The effects of childhood socialization on tourism preferences
Author: Magnus Sandberg
1 Commentries
Abstract: This paper discusses how socialization could explain our tourism preferences. By combining studies in tourism, psychology and sociology it observes that there are potential conclusions to be made in terms of how socialization is a significant factor in the process of shaping our preferences in tourism.
Keywords: socialization, tourism preferences, behavior, education, experience.
Have you ever thought of why we make the choices we do in tourism; why some people prefer to travel to destinations with cultural heritage and visit museums while others prefer to go where the sun shines the brightest and where the longest beaches are located? It may seem to be a case of rational and active choice wherever we decide to travel, but could it be that our preferences are factors of experiences earlier in life which influence us subconsciously? Studies in psychology and sociology have already shown that childhood socialization creates a foundation of characteristics in humans and can have an impact on behavior even in adulthood.
Socialization refers to "the ways in which individuals learn skills, knowledge, values, motives, and roles appropriate to their position in a group or society" and sociologists identify two stages in socialization, the primary and the secondary. Many researchers suggest that it is the primary socialization is the process in which our fundamentals are learned, this includes preferences and behavior.
So how are these fundamentals learned and what effect could this socialization have on our choices in tourism? Most researchers within the subject agree on that there are a few agents in socialization which are significantly more influential than others; family, school, peer groups and mass media, where as parents are considered the most constant force of influence. You might be questioning however these agents really can be successful in creating impressions strong enough to result in preferences regarding tourism lasting long enough to be adopted into adult life? Children learn about travel modes in the same way as they learn about other aspects of culture, namely through these key agents of socialization. A researcher interviewed children and collected enough data to show that if you grow up in a household which uses a car frequently, you are more prone to be car-dependent as an adult than if you're raised in a car-free household. A similar research showed that many children associate different modes of transport with different levels of prestige, that cars such as Porsche and BMW are cars you can drive if you are successful, and that old people go by bus. Could it be possible that these types of associations can occur in the tourism aspect as well? And most importantly, where does the influence come from. Could it be that in mass media some brands or destinations are advertised as exclusive and that children pick up on this and create subconscious preferences for these?
If you ask yourself; what types of tourism destinations do I prefer, and is there anything in my childhood that could explain this preference? I am certain you can come to think of at least one link between your socialization experiences and your present preferences. It doesn't have to be that you adopted a traditional type of destination from your family vacations, if you have bad memories from them or if you feel you have a great strive to be autonomous, it might be that you have developed preferences that can be explained as antitheses of your earlier experience.
There's an interesting debate ongoing on how education influence our behavior and preferences in tourism. It's argued that people who are more educated prefer tourism destinations with cultural heritage where they can learn new things rather than the typical sun, beach and party destinations. However there are researchers agreeing on that if you can stimulate students into developing an autonomous strive for learning, they will take this with them to other areas than school, such as tourism. And it can be argued that the more educated you are, the more motivation you have to learn new things, the question is whether you developed this motivation, or strive for knowledge during your time as a student or whether your strive for knowledge is what made you want to educate yourself.
We always have to be careful and not jump to conclusions thinking that correlations automatically imply a cause-effect relationship. We do not know the exact effect of socialization on our tourism preferences, but I do think we have enough supporting research to conclude that there is an effect, and that it has potential to be a significant factor in shaping our preferences in tourism. So what do you think shapes your tourism preferences?
Three key references:
Baslington, H. (2008). Travel socialization: A social theory of travel mode behavior. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 2, 91-114.
Correa-Chávez, M., Silva, K. G., & Rogoff B. (2010). Mexican-Heritage Children's Attention and Learning From Interactions Directed to Others. Child Development, 81(3), 898-912.
Grbich, C. (1990). Socialisation and Social Change: A Critique of Three Positions. The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 41, No. 4 (Dec., 1990), 517-530.
Keywords: socialization, tourism preferences, behavior, education, experience.
Have you ever thought of why we make the choices we do in tourism; why some people prefer to travel to destinations with cultural heritage and visit museums while others prefer to go where the sun shines the brightest and where the longest beaches are located? It may seem to be a case of rational and active choice wherever we decide to travel, but could it be that our preferences are factors of experiences earlier in life which influence us subconsciously? Studies in psychology and sociology have already shown that childhood socialization creates a foundation of characteristics in humans and can have an impact on behavior even in adulthood.
Socialization refers to "the ways in which individuals learn skills, knowledge, values, motives, and roles appropriate to their position in a group or society" and sociologists identify two stages in socialization, the primary and the secondary. Many researchers suggest that it is the primary socialization is the process in which our fundamentals are learned, this includes preferences and behavior.
So how are these fundamentals learned and what effect could this socialization have on our choices in tourism? Most researchers within the subject agree on that there are a few agents in socialization which are significantly more influential than others; family, school, peer groups and mass media, where as parents are considered the most constant force of influence. You might be questioning however these agents really can be successful in creating impressions strong enough to result in preferences regarding tourism lasting long enough to be adopted into adult life? Children learn about travel modes in the same way as they learn about other aspects of culture, namely through these key agents of socialization. A researcher interviewed children and collected enough data to show that if you grow up in a household which uses a car frequently, you are more prone to be car-dependent as an adult than if you're raised in a car-free household. A similar research showed that many children associate different modes of transport with different levels of prestige, that cars such as Porsche and BMW are cars you can drive if you are successful, and that old people go by bus. Could it be possible that these types of associations can occur in the tourism aspect as well? And most importantly, where does the influence come from. Could it be that in mass media some brands or destinations are advertised as exclusive and that children pick up on this and create subconscious preferences for these?
If you ask yourself; what types of tourism destinations do I prefer, and is there anything in my childhood that could explain this preference? I am certain you can come to think of at least one link between your socialization experiences and your present preferences. It doesn't have to be that you adopted a traditional type of destination from your family vacations, if you have bad memories from them or if you feel you have a great strive to be autonomous, it might be that you have developed preferences that can be explained as antitheses of your earlier experience.
There's an interesting debate ongoing on how education influence our behavior and preferences in tourism. It's argued that people who are more educated prefer tourism destinations with cultural heritage where they can learn new things rather than the typical sun, beach and party destinations. However there are researchers agreeing on that if you can stimulate students into developing an autonomous strive for learning, they will take this with them to other areas than school, such as tourism. And it can be argued that the more educated you are, the more motivation you have to learn new things, the question is whether you developed this motivation, or strive for knowledge during your time as a student or whether your strive for knowledge is what made you want to educate yourself.
We always have to be careful and not jump to conclusions thinking that correlations automatically imply a cause-effect relationship. We do not know the exact effect of socialization on our tourism preferences, but I do think we have enough supporting research to conclude that there is an effect, and that it has potential to be a significant factor in shaping our preferences in tourism. So what do you think shapes your tourism preferences?
Three key references:
Baslington, H. (2008). Travel socialization: A social theory of travel mode behavior. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 2, 91-114.
Correa-Chávez, M., Silva, K. G., & Rogoff B. (2010). Mexican-Heritage Children's Attention and Learning From Interactions Directed to Others. Child Development, 81(3), 898-912.
Grbich, C. (1990). Socialisation and Social Change: A Critique of Three Positions. The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 41, No. 4 (Dec., 1990), 517-530.