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Low Versus High Sensation‐seeking Tourists: a Study of Backpackers' Experience Risk Perception
Author(s) -
Fuchs Galia
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
international journal of tourism research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.155
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1522-1970
pISSN - 1099-2340
DOI - 10.1002/jtr.878
Subject(s) - sensation seeking , psychology , trait , perception , personality , social psychology , risk perception , big five personality traits , sensation , seekers , tourism , geography , political science , neuroscience , computer science , law , programming language , archaeology
ABSTRACT This study investigates the relationships between the personality trait of sensation seeking and backpackers' risk perceptions by relying on a survey of 579 Israeli students who experienced backpacking. Some of the findings suggest that sensation seeking and travel risk perceptions are negatively correlated. For example, backpackers who were characterized as high social stimulus seekers were less concerned with socially oriented threats, such as crowded and commercialized places. However, other findings indicate that the relationships between the two concepts are more complex and might not be negatively correlated. For instance, the findings also indicate that the respondents were concerned about risks they were most likely to confront, given their anticipated behavior and nature of experiences that might be determined by their personality trait of sensation seeking. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.