Changes in emotions and their interactions with personality in a vacation context

Y. Lin, D. Kerstetter, J Nawijn, O Mitas

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

123 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine changes in specific positive and negative emotions during a vacation, as well as their interactions with personality. Using a questionnaire and diary, 39 American and Dutch vacationers' emotions high in both positivity and arousal exhibited an inverted U-shape curve, suggesting that they felt better during the second section rather than the end of their vacation. None of the negative emotions exhibited significant changes over time. When the impacts of personality on specific emotions were addressed, personality was found to determine the baseline levels of fear and sadness and moderate change in disgust across individuals' vacations. The results suggest that tourism managers and researchers must acknowledge and address the change of emotions tourists experience during a vacation and the role of personality in influencing that change.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)416-424
Number of pages9
JournalTourism Management
Volume40
Issue numberFebr.
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014

Keywords

  • Diary study
  • Emotions
  • Personality
  • Well-being

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