Updating Tourism Theory

Abstract

This chapter presents a case for updating the use and development of psychological theory in tourism through an examination of the psychological stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model. The historical development and the criticism of the model has been addressed. A revised version of the model is provided based on importing new theoretical knowledge from the original discipline. This chapter argues that with an explicit focus on tourism psychology, there is some evidence to suggest that tourism theory may benefit from adopting theory from the parental discipline rather than inventing its own. Future research can address other examples of imported theories and to further examine mechanisms for this knowledge transfer and update from original disciplines relevant to the study of tourism.

Citation

Scott, N., Moyle, B., Campos, A.C., Skavronskaya, L. and Liu, B. (2024), "Updating Tourism Theory", Cognitive Psychology and Tourism (Tourism Social Science Series, Vol. 27), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 31-43. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1571-504320240000027004