represent one use of the more traditional approaches to attitudes. The work is valuable but there are ways to refresh the quality of what tourism researchers do. Ryan (2000) suggests that there are so many studies of satisfaction in the consumer behaviour literature that it would be an act of insanity or megalomania to try to review them. Potentially ignoring such advice, Bowen and Clarke (2009) do bravely provide a review of the tourism satisfaction literature which summarises both much earlier work and industry practices. Their conclusion suggests some new directions for satisfaction studies. The remarks echo earlier comments by Kozak (2001) and Pearce (2005). Bowen and Clarke conclude their review under the heading “Satisfaction is not enough” and observe: “Despite the voluminous academic writings on the subject of satisfaction and the industry obsession with satisfaction scores, perhaps it is time to think more closely about what satisfaction means in day to day conversation (something that is OK) – and figure out another more suitable term to capture what tourists truly seek” ( 2009: 155). The comment is timely but it is not simply a matter of finding another term. For researchers interested in the development of this area, seven challenges can be highlighted. The first and foremost issue is to recognise exactly what is meant by satisfaction. A return to mainstream psychology is again instructive at this point. Within psychology satisfaction has no particular role or status as a concept. The derivation of the term in tourism research is via consumer behaviour studies and the roots of that approach are simply making an evaluative assessment of an item, good or service (Argyriou & Melewar, 2011; Schwarz, 2006). This evaluative emphasis locates satisfaction assessment within the mainstream traditions of individual attitudes which have already been considered. Satisfaction as studied in tourism and much consumer behaviour is a specific type of attitude, one which occurs in a post-purchase or post-consumption time frame. Importantly, the interpretation of satisfaction as an