Life-changing experiences

Is it possible to design a life-changing experience leading to a sustainable behaviour change?

Everybody has conscious and unconscious experiences during their holidays. They usually impact your life to a limited degree, but sometimes you have an experience as a result of which you will have a new outlook on life from that moment onwards: a life-changing experience.

There are travelers who consciously seek a place in which they can have this type of experiences. Think, for instance of a wellness resort in Bali, in which you learn to eat healthy food and monitor your work-life balance. When returning from this holiday, you are likely to change course and take the plunge.

You could also have an unconscious (spontaneous) experience during your holiday. An experience of  which you did not know you would ever have it. You are being triggered, and when arriving home, you are going to take action to change things for the better. You may have visited an orphanage or a nature reserve during a round trip for which you are going to set up a fund-raising appeal after your holidays.

This PhD research will seek answers to the following questions:

  • Can a life-changing experience be designed?
  • To what degree can a life-changing experience lead to a sustainable behavioural change? 

When

2019-2024

Partner

University of Surrey

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