To Whom Does Destination Anthropomorphism Appeal? Power and Perceived Control
研究发现，低权力感的旅行者更容易被拟人化的目的地广告吸引，因为拟人化能提升他们的感知控制、降低旅行风险感，从而增强出行意愿。
Anthropomorphism refers to the assignment of human-like traits and characteristics to non-human objects. In the tourism sector, destinations can be anthropomorphized. In this investigation, we explore potential travelers’ power as a factor that predicts to whom destination anthropomorphism appeals. Because anthropomorphism facilitates individuals’ perceived control, which individuals low on power lack but want to regain, we hypothesize in the current research that destination anthropomorphism would appeal more to travelers low (vs. high) on power. The higher perceived control manifests in travel behavior in the form of fewer perceived risks while traveling. We observe that powerless (vs. powerful) participants perceive greater control (Experiment 2) and fewer risks while traveling (Experiment 3) when the destination is anthropomorphized, explaining their higher travel intentions (Experiments 1–3). Our results suggest that whether or not to use anthropomorphism in destination advertising needs to consider potential travelers’ power.