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8 ACTA Turistica
behaviours, tourists care little about the social
reactions of other people. For extrinsically motivated
ones, reaching the goal is vital and the
success is fully dependent on the perceived or direct
judgement of other people. In the tourism context,
extrinsic motivation has been seen as equivalent to
achievement motivation. For example, climbing a
specific mountain might be either extrinsically
motivated �it is only worthwhile if everyone knows
the climber reaches the top) or intrinsically
motivated �it is worthwhile no matter how far
one climbs). There is some evidence that achievement
motivation holds potential hazards for a
tourist, since a failure to reach a publicly
sanctioned goal may result in disappointment and
a sense of failure. Highly intrinsically motivated
individuals are less likely to be distressed if their
actions do not meet their ambitions.
There are also links between achievement
motivation and the perception of time, as people
high in the need for achievement show greater
signs of frustration and boredom as they perceive
time to pass more slowly than it actually does.
Achievement motivation measures have not been
used widely in tourism research, but may hold
some promise for individuals who are learning
new activities and who are seeking social approval
for their pursuits. Understanding the mix of
motives may also help some tourism operators
provide enough time for highly achievement
oriented individuals to reach the goals and
achieve the outcome so necessary for their
satisfaction.
Further reading
Fielding, K., Pearce, P.L. and Hughes, K. �1992)
`Climbing Ayers Rock: relating motivation, time
perception and enjoyment', Journal of Tourism
Studies 3�2): 49±57.
Graef, R., Csikszentmihalyi, M. and Giannino,
S.M. �1983) `Measuring intrinsic motivation in
everyday life', Leisure Studies 2: 155±68.
acquisition see merger
PHILIP L. PEARCE, AUSTRALIA
ACTA Turistica
Acta Turistica is a bilingual �Croatian and English)
journal. It publishes articles resulting from
research conducted at the University of Zagreb,
as well as submissions received from outside
researchers. Its articles are aimed at academics,
students and practitioners. All submissions are
subject to editorial approval �double-blind review).
Only those not published previously may be
considered. Articles written in other languages
than English will also be considered. First
published in 1989, the journal is published twice
yearly by the University of Zagreb Faculty of
Economics �ISSN 0353±5177).
action research
RENE BARETJE, FRANCE
Action research is concerned with diagnosing a
problem in a specific context and attempting to
solve it in that frame. It has been used extensively
in social science research since the 1960s. This
research method, however, has become widely
known partly because of the supposed incompatibility
between the apparently separate entities of
action and research. As each has its own ideology
and procedures, when linked, action and research
appear as uneasy allies.
An apparent incompatibility between action and
research is that while research requires a clear
purpose, action is random, tentative and noncommittal.
However, action research can be
systematic, although the techniques used are not
necessarily set in advance. Both qualitative
research and quantitative methods can be
used, although the former are more common. The
research process is reflexive, involving planning,
acting, observing and reflecting on data to generate
new research questions, before continuing with the
next stage of planning, acting and so on.
Action research has been employed when a
change in a social situation is sought, and
involves an investigation of the intervention and its
implications. It frequently involves different practitioner
groups researching their own practices. Such
groups are attempting to gain understanding of