Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp.

424–441, 2006
Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Printed in Great Britain
0160-7383/$32.00
www.elsevier.com/locate/atoures
doi:10.1016/j.annals.2005.10.014

TOURIST PREFERENCES
Influence of Unconscious Needs
Xuan Tran
Linda Ralston
University of Utah, USA

Abstract: This study examines the relationships among tourists’ unconscious needs for
achievement, affiliation and power and their preferences for adventure, cultural, and eco-
related tourism. Study data were collected from students at the University of Utah via an
online questionnaire. The unconscious needs were scored from their stories created based
on thematic apperception test pictures. The tourist preferences were measured through six
packages. The relationships among the needs and preferences were examined through
canonical variate analysis. Two significant relationships were detected: one between the need
for achievement and the preference for adventure tourism; and the other between the need
for affiliation and the preference for cultural tourism. Keywords: unconscious needs for
achievement, affiliation, power, preferences. Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Résumé: Préférences touristiques: influence des besoins inconscients. Cette étude examine
les rapports entre les besoins inconscients des touristes pour la réussite, l’affiliation et le pou-
voir et leurs préférences pour le tourisme aventure, culturel ou écologique. Les données ont
été cueillies des étudiants à l’University of Utah par moyen d’un questionnaire en ligne. Les
besoins inconscients sont mesurés dans les narrations créées à partir d’images d’aperception
thématique de six exemples de voyages organisés. Les rapports besoin-préférence sont exam-
inés par analyse canonique. On détecte deux rapports significatifs: l’un entre le besoin de la
réussite et la préférence pour le tourisme aventure; et l’autre entre le besoin d’affiliation et la
préférence pour le tourisme culturel. Mots-clés: besoins inconscients pour la réussite, affilia-
tion, pouvoir, préférences. Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION
Failure to adequately explain why United States tourists hesitate to
engage in international tourism is an important problem for the
increasingly competing businesses in this field. According to the World
Tourism Organization, the number of outbound Americans decreased
14% in the period 2001–2002 (WTO 2003). The number of inbound
American tourists also decreased 3% in the following season (US
Department of Commerce 2004). US tourists are important because
they represent the world’s top spenders. For example, in 2002 all inter-
national arrivals to Asia increased by 8%, except American tourists,

Xuan Tran is Lecturer in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism at the
University of Utah (Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA. Email <Xuan.Tran@health.utah.edu>).
His research interests include cultural tourism development, motivations, and satisfaction.
The research interest of Linda Ralston, Associate Professor in the same department, includes
sustainable tourism development, motivations, and customer service.

424
 TRAN AND RALSTON 425

which decreased by 10% and 4% in 2001 and 2002, respectively (WTO

2003). Therefore, the questions regarding US tourists’ preference of
package choice is a critical problem for the world tourism.
Existing approaches to marketing have emphasized the importance
of understanding motivations. When understood, tourist experiences
can be designed to meet tourists’ needs. Several models of motivation
have therefore been devised. Among these are Goodall’s model of holi-
day choice (1988), Oppermann’s destination choice (2000), and
McGuiggan’s personality model (2000). Goodall (1988) suggested
three key predictors of holiday choice: desires, motivation, and image.
In that model, motivation directly influences preference. Oppermann
(2000) found a relationship between destination choice and motiva-
tion to revisit it. Opperman’s results indicated that the choice is
affected by destination loyalty which, in turn, is influenced by motiva-
tion, image, and experience. McGuiggan (2000) proposed that per-
sonality and motivation exert an influence indirectly through
establishing leisure preferences, rather than personality influencing
choice directly.
Methods of measuring motivation used in most contemporary stud-
ies are limited to approaches that assess conscious motives only. Exist-
ing theory and research suggest that unconscious motives may also be
important predictors of behavior (Dubois, 2002; McClelland, 1992).
One popular approach to assessment of unconscious motives is the the-
matic apperception test (TAT) (McClelland and Franz 1992; Murray
1943; Weinberger and McClelland 1990). The TAT is a projective tech-
nique in which participants contrive stories that might explain circum-
stances in sets of photographs or images. Motivation profiles of study
participants may be attained by using scoring protocols based on the
contents of the provided stories. Using a variation of the test, Dubois
(2002) identified four clusters of people based on conscious and
unconscious motives for achievement, power, and affiliation. One of
these types was characterized by high conscious needs for achievement
and power, whereas another was distinctive in terms only of high con-
scious need for affiliation. A third type was characterized by high levels
of unconscious needs for power and affiliation; and the fourth
reflected high level of unconscious need for achievement.
Limited research has addressed unconscious motives of tourists, but
promising results have emanated from that work. Ralston (1993b), for
example, drew upon McClelland’s (1985) notion of need for affiliation
and demonstrated that individuals with high levels of it tend to seek
forms of tourism that are not adventurous. Unfortunately, few
researchers have undertaken similar lines of inquiry. McClelland’s the-
ory of human needs seems to provide a unique opportunity for more
successfully predicting vital facets of preference for modes of transpor-
tation, destination, lodging, tourism services, companions, and the
like. Such work might prove to be particularly useful in understanding
tourism markets.
Extension of Dubois’s (2002) research to the challenge of marketing
presents potentially useful solutions. In marketing to members of
the group with high conscious need for achievement and power, for
426 NEEDS AND TOURIST PREFERENCES

