Designing experiences in the age of human transformation: An analysis of Burning Man

B. Neuhofer; R. Egger; J. Yu; K. Celuch

doi:10.1016/j.annals.2021.103310

Designing experiences in the age of human transformation: An analysis of Burning Man

B. Neuhofer^*
, R. Egger
, J. Yu
, K. Celuch

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Tourism and Service Management, Modul University Vienna
Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

In the emerging transformation age, not only do experiences with transformational qualities happen by chance, but they are induced through intentional design. This study investigates the human gathering Burning Man, often stipulated as one of the world's most transformative large-scale experiences. Grounded in the theoretical lens of environmental psychology, a deep topological analysis was conducted based on Instagram data to analyse participants' digital outer expressions and find answers to their innermost transformative experiences. Through a holistic analysis of the pre-liminal, on-site, and post-liminal stages, socio-environmental and socio-psychological spheres, with 30 clusters that trigger potential transformation, could be revealed. This study contributes to the interdisciplinary discourse relating to human experience and transformation design in the tourism, events, and experience sectors.

Original language	English
Journal	Ann. Tour. Res.
Volume	91
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2021.103310
Publication status	Published - 1 Nov 2021

Keywords

Environmental psychology
Experience design
Human transformation
Instagram
Transformation design
cultural tradition
design
festival
heritage tourism
holistic approach
interdisciplinary approach
psychology
social network

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10.1016/j.annals.2021.103310

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85116029409&doi=10.1016%2fj.annals.2021.103310&partnerID=40&md5=74db6cd756902647842986ed9cb11b47

Cite this

@article{6d9fc5ce1e9044f59fef4eb874e2b412,

title = "Designing experiences in the age of human transformation: An analysis of Burning Man",

abstract = "In the emerging transformation age, not only do experiences with transformational qualities happen by chance, but they are induced through intentional design. This study investigates the human gathering Burning Man, often stipulated as one of the world's most transformative large-scale experiences. Grounded in the theoretical lens of environmental psychology, a deep topological analysis was conducted based on Instagram data to analyse participants' digital outer expressions and find answers to their innermost transformative experiences. Through a holistic analysis of the pre-liminal, on-site, and post-liminal stages, socio-environmental and socio-psychological spheres, with 30 clusters that trigger potential transformation, could be revealed. This study contributes to the interdisciplinary discourse relating to human experience and transformation design in the tourism, events, and experience sectors.",

keywords = "Environmental psychology, Experience design, Human transformation, Instagram, Transformation design, cultural tradition, design, festival, heritage tourism, holistic approach, interdisciplinary approach, psychology, social network",

