To help or not to help: the effects of awe on residents and tourists’ helping behaviour in tourism

ABSTRACT

This study examines the effects of awe on residents and tourists’ helping behaviour and explores the similarities and differences in the effects of awe on individuals’ helping behaviour in usual and unusual environments. The results revealed that awe can directly increase tourists’ helping behaviour but not residents’; time perception and the small self have a mediating influence between awe and residents’ proactive helping behaviour, tourists’ proactive and reactive helping behaviour, failed to mediate the relationship between awe and residents’ reactive helping behaviour. The results can guide residents and tourists in implementing helping behaviour, promote the civilized development of tourism.

KEYWORDS:

• Awe
• helping behaviour
• usual environment
• unusual environment
• resident behaviour
• tourist behaviour
• time perception
• the small self
• Wenchuan earthquake site
• tourism management

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by National Nature Science Foundation of China (42071186), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2020CSWY015).