example, a destination may attempt to attract an internationally known

leader to that area in order to associate it with the image of achieve-
ment. Further, it may offer services that allow tourists to develop skills
and to document levels of performance in select leisure activities
appropriate to that site. Surfing, diving, and sailing competitions and
standards of performance for those activities might thus be included
in promotional devices and as facets of experience. These services
could be expected to appeal to tourists’ strong achievement motive.
Additional strategies could be devised for marketing to individuals with
other motive profiles. But the utility of understanding tourist prefer-
ences through unconscious motives has not been evaluated. Therefore,
the intent of this study is to contribute to a greater understanding of
tourist preferences using McClelland’s theory of motivation. It exam-
ines the relationship among psychological motive profiles of uncon-
scious needs for achievement, power, and affiliation, and preferences
for selected types of tourist experiences.

NEEDS, MOTIVES, MOTIVATIONS AND PREFERENCES

Motivation is the general term for all processes involved in starting,
directing, and maintaining physical and psychological activities (Gerrig
and Zimbardo 2002). The term comes from the Latin movere (to move).
Motivation is often the term used by experimentalists, but personality
theorists or clinicians typically think in terms of motives (McClelland
1985). The latter are considered as stable dispositions that organize
or explain much of what a person says and does. A motive is defined
as an internal state that drives individuals to meet needs and reduce
dissatisfaction. More specifically, its concept has been defined as
‘‘the redintegration by a cue of a change in an affective situation’’
(McClelland 1953:28). ‘‘Redintegration’’ implies previous learning
and hence all motives are learned. Consequently, a motive is an affect
or emotion occurring when aroused by a stimulus, and it exists both on
conscious and unconscious levels. The unconscious level is defined as
what an individual unconsciously feels like doing, whereas the con-
scious level refers to what an individual consciously believes he should
do in a particular situation (Langens and McClelland 1997). Motives
are influenced by needs. This refers to an internal state that is less than
satisfactory or lacking in some way (Murray 1938). Needs are also dis-
tinguished into conscious and unconscious. The former type can be re-
called and reported. Conversely, people are unaware of unconscious
needs. Murray posited, ‘‘By consciousness we mean introspective or,
more accurately, immediately-retrospective awareness’’ (1938:113).
Unconscious needs influence unconscious motives, which then move
individuals toward an actual behavior. The strength of this motive thus
includes such factors as an unconscious need, an affective state, a
change in affect (anticipation state) and the related acts including
reactions from a goal, an obstacle, or an outside assistance, or nur-
turance (McClelland 1985). Therefore, the measurement of an un-
conscious motive includes the scores of these factors.
 TRAN AND RALSTON 427

The conscious level tends to be temporary and to exist in the short

term. In contrast, the unconscious level tends to exist over the long
term of one’s lifespan (Langens and McClelland 1997). Maslow pos-
ited, ‘‘It would by now be expected, on a priori grounds alone, that
unconscious motivations would on the whole be rather more impor-
tant than the conscious motivations’’ (1943:373). In order to better
understand the importance of motives in explaining and predicting
tourist preferences, a brief review of the development of unconscious
motives in human personality from Freud (1915) to McClelland
(1953, 1992) and the development of trait theory in motivation
provides the theoretical framework.
In 1915, Freud recognized that many unconscious psychological pro-
cesses direct behaviors, and the strongest tendency is not necessarily
the one that a person consciously thinks is best for him or her. Accord-
ing to Freud, an unconscious motive is an underlying drive for behav-
ior and not something that can be seen or measured. Furthermore, the
same behavior can be caused by a configuration of different motives.
He developed the idea that much of human behavior stems from a fun-
damental conflict between a person’s desire to gratify his or her phys-
ical needs and the necessity to function as a responsible member of
society. This struggle is implemented in the mind among three systems:
the Id, Superego, and Ego. The Id is oriented toward maximizing plea-
sure and avoiding pain. It directs a person’s psychic energy toward
pleasurable acts without regard for the consequences. The Superego
is the counterweight to the Id. It is a person’s conscience that internal-
izes rules of family and society to prevent the Id from seeking selfish
gratification. Finally, the Ego is the system that mediates between the
Id and the Superego. It finds ways to gratify the Id that will be accept-
able to the outside world. The conflicts occur on an unconscious level,
so the person is not necessarily aware of the underlying reasons for his
behavior. Based on these systems, Freud assumed that three primary
human needs exist: obtaining relationship satisfaction, ‘‘expressing
aggression’’, and reducing anxiety and suffering. Relationship satisfac-
tion (or sexual motivation) is the most basic need of human beings.
People unconsciously strive to gratify their three major needs to gain
pleasure and avoid pain.
McClelland and his colleagues (1953) used TAT to measure the
unconscious needs that Freud could not. This projective test measures
the need for achievement, affiliation, and power. Participants in a TAT
compose their own stories for the projected, ambiguous pictures. The
content of these stories reveals the underlying (unconscious) needs,
conflicts and complexes that the person ‘‘projects’’ onto the picture.
Every one possesses to some degree a need for achievement, affiliation,
and power. Individuals possessing a high need for achievement (n-ach)
will demonstrate a recurrent concern over performing well in relation
to some standard of excellence. Tourists with a high n-ach might prefer
an occasion that enables them to exercise their skills and initiation in
problem solving. They desire frequent and specific feedback regarding
performance to enjoy the experience of making progress toward objec-
tives. Individuals possessing a high need for affiliation will demonstrate
428 NEEDS AND TOURIST PREFERENCES