author = "B. Neuhofer and R. Egger and J. Yu and K. Celuch",

note = "Cited By :25 Export Date: 14 December 2023 Correspondence Address: Neuhofer, B.; Department of Innovation and Management in Tourism, Urstein S{\"u}d 1, Austria; email: [email protected] References: Ahmed, M., Karagiorgou, S., Pfoser, D., Wenk, C., Map construction algorithms (2015) Map construction algorithms, pp. 1-14. , Springer Cham; Anderson, S., Nasr, L., Rayburn, S.W., Transformative service research and service design: Synergistic effects in healthcare (2018) The Service Industries Journal, 38 (1-2), pp. 99-113; Arefieva, V., Egger, R., Yu, J., A machine learning approach to cluster destination image on Instagram (2021) Tourism Management, 85; Brymer, E., Crabtree, J., King, R., Exploring perceptions of how nature recreation benefits mental wellbeing: A qualitative enquiry (2020), pp. 1-20. , Annals of Leisure Research; Brymer, E., Schweitzer, R.D., Evoking the ineffable: The phenomenology of extreme sports (2017) Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, 4 (1), pp. 63-74; Chen, K.K., Artistic prosumption: Cocreative destruction at burning man (2012) American Behavioral Scientist, 56 (4), pp. 570-595; Davies, M., Hungenberg, E., Aicher, T., The relationship between runner environmental paradigm and their motives to participate in an urban or rural marathon (2019) International Journal of Event and Festival Management, 10 (1), pp. 48-66; Decrop, A., Del Chiappa, G., Mallarg{\'e}, J., Zidda, P., {\textquotedblleft}Couchsurfing has made me a better person and the world a better place{\textquotedblright}: The transformative power of collaborative tourism experiences (2018) Journal of Travel \& Tourism Marketing, 35 (1), pp. 57-72; Donovan, R.J., Rossiter, J.R., Store atmosphere: An environmental psychology approach (1982) Journal of Retailing, 58 (1), pp. 34-57; Filep, S., Macnaughton, J., Glover, T., Tourism and gratitude: Valuing acts of kindness (2017) Annals of Tourism Research, 66, pp. 26-36; Finsterwalder, J., Kuppelwieser, V.G., Intentionality and transformative services: Wellbeing co-creation and spill-over effects (2020) Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 52; Gaggioli, A., Transformative experience design (2016) Human computer confluence, pp. 97-122. , Sciendo Migration; Galvani, A., Lew, A.A., Perez, M.S., COVID-19 is expanding global consciousness and the sustainability of travel and tourism (2020) Tourism Geographies, 22 (3), pp. 567-576; Getz, D., Page, S., Event studies: Theory, research and policy for planned events (2016), Routledge; Gon, M., Local experiences on Instagram: Social media data as source of evidence for experience design (2020) Journal of Destination Marketing \& Management, 19, pp. 1-11. , 100435; G{\"o}ssling, S., Celebrities, air travel, and social norms (2019) Annals of Tourism Research, 79; Guttentag, D., Transformative experiences via Airbnb: Is it the guests or the host communities that will be transformed? (2019) Journal of Tourism Futures, 5 (2), pp. 179-184; Hannigan, T.R., Haans, R.F., Vakili, K., Tchalian, H., Glaser, V.L., Wang, M.S., Jennings, P.D., Topic modeling in management research: Rendering new theory from textual data (2019) Academy of Management Annals, 13 (2), pp. 586-632; Hockett, J., Participant observation and the study of self: Burning man as ethnographic experience (2005), pp. 65-84. , Reflections on Burning Man AfterBurn; Iyendo, T.O., Uwajeh, P.C., Ikenna, E.S., The therapeutic impacts of environmental design interventions on wellness in clinical settings: A narrative review (2016) Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 24, pp. 174-188; James, W., The varieties of religious experience (1958), Mentor Books; Yu, J., Egger, R., Color and engagement in touristic Instagram pictures: A machine learning approach (2021) Annals of Tourism Research, 89, pp. 1-15. , 103204; Jaycocks, A., (2019), Climate finance and green bond evolution (Doctoral dissertation, Pardee RAND Graduate School); John, G.S., (2017), Blazing grace: The gifted culture of burning man. NANO: New American Notes Online, 11, 1a-1a; Johner, A., Transformational festivals: A new religious movement? (2015) Exploring psychedelic trance and electronic dance music in modern culture, pp. 58-86. , IGI Global; Kibardin, E., AI for AI (artificial insemination) (2020), https://datarefiner.com/feed/ai-for-ai; Kirillova, K., Lehto, X., Cai, L., Tourism and existential transformation: An empirical investigation (2017) Journal of Travel Research, 56 (5), pp. 638-650; Kirillova, K., Lehto, X., Cai, L., What triggers transformative tourism experiences? (2017) Tourism Recreation Research, 42 (4), pp. 498-511; Kjus, Y., Danielsen, A., Live Islands in the seas of recordings: The music experience of visitors at the {\O}ya festival (2014) Popular Music and Society, 37 (5), pp. 660-679; Kozinets, R.V., Can consumers escape the market? Emancipatory illuminations from burning man (2002) Journal of Consumer Research, 29 (1), pp. 20-38; Kozinets, R.V., Sherry, J.F., Jr., Dancing on common ground: Exploring the sacred at burning man (2004) Rave culture and religion, pp. 287-303; Lacanna, G., Wagenaar, C., Avermaete, T., Swami, V., Evaluating the psychosocial impact of indoor public spaces in complex healthcare settings (2019) Health Environments Research \& Design Journal, 12 (3), pp. 11-30; Lo, I.S., McKercher, B., Ideal image in process: Online tourist photography and impression management (2015) Annals of Tourism Research, 52, pp. 104-116; Luo, J.M., Vu, H.Q., Li, G., Law, R., Topic modelling for theme park online reviews: Analysis of Disneyland (2020) Journal of Travel \& Tourism Marketing, 37 (2), pp. 272-285; Magrizos, S., Kostopoulos, I., Powers, L., Volunteer tourism as a transformative experience: A mixed methods empirical study (2020) Journal of Travel Research, 60 (4), pp. 878-895. , 004728752091363; Neuhofer, B., Celuch, K., To, T.L., Experience design and the dimensions of transformative festival experiences (2020) International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32 (9), pp. 2881-2901; Nguyen, T., Lee, K., Chung, N., Koo, C., The way of generation Y enjoying Jazz festival: A case of the Korea (Jarasum) music festival (2020) Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 25 (1), pp. 52-63; Pa{\"u}l i Agust{\'i}, D., Characterizing the location of tourist images in cities. Differences in user-generated images (Instagram), official tourist brochures and travel guides (2018) Annals of Tourism Research, 73, pp. 103-115; Pine, B.J., Gilmore, J., Integrating experiences into your business model: Five approaches (2016) Strategy \& Leadership, 44 (1), pp. 3-10; Pine, B.J., Gilmore, J.H., The experience economy (2011), Harvard Business Press; Pung, J.M., Gnoth, J., Del Chiappa, G., Tourist transformation: Towards a conceptual model (2020) Annals of Tourism Research, 81; Richards, G., Designing creative places: The role of creative tourism (2020) Annals of Tourism Research, 85; Riva, G., Ba{\~n}os, R.M., Botella, C., Mantovani, F., Gaggioli, A., Transforming experience: The potential of augmented reality and virtual reality for enhancing personal and clinical change (2016) Frontiers in Psychiatry, 7, p. 164; Rowen, I., (2020), pp. 1-8. , The transformational festival as a subversive toolbox for a transformed tourism: Lessons from burning man for a COVID-19 world. Tourism Geographies; Seligman, M.E., Csikszentmihalyi, M., Positive psychology: An introduction (2014) Flow and the foundations of positive psychology, pp. 279-298; Sheldon, P.J., Designing tourism experiences for inner transformation (2020) Annals of Tourism Research, 83; Shister, N., Radical ritual: How burning man changed the world (2019) Catapult.; Soulard, J., McGehee, N.G., Stern, M., Transformative tourism organizations and glocalization (2019) Annals of Tourism Research, 76, pp. 91-104; Soulard, J., McGehee, N.G., Stern, M.J., Lamoureux, K.M., Transformative tourism: Tourists' drawings, symbols, and narratives of change (2021) Annals of Tourism Research, 87; Stein, E., Milnor, J.W., Spivak, M., Wells, R., Mather, J.N., Morse theory (1963), Princeton University Press; Sun, H., Dai, G., Examining the relationships among eventscape, motivation and emotion (2018) International conference on management, education and information, pp. 119-125. , Atlantis Press; Tan, K.L., Sim, A.K., Chai, D., Beck, L., Participant well-being and local festivals: The case of the Miri country music festival, Malaysia (2020) International Journal of Event and Festival Management, 11 (4), pp. 433-451; Tanford, S., Jung, S., Festival attributes and perceptions: A meta-analysis of relationships with satisfaction and loyalty (2017) Tourism Management, 61, pp. 209-220; Tussyadiah, I.P., Technology and behavioral Design in Tourism (2017) Design science in tourism, pp. 173-191; Vigolo, V., Bonfanti, A., Sallaku, R., Douglas, J., The effect of signage and emotions on satisfaction with the servicescape: An empirical investigation in a healthcare service setting (2020) Psychology \& Marketing, 37 (3), pp. 408-417; Wang, L., Lyu, J., Inspiring awe through tourism and its consequence (2019) Annals of Tourism Research, 77, pp. 106-116; White, N.R., White, P.B., Travel as transition (2004) Annals of Tourism Research, 31 (1), pp. 200-218; Wu, S., Li, Y., Wood, E.H., Senaux, B., Dai, G., Liminality and festivals{\textemdash}Insights from the east (2020) Annals of Tourism Research, 80; Wu, S.H., Huang, S.C.T., Tsai, C.Y.D., Sung, C.L., As loyal as migratory birds: Analyzing event revisit intention with dramaturgy and environmental psychology theories (2020) Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 25 (8), pp. 841-857; Xiang, Z., Stienmetz, J., Fesenmaier, D.R., Smart tourism design: Launching the annals of tourism research curated collection on designing tourism places (2021) Annals of Tourism Research, 86; Xu, F., Tian, F., Buhalis, D., Weber, J., Zhang, H., Tourists as mobile gamers: Gamification for tourism marketing (2016) Journal of Travel \& Tourism Marketing, 33 (8), pp. 1124-1142; Yaden, D.B., Kaufman, S.B., Hyde, E., Chirico, A., Gaggioli, A., Zhang, J.W., Keltner, D., The development of the AWE experience scale (AWE-S): A multifactorial measure for a complex emotion (2019) The Journal of Positive Psychology, 14 (4), pp. 474-488; Yolal, M., Gursoy, D., Uysal, M., Kim, H.L., Karacaoğlu, S., Impacts of festivals and events on residents{\textquoteright} well-being (2016) Annals of Tourism Research, 61, pp. 1-18; Yu, C.E., Xie, S.Y., Wen, J., Coloring the destination: The role of color psychology on Instagram (2020) Tourism Management, 80",

