Chapter 1: Introduction

The purpose of this volume is to provide a foundation for the application of cognitive science theories and concepts to fields such as tourism, hospitality, events, leisure and services. The contents have been compiled from a 10-year programme of doctoral research, as well as chapters contributed by experts in the field. The primary intended audience of the volume are tourism researchers, doctoral candidates and tourism professionals looking for a fresh approach to understanding their customers. However, the cognitive paradigm and its applications discussed are equally applicable to other applied fields that utilise psychological theories and concepts.

For tourism researchers and doctoral candidates, the volume aims to contribute to a paradigm shift in the way the field is studied and approached. The authors consider that tourism will benefit by the application of new ideas found in the mainstream psychology discipline. The importation of these new ideas will enable a better understanding of mental processes, but requires adoption of a new paradigm, termed here the ‘Cognitive Wave’. Tourism professionals who apply theory will benefit by identifying how they apply concepts such as attention, emotion, sensations and memory in their work, and critically understand how to measure them. All such professionals do use and measure these concepts, often without being aware of the assumptions they make.