a recurrent concern for close social relationships or the need to make

friends with other people. The need for affiliation (n-aff) is defined as
‘‘a concern over establishing, maintaining, or restoring a positive affec-
tive relationship with another person or group of persons’’ (Heyns,
Veroff, and Atkinson 1958:205). Whereas tourists with a high n-aff
are often concerned with establishing or maintaining positive affective
relationships, those with a low n-aff will be uncomfortable socializing
with others except for a few close friends or family. Those with a high
need for power (n-pow) will be concerned with controlling the means
of influence, that is, impact or social influence. Tourists with a high n-
pow might demonstrate a preference for activities where they can influ-
ence others, defeat opponents or competitors, win arguments, or attain
positions of greater authority. The scoring manual was set up based on
an ‘‘affective arousal model’’ for motivation. This model is ‘‘affective’’
because it includes a change of an affective state in imagery from
starting, to maintaining, to directing a behavior.
Another theory of motivation widely used in tourist research is trait.
It was first proposed by Allport (1938), viewing traits as the building
blocks of personality and motivation (Gerrig and Zimbardo 2002).
According to Allport, traits produce coherence in behavior, because
they connect and unify a person’s reaction to a variety of stimuli at
the conscious level of motivation. The most recent models of trait the-
ory have been applied in tourist motivation. For instance, much of
research through self-report questionnaires has centered on tourist
typologies of seeking novelty and familiarity such as Cohen’s (1972)
drifter and organized mass tourist, Smith’s (1989) explorer and charter
tourist, Plog’s (1974) allocentric and psychocentric, and McIntosh and
Goeldner’s (1990) four tourist motivations. In addition, some research-
ers have modeled the ‘‘push and pull’’ system (Crompton 1979; Dann
1977; and Ross 1994), while others have studied descriptive categories
such as Gray’s (1970) sunlust and wanderlust, and Taylor’s (1994)
three styles of tourists. Only a few psychological theories of motivation
have been developed and applied in tourism, such as Maslow’s (1954)
hierarchy of needs, Deci’s (1975) intrinsic motivation, and Allport’s
(1938) trait theory. Pearce (1988, 1995) using Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs has developed the model of a travel needs ladder for marketers
to build products based on tourists’ experiences. Iso-Ahola (1980)
using Deci’s (1975) theory of intrinsic motivation has developed the
model for intrinsic motivation, locus of control, and personal causation
for therapeutic recreation. The five-factor model (extraversion, agree-
ableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness) based on trait
theory has been generally used by many researchers: Bello and Etzel’s
(1985) optimal arousal and novelty, Crotts’ (1993) need for cognition
and the degree of dogmatism and Nickerson and Ellis’ (1991) novelty,
locus of control, and extraversion.
If motivation is a process of starting, directing, and maintaining
behavior, a preference serves as an intermediary step between motives
and behavior. Tourist preference is thus the act of selecting from
among a set of choices as influenced by one’s motivations. Ashworth
and Goodall (1990) argued, ‘‘Although motivations provide a definite
 TRAN AND RALSTON 429

