Author(s): Jonah Brooks, Maria Bailey, Malia Ditto
Mentor(s): Peter Ward
Institution BYU
This study explores how novelty, challenge, and positive emotion affected self-expansion in a tourism context. The self-expansion framework refers to increasing one’s sense of self through broadening perspectives and engaging in novel activities. Tourism often combines these three factors, and studying their effects through a self-expansion lens has implications for creating tourism experiences that promote well-being and enrich life. Novelty is something new or unusual, the process of experiencing or encountering something different from objects or situations that regularly happen. Challenge is a minor experience, incident, or interruption between people and activities, which can prompt growth, leading to new perspectives and insights. Positive emotions are pleasant and desirable feelings. Those who experience positive emotion can increase the inclusion of others into the self (how people integrate others into their own self-concept), which is a key idea of Aron’s self-expansion theory. The interconnectedness among novelty, challenge, and positive emotion makes them effective tools for self-expansion. Novelty sparks curiosity, challenge fosters growth, while positive emotion solidifies the experience, ensuring long-term impact. Together, they help individuals expand their sense of self and promote personal and relational development. This alignment is essential in designing experiences where creating meaningful, lasting change is the goal. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to take a practical look at the self-expansion theory and its use in the tourism context. English-speaking, romantically involved tourist couples were surveyed during their travels in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, or Maastricht, Netherlands. Students from the Netherlands and Brigham Young University surveyed participants. Linear regression was used to analyze the data. Findings suggested experience’s novelty (𝛽 = 1.66, t = 8.95, p < .001) and positive emotion felt during the experience (𝛽 = 0.47, t = 4.19, p < .001) were significant drivers for an individual’s self-expansion. Challenge was non-significant on self-expansion (𝛽 = 0.29, t = 1.65, p < .05). The adjusted R2 was .39. These findings are useful for those in the creation of self-expanding experiences and further research. Challenge, as a construction, needs more research to be properly operationalized. For tourism managers and others involved in creating these experiences, emphasizing novelty and positive emotions can be a strategic way to foster self-expansion in their customers, resulting in a richer sense of self that extends beyond the experience, fostering personal growth that customers can carry back into their daily lives.