year = "2021",

month = nov,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.annals.2021.103310",

language = "English",

volume = "91",

journal = "Ann. Tour. Res.",

issn = "0160-7383",

publisher = "Elsevier Ltd",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Designing experiences in the age of human transformation: An analysis of Burning Man

AU - Neuhofer, B.

AU - Egger, R.

AU - Yu, J.

AU - Celuch, K.

N1 - Cited By :25 Export Date: 14 December 2023 Correspondence Address: Neuhofer, B.; Department of Innovation and Management in Tourism, Urstein Süd 1, Austria; email: [email protected] References: Ahmed, M., Karagiorgou, S., Pfoser, D., Wenk, C., Map construction algorithms (2015) Map construction algorithms, pp. 1-14. , Springer Cham; Anderson, S., Nasr, L., Rayburn, S.W., Transformative service research and service design: Synergistic effects in healthcare (2018) The Service Industries Journal, 38 (1-2), pp. 99-113; Arefieva, V., Egger, R., Yu, J., A machine learning approach to cluster destination image on Instagram (2021) Tourism Management, 85; Brymer, E., Crabtree, J., King, R., Exploring perceptions of how nature recreation benefits mental wellbeing: A qualitative enquiry (2020), pp. 1-20. , Annals of Leisure Research; Brymer, E., Schweitzer, R.D., Evoking the ineffable: The phenomenology of extreme sports (2017) Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, 4 (1), pp. 63-74; Chen, K.K., Artistic prosumption: Cocreative destruction at burning man (2012) American Behavioral Scientist, 56 (4), pp. 570-595; Davies, M., Hungenberg, E., Aicher, T., The relationship between runner environmental paradigm and their motives to participate in an urban or rural marathon (2019) International Journal of Event and Festival Management, 10 (1), pp. 48-66; Decrop, A., Del Chiappa, G., Mallargé, J., Zidda, P., “Couchsurfing has made me a better person and the world a better place”: The transformative power of collaborative tourism experiences (2018) Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 35 (1), pp. 57-72; Donovan, R.J., Rossiter, J.R., Store atmosphere: An environmental psychology approach (1982) Journal of Retailing, 58 (1), pp. 34-57; Filep, S., Macnaughton, J., Glover, T., Tourism and gratitude: Valuing acts of kindness (2017) Annals of Tourism Research, 66, pp. 26-36; Finsterwalder, J., Kuppelwieser, V.G., Intentionality and transformative services: Wellbeing co-creation and spill-over effects (2020) Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 52; Gaggioli, A., Transformative experience design (2016) Human computer confluence, pp. 97-122. , Sciendo Migration; Galvani, A., Lew, A.A., Perez, M.S., COVID-19 is expanding global consciousness and the sustainability of travel and tourism (2020) Tourism Geographies, 22 (3), pp. 567-576; Getz, D., Page, S., Event studies: Theory, research and policy for planned events (2016), Routledge; Gon, M., Local experiences on Instagram: Social media data as source of evidence for experience design (2020) Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 19, pp. 1-11. , 100435; Gössling, S., Celebrities, air travel, and social norms (2019) Annals of Tourism Research, 79; Guttentag, D., Transformative experiences via Airbnb: Is it the guests or the host communities that will be transformed? (2019) Journal of Tourism Futures, 5 (2), pp. 179-184; Hannigan, T.R., Haans, R.F., Vakili, K., Tchalian, H., Glaser, V.L., Wang, M.S., Jennings, P.D., Topic modeling in management research: Rendering new theory from textual data (2019) Academy of Management Annals, 13 (2), pp. 586-632; Hockett, J., Participant observation and the study of self: Burning man as ethnographic experience (2005), pp. 65-84. , Reflections on Burning Man AfterBurn; Iyendo, T.O., Uwajeh, P.C., Ikenna, E.S., The therapeutic impacts of environmental design interventions on wellness in clinical settings: A narrative review (2016) Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 24, pp. 174-188; James, W., The varieties of religious experience (1958), Mentor Books; Yu, J., Egger, R., Color and engagement in touristic Instagram pictures: A machine learning approach (2021) Annals of Tourism Research, 89, pp. 1-15. , 103204; Jaycocks, A., (2019), Climate finance and green bond evolution (Doctoral dissertation, Pardee RAND Graduate School); John, G.S., (2017), Blazing grace: The gifted culture of burning man. NANO: New American Notes Online, 11, 1a-1a; Johner, A., Transformational festivals: A new religious movement? (2015) Exploring psychedelic trance and electronic dance music in modern culture, pp. 58-86. , IGI Global; Kibardin, E., AI for AI (artificial insemination) (2020), https://datarefiner.com/feed/ai-for-ai; Kirillova, K., Lehto, X., Cai, L., Tourism and existential transformation: An empirical investigation (2017) Journal of Travel Research, 56 (5), pp. 638-650; Kirillova, K., Lehto, X., Cai, L., What triggers transformative tourism experiences? (2017) Tourism Recreation Research, 42 (4), pp. 498-511; Kjus, Y., Danielsen, A., Live Islands in the seas of recordings: The music experience of visitors at the Øya festival (2014) Popular Music and Society, 37 (5), pp. 660-679; Kozinets, R.V., Can consumers escape the market? Emancipatory illuminations from burning man (2002) Journal of Consumer Research, 29 (1), pp. 20-38; Kozinets, R.V., Sherry, J.F., Jr., Dancing on common ground: Exploring the sacred at burning man (2004) Rave culture and religion, pp. 