inclination to undertake a certain course of action, a number of ac-

tions may correct the socio-psychological imbalances. Which course
is selected and which rejected, depends on the individual’s prefer-
ences’’ (1990:45).
Preference for adventure tourism is defined as a selection of an activ-
ity that takes place in an unusual, exotic, remote, or wilderness destina-
tion and tends to be associated with high levels of involvement and
activity by the participants, most of it outdoors. Adventure tourists
are explorers of both an outer world, especially the unspoiled, exotic
regions of the planet and an inner world of personal challenge, self
perception, and self-mastery. Tourists with high preference for adven-
ture would like to visit unusual and exotic destinations to gain new
experiences, enjoy the unique environment, or challenge their skills.
Preference for cultural tourism is defined as a selection of an activity
that takes place on the mosaic of places, traditions, art forms, celebra-
tions, and experiences portraying the beauty of a country and its peo-
ple, reflecting the diversity and character of the country. Those with
high preference for cultural tourism would like to broaden their partic-
ipation in the arts, increase opportunities for contacting artists, and
preserve and promote their cultural resources by investing in commu-
nities’ quality of life. They often visit big cities; however, new compet-
itive destinations are developed with innovative cultural products and
services nowadays. The development of a ‘‘creative destination’’
linking traditional cultural products, services, and heritage with the
creative industries (such as media and entertainment, design, architec-
ture, and fashion) will become progressively more important in terms
of the competitive advantages of cities as cultural destinations (WTO
2004).
Preference for eco-related tourism is defined as a selection of an
activity that takes place based on a region’s ecological, social, and eco-
nomic resources. Tourists with high preference for eco-related tourism
would like to appreciate and understand the environment and natural
history. These observations are consistent with Tinsley and Tinsley’s
(1986) research regarding the relationships between leisure and psy-
chological need-fulfillment, asserting that people participate in recrea-
tion behaviors to fulfill a psychological or learned need-deficit.
A limitation of the Tinsley and Tinsley model is the focus on the
post-satisfaction of psychological needs. Allport (1973) observed that
subjects often report unwanted conscious thoughts unrelated to the
study which may be misinterpreted by the researcher as being related
to the research. Allport disagreed with the tendency to utilize post-
experience research regarding human motivations. Maslow (1943) sug-
gested that subjects may ‘‘misperceive’’ a need or that an individual
may be consciously unaware of the existence of a need. Langens and
McClelland (1997) noted that motivation and preference research uti-
lizing self-report questionnaires are typically a function of short-term
occurrence. Crompton (1979) and Dann (1977) concurred with this
premise when they each observed that tourists verbally report super-
ficial reasons for vacation choice rather than true motivations.
Post-hoc data collection requires respondents to recall their initial
430 NEEDS AND TOURIST PREFERENCES

N-Ach

Tourist
Tourist
Motives /
N-Aff Experience
Preferences

N-Pow

N-Ach

Life
N-Aff
Satisfaction

N-Pow

Figure 1. Proposed Model of Unconscious Needs and Tourist Experiences

motivations. Their responses may be mediated by the level of satisfac-

tion actually achieved for the benefits sought. Another mediating fac-
tor would be the expense of a trip making the tourist reluctant to
verbalize a failure to achieve a desired goal-state. Therefore, a key as-
pect of this study is the focus on the measurement of needs and their
influence on tourist preferences prior to the experience. The model
proposed in Figure 1 demonstrates the influence of an individual’s
n-ach, n-aff, and n-pow on their motivations as manifested in tourist
preferences. While this study examines only the first relationship, fu-
ture research can investigate the strength of the influence of needs
on tourist preferences and the actual experience. Upon the demon-
stration of this relationship, additional research would explore the abil-
ity of tourist experiences to satisfy the need for achievement, affiliation,
and power, along with their relationship to life satisfaction.
With one exception, Figure 1 is consistent with Goodall’s (1988)
model of motivation. He suggested three key predictors of holiday
choice: desires, motivation, and image. In both Goodall’s and the
proposed models, motivation directly influences tourist preference.
Oppermann also found a relationship between destination choice
and loyalty to revisit. The latter includes attitudinal components involv-
ing motivation, noting that ‘‘loyalty is generally considered to include
both behavioral and attitudinal components’’ (2000:26). According to
Woodside and MacDonald assert that motivation influences destina-
 TRAN AND RALSTON 431

tion loyalty, arguing that ‘‘intentions toward returning to a destination

visited previously affect traveler destination-choices’’ (1994:34). Opper-
man’s results indicated that destination choice would be affected by
loyalty which, in turn, is influenced by motivation, destination image,
and experience. (Due to space limitations, the relationship of destina-
tion image and satisfaction as reflected in the second half of the model
of Figure 1 is not examined here.) In addition, McGuiggan (2000)
proposed that personality and motivation would exert an influence
indirectly through establishing leisure preferences, rather than person-
ality influencing choice directly. The findings of the relationship
between motivation and preference that are based on self-reported
questionnaires reflect only short-term recall (Langens and McClelland
1997). This means that the relationship happens right at the moment
of respondents’ reports. In order to find the more stable and consis-
tent relationship between motives and preference, the motives at the
unconscious level should be compared with preference for certain
environments and activities, such as those relating to adventure, cul-
tural, and eco-related tourism. Due to their similar features of the
n-ach, n-aff, and n-pow, this study tested three research alternative
hypotheses (Ha).

Ha1: A significant relationship will exist between the need for achievement and the
preference for adventure tourism.
Ha2: A significant relationship will exist between the need for affiliation and the
preference for cultural tourism.
Ha3: A significant relationship will exist between the need for power and the
preference for eco-related tourism.

