I think this will be a new thing on TravelingSaurus–the Academia Meets Life series, if it seems to be of interest to readers, of course.I sometimes spend a large part of my day reading peer-reviewed journals in my field. So I thought it would be fun to start periodically pulling interesting peer-reviewed articles from academics that relate to travel. No, some of these are not going to be in my field (for example, I am not a psychologist), but nonetheless I think they are worth discussing. Moreover, I like thinking about academic research in the context of real (rather than abstract or laboratory) life.
So today I’ll start with an article from three researchers at Harvard and the University of Virginia. They present evidence, they argue, that having extraordinary experiences makes it harder to relate to peers, and means that you actually feel more isolated after an experience. As such, these experiences actually have a social cost that you don’t weigh when you decide to pursue one of these experiences. They provide the example of exotic vacations (!), jumping from airplanes, and shaking hands with celebrities as extraordinary experiences.
On one hand: Anecdotally, I can totally understand and agree with the evidence presented. I have in fact written posts here about how to deal with people who don’t travel, and those that make inappropriate comments. Depending on the group I am socializing in, I am constantly careful about not coming across as bragging about my visit with the mountain gorillas or hike in Bhutan. I do find it isolating when I can’t talk about a foreign country because those around me “hate” places other than America. It’s also hard to talk about travel to those who don’t know what it’s like to spend 18 hours on a plane, or deal with messed up reservations, or handle being sick on the road. I think this is why travel bloggers often bond. But this is just purely personal experience…
On the other hand: I do question the generalizability (i.e. the appropriateness to extrapolate these results to the general population) of the research. For example, the mean age was 21 years–I can’t think of an age more likely to feel isolation, real or perceived! As with most experiments, it was a bit forced–they watched a video (from TED talks to Pixar) that were ranked either as a 4-star video or a 2-star video, then asked to talk about and report how they felt. Does this really reflect social situations with individuals you don’t know? I’m not sure, but I think it’s an issue that should be raised.
The authors present a balanced review of their work, and I’d suggest reading the article if you are interested.
I’d argue that how isolated you feel may depend heavily on your peer group, both at work and socially. Does it matter how different their experiences are from your own? Does it matter if the groups are more homogenous or heterogeneous? I would guess all of these characteristics are likely to make in a difference in the level of isolation an individual feels. Moreover, I would suggest that your level of isolation depends heavily on the self-confidence and inquisitiveness of the peer group. Obviously, how you handle other people–and judgments and perceptions–matters too. If you are oblivious, you probably wouldn’t feel isolated regardless of reaction! Even the authors specifically note that social dynamics are hard to predict.
The authors conclude that having extraordinary experiences can “sometimes spoil our interactions with those who did not share them” and I think that is a fair conclusion. Certainly social cost–for me–doesn’t even come close to the benefits of travel. In fact, it often introduces me to more people with whom I can share these extraordinary experiences or cements relationships with loved ones who are there with me.
What do you think? Do you think that your extraordinary travel experiences come with social costs? Do you think it depends on your peer group? Chime in!
Cooney G, Gilbert DT, and Wilson TD. 2014. “The Unforeseen Costs of Extraordinary Experience.” Psychological Science. Published online before print: doi: 10.1177/0956797614551372.