287-303; Lacanna, G., Wagenaar, C., Avermaete, T., Swami, V., Evaluating the psychosocial impact of indoor public spaces in complex healthcare settings (2019) Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 12 (3), pp. 11-30; Lo, I.S., McKercher, B., Ideal image in process: Online tourist photography and impression management (2015) Annals of Tourism Research, 52, pp. 104-116; Luo, J.M., Vu, H.Q., Li, G., Law, R., Topic modelling for theme park online reviews: Analysis of Disneyland (2020) Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 37 (2), pp. 272-285; Magrizos, S., Kostopoulos, I., Powers, L., Volunteer tourism as a transformative experience: A mixed methods empirical study (2020) Journal of Travel Research, 60 (4), pp. 878-895. , 004728752091363; Neuhofer, B., Celuch, K., To, T.L., Experience design and the dimensions of transformative festival experiences (2020) International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32 (9), pp. 2881-2901; Nguyen, T., Lee, K., Chung, N., Koo, C., The way of generation Y enjoying Jazz festival: A case of the Korea (Jarasum) music festival (2020) Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 25 (1), pp. 52-63; Paül i Agustí, D., Characterizing the location of tourist images in cities. Differences in user-generated images (Instagram), official tourist brochures and travel guides (2018) Annals of Tourism Research, 73, pp. 103-115; Pine, B.J., Gilmore, J., Integrating experiences into your business model: Five approaches (2016) Strategy & Leadership, 44 (1), pp. 3-10; Pine, B.J., Gilmore, J.H., The experience economy (2011), Harvard Business Press; Pung, J.M., Gnoth, J., Del Chiappa, G., Tourist transformation: Towards a conceptual model (2020) Annals of Tourism Research, 81; Richards, G., Designing creative places: The role of creative tourism (2020) Annals of Tourism Research, 85; Riva, G., Baños, R.M., Botella, C., Mantovani, F., Gaggioli, A., Transforming experience: The potential of augmented reality and virtual reality for enhancing personal and clinical change (2016) Frontiers in Psychiatry, 7, p. 164; Rowen, I., (2020), pp. 1-8. , The transformational festival as a subversive toolbox for a transformed tourism: Lessons from burning man for a COVID-19 world. Tourism Geographies; Seligman, M.E., Csikszentmihalyi, M., Positive psychology: An introduction (2014) Flow and the foundations of positive psychology, pp. 279-298; Sheldon, P.J., Designing tourism experiences for inner transformation (2020) Annals of Tourism Research, 83; Shister, N., Radical ritual: How burning man changed the world (2019) Catapult.; Soulard, J., McGehee, N.G., Stern, M., Transformative tourism organizations and glocalization (2019) Annals of Tourism Research, 76, pp. 91-104; Soulard, J., McGehee, N.G., Stern, M.J., Lamoureux, K.M., Transformative tourism: Tourists' drawings, symbols, and narratives of change (2021) Annals of Tourism Research, 87; Stein, E., Milnor, J.W., Spivak, M., Wells, R., Mather, J.N., Morse theory (1963), Princeton University Press; Sun, H., Dai, G., Examining the relationships among eventscape, motivation and emotion (2018) International conference on management, education and information, pp. 119-125. , Atlantis Press; Tan, K.L., Sim, A.K., Chai, D., Beck, L., Participant well-being and local festivals: The case of the Miri country music festival, Malaysia (2020) International Journal of Event and Festival Management, 11 (4), pp. 433-451; Tanford, S., Jung, S., Festival attributes and perceptions: A meta-analysis of relationships with satisfaction and loyalty (2017) Tourism Management, 61, pp. 209-220; Tussyadiah, I.P., Technology and behavioral Design in Tourism (2017) Design science in tourism, pp. 173-191; Vigolo, V., Bonfanti, A., Sallaku, R., Douglas, J., The effect of signage and emotions on satisfaction with the servicescape: An empirical investigation in a healthcare service setting (2020) Psychology & Marketing, 37 (3), pp. 408-417; Wang, L., Lyu, J., Inspiring awe through tourism and its consequence (2019) Annals of Tourism Research, 77, pp. 106-116; White, N.R., White, P.B., Travel as transition (2004) Annals of Tourism Research, 31 (1), pp. 200-218; Wu, S., Li, Y., Wood, E.H., Senaux, B., Dai, G., Liminality and festivals—Insights from the east (2020) Annals of Tourism Research, 80; Wu, S.H., Huang, S.C.T., Tsai, C.Y.D., Sung, C.L., As loyal as migratory birds: Analyzing event revisit intention with dramaturgy and environmental psychology theories (2020) Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 25 (8), pp. 841-857; Xiang, Z., Stienmetz, J., Fesenmaier, D.R., Smart tourism design: Launching the annals of tourism research curated collection on designing tourism places (2021) Annals of Tourism Research, 86; Xu, F., Tian, F., Buhalis, D., Weber, J., Zhang, H., Tourists as mobile gamers: Gamification for tourism marketing (2016) Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 33 (8), pp. 1124-1142; Yaden, D.B., Kaufman, S.B., Hyde, E., Chirico, A., Gaggioli, A., Zhang, J.W., Keltner, D., The development of the AWE experience scale (AWE-S): A multifactorial measure for a complex emotion (2019) The Journal of Positive Psychology, 14 (4), pp. 474-488; Yolal, M., Gursoy, D., Uysal, M., Kim, H.L., Karacaoğlu, S., Impacts of festivals and events on residents’ well-being (2016) Annals of Tourism Research, 61, pp. 1-18; Yu, C.E., Xie, S.Y., Wen, J., Coloring the destination: The role of color psychology on Instagram (2020) Tourism Management, 80