Study Methods
In order to explore the relationships of motives and preferences, the
variables must be measured with appropriate methods. A sample was
randomly selected from a list of email addresses for all University of
Utah undergraduate and graduate students. The 200 students in the
resulting sample were sent an electronic invitation to participate in
the online questionnaire. The study achieved a 70% response rate with-
in two weeks of the initial invitation.
Unconscious motives were measured with the TAT and tourist pref-
erences with the self-report questionnaire method. The TAT, an exer-
cise in which participants create brief imaginative stories in response to
pictures, is a test designed to measure the human needs or motivation
that people are either unwilling or unable to verbalize because of a lack
of conscious awareness (Murray 1943). The test has frequently been
used to create measures of implicit motivation based on the assump-
tion that such motives are best measured by spontaneous fantasy as op-
posed to conscious statements of goals or motives (McClelland 1989;
Weinberger and McClelland 1990). The seven Murray (1943) TAT pic-
tures were chosen due to four reasons. First, the pictures represented
common situations and thus could better elicit content of interest to all
432 NEEDS AND TOURIST PREFERENCES

three needs and motive combinations. Second, the pictures with few
subjects represented sufficiently low ambiguous levels for a respondent
to effectively produce a particular type of motive separate from others
(Smith 1992). Third, the number of seven pictures was large enough
(>6) to be reliable (Smith 1992). Four, the seven pictures included
males and females who were older than the subjects to avoid those
people eliciting recollections of past events rather than thoughts that
reflect current concerns (McClelland, Atkinson, Clark and Lowell
1953). The two TAT trained raters reviewed the coding manual and
received clarification regarding the meaning of code categories. The
raters then scored practice materials, compared their scoring with each
other, and discussed differences between theirs and an expert’s scoring
sample to further clarify their understanding of the coding categories
based on the scoring of the TAT manual (Smith 1992:632).
The scoring of n-aff and n-pow are not presented here, but is avail-
able through the authors. The n-ach is the need for success in com-
petition with some standard of excellence involving long-term
achievement, competing to a performance standard, or doing some-
thing unique. Based on the behavioral sequence model of McClelland
and Franz (1992), using the TAT, the goal or achievement imaginary
(AI) is scored +1, 0 or 1 when the following situations are evidenced
in the story. Competition with a standard of excellence, scored AI = +1
(such as when one wants to win an essay contest). Unique accomplish-
ment, scored AI = +1 (for example, Tom and his assistant were working
on the publication of his famous booklet advocating freedom for
America). Long-term involvement, scored AI = +1 (one is going to be
a doctor). Doubtful achievement imagery (TI), scored TI = 0 (they
are making the bolt). Unrelated imagery (UI), scored UI = 1 (he ap-
pears to be thinking of something). It should be noted that if a respon-
dent’s story is scored TI = 0 or UI = 1, then there is no achievement
imagery and the analysis is concluded. It can not be scored on the
remaining 10 subcategories. Stated need (N) for achievement is scored
+1 when the story evidenced a desire to reach an achievement goal (he
wants to finish the painting).
Instrumental activity is scored +1 when a successful outcome is de-
scribed (I = +1) (he will try his best and hopes to become the best doc-
tor in the country) or in progress (I? = +1) or unsuccessful (I = +1)
(they have worked diligently night and day in the past with repeated
trials yielding only failures). Anticipatory goal state (Ga) either positive
(Ga+) or negative (Ga ) is scored +1 when respondents are thinking
about the outcomes the characters would achieve (they will attempt
to sell their new discovery with confidence of becoming rich or the
boy thinks he just can’t make it through college). Stories are scored
+1 for blocks within their control (Bp) or outside their control (Bw)
when the progress of goal-directed activity is hindered in some way
(the son has been faced with some trying situation or problem). Nur-
turant press (Nu) is scored +1 when the character receives assistance
from a third party in the story (the experienced machinist is trying
to straighten things out for the apprentice and is encouraging him).
Affective state is scored +1 when the story evidences a positive feeling
 TRAN AND RALSTON 433

