Research Group for Social Cognitive Studies in Tourism

Members of the research group share an interest in studying the psychology of mobility with an emphasis on the tourist experience, the perception of travel risks (e.g., food risks or terror risks) and travel worries, factors influencing sustainable travel behaviours, social encounters in tourism environments, and the experiences of people working under the “tourist gaze”. We are particularly interested in the tourism domain for studying social cognitive processes involved in peoples’ perception, judgement, and memory of social stimuli; as well as in exploring effects of social and affective factors on people’s information processing.

Group members conduct research on these processes, in the generic sense as well as in various applied areas. Examples of such applied areas include (but are not limited to) psychological responses to the threat of terror attacks, motivators and barriers for considering sustainability issues when making travel choices, and on-site consumption behaviour at the holiday destination. Increasing scientific knowledge on these topics directly informs stakeholders in the tourism industry (e.g., policy-makers, destination managers) but also provides insights into general characteristics of human cognition and behaviour.