Positive Psychology and Tourism

Abstract

While quality-of-life can be understood from philosophical, sociological, marketing management and other standpoints, all of which are applicable to tourism (Sirgy et al. 2006) , research from psychology could embellish current understandings of tourism and quality-of-life. This chapter describes the rise of the fi eld of positive psychology, a study of well-being in psychology (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi 2000) , and highlights its linkages and value to tourism. To understand the relationship between positive psychology and tourism as part of this volume on quality-of-life, it is appropriate to fi rst consider how positive psychology relates to the concept of quality-of-life. Sociologist and social psychologist Ruut Veenhoven has dedicated his long research career to understanding quality-of-life issues (Veenhoven 2010). The fi rst question Veenhoven suggests we ask is: Quality of what life is being investigated? The object of evaluation is life, and this could be an individual life (the quality-of-life of a tourist) or quality-of-life (QOL) on an aggregate level (the quality-of-life of groups of tourists). QOL does also not always refer to human life. It is used for animals, for example, in discussions about conditions of cattle slaughter (Veenhoven 2000). If, however, the focus is on understanding the quality of individual human lives, the goal should be to explore what specifi c qualities are implied by the term quality. Veenhoven's (2000) conceptualisation of the quality-of-life is summarised in Table 3.1. Veenhoven refers to multiple human life qualities which can be ordered on the basis of two distinctions. The fi rst distinction is between opportunities and the outcomes of life. He explains: '…a relevant distinction is between opportunities for a good life and the good life itself. This is the difference between potentiality and actuality. I refer to this as life chances and life results' (2000 , p. 4). The second distinction he makes in defi ning quality-of-life is between outer and inner qualities of life. The outer quality relates to the environment and the inner to the individual. This distinction between inner and outer is also made by Lane (1994) and Musschenga (1994). Lane differentiates between the quality of society and quality of a person. Similarly, Musschenga argues that the quality of the conditions for living is not the same as the quality of being human.