The Effects of Social Influence and Cognitive Dissonance on Travel Purchase Decisions

Theories of social influence (Crano 2000) and cognitive dissonance (Festinger 1957) have clear applicability to travel purchases, but have rarely been investigated in hospitality research. An experimental study of students’ travel decisions for a spring break vacation was conducted. Subjects chose b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of travel research Vol. 54; no. 5; pp. 596 - 610
Main Authors Tanford, Sarah, Montgomery, Rhonda
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.09.2015
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Consumer attitudes
Decision making
Hospitality industry
Studies
Travel
Vacations
cognitive dissonance
minority influence
social influence
sustainability
travel purchases
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Summary:Theories of social influence (Crano 2000) and cognitive dissonance (Festinger 1957) have clear applicability to travel purchases, but have rarely been investigated in hospitality research. An experimental study of students’ travel decisions for a spring break vacation was conducted. Subjects chose between a green and nongreen resort in a 2 × 3 experimental design that manipulated social influence (majority, minority, none) and pro-environmental attitudes (high or low). Social influence was in the form of traveler reviews that were either favorable or unfavorable. Postdecision dissonance and dissonance reduction tactics were measured. Subjects were less likely to choose a green resort when a minority of reviews favored that resort. Subjects with strong pro-environmental attitudes experienced dissonance when making a nongreen choice in this situation. Consistent with dissonance theory predictions, people evaluated the chosen resort more favorably than the alternative. They sought out more favorable information about the resort when they experienced dissonance.
ISSN:0047-2875
1552-6763
DOI:10.1177/0047287514528287