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201150 https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.2.N.201150 http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ All Rights Reserved 2025 181 pages Doctoral Dissertation Academic theses en Kirsch, Amanda Neuberg, Steven L. Kenrick, Douglas T. Varnum, Michael E. W. Montello, Daniel R. Arizona State University Partial requirement for: Ph.D., Arizona State University, 2025 Field of study: Psychology Tourism would appear to be a mystery. Why would people spend huge amounts of hard-earned money to leave the safety and comfort of home for unfamiliar locations where they are strangers to the local population, have few sources of social and tangible support, and may confront pathogens their bodies are less well equipped to fight off? Why would people go to locations where they are targeted by criminals, leave behind belongings, and abandon family and friends? Why would anyone not just volunteer to be in this situation, but pay for it? In this dissertation, I test hypotheses that use an evolutionary fundamental social motives framework to explain this mystery. I begin by defining tourism and overviewing the commonness and costliness of tourism. I identify five adaptive motives as underlying many types of tourism, which are affiliating, maintaining romantic relationships, maintaining family relationships, seeking social- status, and acquiring short-term mating options. I identify two additional motives that might not motivate, but still influence, tourism: avoiding disease and protecting oneself from threatening others. I describe a method used to test hypotheses for each of these motives and present findings. I found that most of my hypotheses are not supported, but the framework is most useful for predicting behaviors of tourists motivated by status seeking or kin care. I discuss interpretations of the findings, as well as limitations, future directions, and implications. Social Psychology Evolutionary Psychology Motivation Social Motives Tourism An Evolutionary Approach to Tourism Motives