The psychology of travel - Knoxville News Sentinel
By Josh Noel
Chicago Tribune
(MCT)
Michael Brein says he created the notion of a "travel psychologist" while earning his psychology doctorate at the University of Hawaii, and it's not hard to believe. I haven't heard of another one.
Though Brein acknowledges that his take on the discipline is rooted in a "pop psychological point of view," it does get at an interesting notion: Conflict is often inherent in travel, from getting to the airport with your bags to reading a foreign menu. When those issues are addressed, understood or accepted, travel becomes far easier and more enjoyable.
That is especially true of business travel, when the trips are usually compulsory. I contacted Brein, who lives near Seattle and has interviewed more than 1,600 people about their travels in three decades in the business.
Q: What exactly is this discipline you call travel psychology?
A: It's any number of things, like looking at the process of communication that goes into traveling in a foreign country, dealing with culture shock or adapting to longer amounts of time spent in another culture. Business travelers, for instance, might have a little more of an in-depth involvement in a culture if they're making multiple visits to another country or if they're staying for a longer period of time.
Q: Do you think business travel is more stressful than leisure travel?
A: I would say yes. As a business traveler you might not have that much flexibility. Generally leisure travelers can go with the flow. I've run into many business travelers who hated flying, but they have to do it. Leisure travelers are usually there because they want to be.
Q: So how can people pressed into travel situations they don't want to be in calm themselves?
A: One is building in more time into your business travel. Time is money, but time is stress. Give yourself extra time. Also, if you're traveling abroad, make a little more effort to have outreach in the culture. Take some time to sit and relax in a coffee shop. Look, listen and interact with a local person. It's also important to think about what it is that puts you into a private space. For some people it's reading a Kindle. For others, it is music or walking around the airport to walk off anxiety.
Q: Are some people more emotionally equipped to travel than others?
A: Absolutely. If you're not the type of person who can be flexible, travel might be more stressful. For some people there's an adrenaline rush in dealing with tough travel situations and achieving success. Some people are afraid of hustlers and taxicab drivers. Other people thrive on that. As I like to say, one person's white-water river adventure is another person's white-knuckle experience.
Q: I imagine people can make travel easier on themselves by tweaking their mental approach.
A: If thoughts of going through TSA and long lines are really anxiety provoking, you are obviously working yourself up. But if you think of it as a rite of passage, and a due you have to pay to get to your destination, it becomes easier to accept. It helps to have the right mind-set for things that are otherwise disconcerting.
Q: Is travel more stressful today than a generation ago?
A: Oh, yes. Every day it seems there's something in the news about homeland security or the threats to air travelers being on the increase. We find ourselves at odds more and more. There's a need for security, but we think we're being treated more disrespectfully. The scrutiny people are coming under at airports, customs and immigration, I don't see that decreasing any time soon. The key is how we approach it.
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29 Aug, 2011--
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