or emotion (G+) or describes a negative feeling or emotion (G ) asso-

ciated with active mastery (he enjoys painting). Achievement thema
(Th) is scored +1 when the Achievement Imagery is elaborated in such
a manner that it becomes the central plot of the story (he is deter-
mined to go to South Africa to get a fortune).
In order to compute the n-ach score, a response is first scored +1, 0,
or 1, such as a score of +1 for achievement imagery (AI), or 0 for
doubtful or task imagery (TI), or 1 for unrelated imagery (UI). Sub-
categories may be scored only if AI has been scored a +1. If TI = 0 or
UI = 1, then the analysis of the story is complete. Each subcategory
scored a maximum of +1. Since each category might be scored only
once, the maximal score possible for a single story would be +11 (AI,
N, I, Ga+, Ga , Bp, Bw, Nup, G+, G , and Th). After the data from
a desired number of participants had been collected, the responses
were coded with a number that has no correlation to the actual respon-
dent to maintain their privacy. The two trained raters scored all the
TAT related stories and the inter-rater reliability was calculated using
Kappa index (Capozzoli, McSweeney and Sinha 1999).
In the second part of the questionnaire, subjects were asked to an-
swer six tourist preference questions (2 per adventure, cultural, and
eco-related tourism) that were selected from actual commercial pack-
ages. Adventure type included descriptions of challenge activities, com-
petition, exotic natural settings, and limited accommodations. Cultural
type featured descriptions of friendly people, historical destinations,
community festivals, and local accommodations. Eco-related tourism
featured undiscovered, exotic, and remote areas. The preference ques-
tions utilized a Likert-scale response with 1 representing a very weak
preference to 11 representing very strong preference.
The two sets of variables (motives and preferences) were continuous
in the design. In order to examine the relationship of the two sets of
continuous variables, there were three optional statistical approaches:
bivariate correlation analysis for each variable, multiple regression
analysis for each criterion variable (preference), and canonical variate
analysis for two sets of variables. The first approach, using a simple
bivariate correlation between each motive variable and each prefer-
ence variable, had a problem of calculating an unwieldy number of 9
(3 preferences times 3 motives) bivariate correlations. The problem ex-
isted in how to interpret everything as a whole without committing a
type I error in the statistical method; thus, this method did not seem
appropriate for this study. The second approach, using multiple regres-
sion, referred to computing a separate equation for each preference
variable. Although this was more efficient than the first method, there
were still some problems of calculating separate equations, which
might have been redundant.
Finally, the most appropriate approach was determined to be one
using canonical variate analysis to relate the three motive variables to
the four preference variables simultaneously. The canonical term
indicates that the technique is extracting from a square matrix. The
analysis simultaneously calculates a linear composite of all motive vari-
ables and a linear composite of all preference variables. Unlike other
434 NEEDS AND TOURIST PREFERENCES

multivariate techniques, these weighted composites are derived in

pairs. Each linear combination is called a canonical variate and takes
the general linear form. The unconscious motives are considered pre-
dictors in the model while the preferences variables are considered cri-
terion variables. In order to achieve a stable outcome, the canonical
correlations and structure coefficient correlations must exceed 0.3
(Monash University 2005).
In order to determine the relative importance of each original vari-
able to the canonical variates, three interpretative approaches are avail-
able: canonical weights (standard coefficients), canonical loading (the
variable loads on its own variate), and canonical cross-loading (the var-
iable loads on the opposite variate). In this study, the last two ap-
proaches were utilized. In addition to using Cronbach’s alpha to test
the reliability of the variables, Kappa was used to check the interrater
agreement scoring of the TAT from the scores of the two raters. This
statistic was used to assess interrater agreement when observing or cod-
ing qualitative/categorical variables. Kappa is considered to be an
improvement over using percent agreement to evaluate this type of
reliability. Kappa has a range from 0 to 1.00, with larger values indicat-
ing better reliability. Generally, a Kappa > .70 is considered satisfactory.

Study Findings
The first canonical correlation function relating two sets of variables
(motives and preferences) was calculated and explained 17.1% of the
variance in the preference variables. Wilks’ Lamda was significant for
the combined function (K = .73, p < .01). It indicates how well the
groups of motive factors could predict each of the four sets of tourist
tours, with its structured coefficients (Rc = .38) showing the highest
possible correlation between any linear combination of the motive vari-
ables and the preference variables. One pair shared significant varia-
tion (Table 1). The structure matrix reveals that high n-ach and low
n-aff are predictive of adventure preferences and lack of preference
for one of the cultural tours (structure coefficient = .586). There
was one pair of significant canonical variates (p < .05). Canonical corre-
lations and loadings exceeded 0.3 for the variates. The structure matrix
was examined to interpret the variate pair. The pair of variates revealed
a very strong relationship between two of the motive variables [n-ach
(.708) and n-aff ( .639)] and two of the tourist experience preference
variables (adventure [.650] and culture [ .586]). Essentially, the vari-
ate suggests that individuals with a high n-ach will prefer an adventure
experience and individuals possessing a high n-aff will be interested in
a cultural one.
As a result, there are three conclusions for the test of the three re-
search hypotheses. First the n-ach was correlated positively with the
preference for an adventure and for escape tourism. The research
hypothesis Ha1, that a significant relationship would exist between
the n-ach and the preference for adventure, was not rejected. The n-
ach was significantly associated with the preference for this experience.
 TRAN AND RALSTON 435

Table 1. Results of the Hypothesis Test

Wilk’s K Eigenvalue Rc df Error df F Sig.

.73 .171 .38 24 363.14 1.75 <.01

Standardized Coefficients Structure Coefficients

Motives
N-Affiliation .683 .639.
N-Achievement 773 .708
N- Power .159 .103
Tourism Types
Cultural Tourism 1 .524 .323
Cultural Tourism 2 .280 .586
Adventure Tourism 1 .655 .650
Adventure Tourism 2 .350 .548
Eco-related Tourism 1 .164 .161
Eco-related Tourism 2 .062 .024

Respondents who possessed a high n-ach tended to prefer tourism

experiences which were challenging and involved nature settings, such
as adventure or escape. In addition, the n-ach was correlated negatively
with cultural, with people possessing high n-ach not preferring to at-
tend any, such as social community festivals. Second, the n-aff was cor-
related positively with the preference for a cultural experience. The
research hypothesis Ha2, that a significant relationship would exist be-
tween the n-aff and the preference for cultural tourism, was also not
rejected. Those who possess a high n-aff tend to prefer the tours that
are associated with people, cultural history, and festivals. Finally, the
n-pow was not correlated with an escape plan. The third hypothesis
Ha3, that a significant relationship would exist between the n-pow
and the preference for eco-related tourism, was rejected. No evidence
was found that demonstrated preference for it was related to the
n-pow.
These results are consistent with McClelland’s (1985) theory, in
which the achievement motive has to do with overcoming challenges
and the affiliation motive is related to making friends with people.
Bivariate regression was conducted to find the Pearson’s correlation
coefficients between the n-ach and an adventure and between the
n-aff and a culture tour. Consistent with prior research (Dubois
2002, Langens and McClelland 1997; McClelland 1989: Ralston
1993b), the results of this study support the premise that unconscious
(or implicit) motives of achievement and affiliation influence the
behaviors of respondents toward engaging in either challenging or
social activities. These behavioral predispositions can be applied to
adventure tourism. Individuals who score high in the n-ach likely pre-
fer adventure. Those who score high in the n-aff, on the other hand,
are likely to demonstrate a preference for cultural experience. The
436 NEEDS AND TOURIST PREFERENCES

research questions regarding these predicted relationships were exam-

ined. The results, which were derived from the 140 respondents and
980 stories, rejected the null hypotheses regarding the relationships be-
tween the n-ach and n-aff and the preferences for adventure and for
cultural tourism.
The study results suggest that people possessing a high n-ach will
most likely prefer adventure tourism, whereas those possessing a low
n-aff will most likely not prefer cultural. Moreover, the results suggest
that the unconscious motive model of McClelland (1992) and McClel-
land and Franz (1992) may prove useful in marketing services. Each of
these relationships has possible applications in marketing. The first
relationship implies that individuals who seek achievement are at-
tracted to challenging activities such as climbing, diving, and surfing.
Standards of performance for those activities might thus be included
in promotional materials targeting potential tourists high in this need.
The second finding indicates that cultural destinations may attract
those with a high n-aff by providing opportunities to meet and/or ob-
serve local people and tourists. They might also respond positively to
the opportunity to meet an internationally known humanity leader
or celebrity. This type of information is important to marketers and
managers in order to develop strategies that satisfy their customers
and contribute to the development of tourism. If demand and number
of activities increase, then the price will also need to increase to cover
the related costs. However, the perceived value will also increase due to
the appeal of the activities to the tourist’s unconscious motives.
TAT method is a content analysis that requires meticulous labor. How-
ever, the result of the method is ‘‘an X-Ray picture of the inner self’’
(Murray 1943:1). With this method, associative thought tends to be
more spontaneous and less self-critical than in self-report type tech-
niques. The method is labor intensive on the part of respondents and
raters; thus, it does not lend itself to large samples of tourists. There
are other options such as Mehrabian’s need for affiliation scale (1968)
that merit consideration in the measurement of unconscious needs.
This study had several potential methodological limitations, includ-
ing the sample generalization, subjective assessments in the TAT,
and external factors controlled by the test. Since it utilized a random
sample of college students who expressed a past or present touristic
propensity, it must be noted that they may not represent the larger
public. Although unconscious motives are present in all individuals
to varying degrees, an experienced tourist might express different pref-
erences from a student, a novice tourist, because previous experiences
may influence the ‘‘set’’ of selection. Motives might further affect the
ways in which these preferences are manifested (Smith 1992). For
example, a student with a high n-aff might choose a campus-sponsored
study-abroad program, whereas an experienced tourist with a strong
affiliation motive might select an independent trip with a group of
friends rather than an organized package.
As for subjective assessment in the study, the agreements between
the two scorers were shown to be highly satisfactory. Kappa indexes
for each of the three motives were over .85. The interpretations of
 TRAN AND RALSTON 437

the stories respondents submitted for the less ambiguous pictures per-
mitted the expression of achievement, power, or affiliation motives. In
this case, it would be best to select a picture low in ambiguity in order
to identity each motive.
Finally, external factors that affect motives and preferences—such as
finance, education, sex, and time—were assumed to be constant in the
study. Change of a respondent’s finances, differences in education,
marital status, and gender could all affect motives and preferences,
but were beyond the scope of this study. Time is the last constraint that
influences motives and preferences since ‘‘behavior in the same situa-
tion may vary during a period of time’’ (Smith 1992:15). It would also
be useful to identify customers with homogeneous unconscious motive
profiles (Dubois 2002) and relate those profiles to preferences.
Although the results cannot be generalized to a specific destination
or the entire population, these findings contribute to a greater under-
standing of the relationship between unconscious needs, motivations,
and preferences. They also demonstrate that further research is
needed in this area. It is evident that the insights gleaned from this re-
search should be utilized when replicating the study using a random
sample of tourists to a particular destination that provides a variety
of potential activities. An analysis of the unconscious motives and the
planned activities within a given tourism package would be better able
to predict the preferences of the general population to this
destination.
In order to apply the results of this study to a contemporary tourism
situation, it is appropriate to examine the position of the World of
Tourism Organization which often mentions the role of tourism in
generating income to alleviate the poverty experienced in many devel-
oping countries. Once a country or destination has identified the
potential market, they can research the target market to better under-
stand their unconscious needs and subsequently plan appropriate
packages to attract tourists to their destination. Furthermore, since
the United States tourism market is particularly lucrative, an examina-
tion of American tourists’ unconscious motives might be helpful in
identifying packages that appeal specifically to them (McClelland
1985). Although the analysis of unconscious motives will not replace
current market profiles and market effectiveness research, it does pro-
vide a potentially effective means of better understanding the motiva-
tions and preferences of specific markets. This study did not
examine the role of unconscious motives in influencing the preference
of one destination over another. Further research will be required to
isolate the influence of unconscious motives in selecting one among
similar destinations. It did demonstrate that unconscious motives have
an influence in respondents’ preferences for specific activities, trans-
portation choices, and lodging options. Since most destinations have
the potential to modify activities, transportation, and lodging choices
within a package, this paper presents a potentially significant applica-
tion for vacation destinations.
Theory and research regarding achievement and affiliation motives
were found to be related to adventure and culture preferences. These
438 NEEDS AND TOURIST PREFERENCES

findings will provide helpful information for marketers and managers

in developing promotional materials for hospitality and tourism busi-
nesses interested in attracting tourists from two important market seg-
ments: achievers and socially-minded people. In addition, the
application of the TAT in selecting low ambiguity photos and figures
for the target markets would effectively arouse the n-ach and n-aff
when used in promotional materials. Based on the n-ach and n-aff,
marketers and managers could provide necessary information to satisfy
the demands of tourists.
Tourists who prefer active and adventurous experiences are called
active leisure tourists (Abbey 2002). This market, including over 98 mil-
lion Americans, is growing. Active experiences involve everything from
a ‘‘soft’’ level of physical pursuits involving such things as golfing, hik-
ing, or horse back riding, to a strenuous level of physical such as white-
water rafting or mountain-climbing. Based on the relationship between
adventure tourism and the n-ach in the study, the products and services
may include achievement-related activities in exotic locations, such as a
trip down the Amazon or a safari in Africa.

CONCLUSION
This study featured three contributions that have not been previ-
ously examined in the literature. It demonstrates the potential applica-
tion of one type of measurement of unconscious needs and
preferences. There are numerous other measures of unconscious
needs that merit testing to determine if a less time-consuming yet
equally effective means of examining the relationship exists. This re-
search also contributes to a further understanding of the relationships
between the theory of motivation, pioneered by McClelland’s research
within human psychology, and motivation/preferences, explored by a
limited number of researchers (Ralston 1993a). Thanks to the achieve-
ments of psychology, the success of this line of investigation will stim-
ulate future researchers to deepen their knowledge concerning the
practical application of psychology to the literature. Finally, the study
detected two strong relationships: one between the n-ach and adven-
ture tourism; and one between the n-aff and cultural tourism. Despite
the complexities related to projective techniques and possible contex-
tual effects, the results suggest that awareness of the needs structure
can help researchers and marketers to accomplish their goals and
satisfy tourists’ preferences.
In conclusion, the types of packages American tourists prefer
depends on their types of motives. The finding of the positive relation-
ship between achievement motivation and preference for an adventur-
ous type of experiences provides helpful information for managers,
marketers, or anyone who would like to attract American tourists to
their destinations. In the promotional materials intended for this mar-
ket, it is recommended to include activities such as exploring nature,
sailing from island to island, and whitewater canoeing or more chal-
lenging activities such as climbing to the top of a mountain, and
 TRAN AND RALSTON 439

snorkeling or scuba diving to a coral reef. Brochures for Americans

must imply some sense of challenge to push the boundaries of their
skills and abilities. The US market is very critical to the development
of worldwide tourism. Despite the fact that important limitations to
the current study exist, the findings contribute to knowledge about
how unconscious motivation may be useful in marketing destination
products and services. This study has been successful in examining only
the first set of relationships in the proposed model of needs and expe-
rience (Figure 1). The success of this investigation demonstrates the
need for further research to continue the exploration of the influence
of needs and motivations on tourist preferences. If individuals select an
experience due to their need for achievement, affiliation, and power,
then does it follow that a tourism experience fulfills their needs
for the same? Further, does this satisfaction of an individual’s needs
lead to greater life satisfaction?

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Submitted 19 January 2005. Resubmitted 22 April 2005. Resubmitted 21 May 2005. Final
version16 July. Accepted 10 October 2005. Refereed anonymously. Coordinating Editor:
Regina G. Schl€u ter