PY - 2021/11/1

Y1 - 2021/11/1

N2 - In the emerging transformation age, not only do experiences with transformational qualities happen by chance, but they are induced through intentional design. This study investigates the human gathering Burning Man, often stipulated as one of the world's most transformative large-scale experiences. Grounded in the theoretical lens of environmental psychology, a deep topological analysis was conducted based on Instagram data to analyse participants' digital outer expressions and find answers to their innermost transformative experiences. Through a holistic analysis of the pre-liminal, on-site, and post-liminal stages, socio-environmental and socio-psychological spheres, with 30 clusters that trigger potential transformation, could be revealed. This study contributes to the interdisciplinary discourse relating to human experience and transformation design in the tourism, events, and experience sectors.

AB - In the emerging transformation age, not only do experiences with transformational qualities happen by chance, but they are induced through intentional design. This study investigates the human gathering Burning Man, often stipulated as one of the world's most transformative large-scale experiences. Grounded in the theoretical lens of environmental psychology, a deep topological analysis was conducted based on Instagram data to analyse participants' digital outer expressions and find answers to their innermost transformative experiences. Through a holistic analysis of the pre-liminal, on-site, and post-liminal stages, socio-environmental and socio-psychological spheres, with 30 clusters that trigger potential transformation, could be revealed. This study contributes to the interdisciplinary discourse relating to human experience and transformation design in the tourism, events, and experience sectors.

KW - Environmental psychology

KW - Experience design

KW - Human transformation

KW - Instagram

KW - Transformation design

KW - cultural tradition

KW - design

KW - festival

KW - heritage tourism

KW - holistic approach

KW - interdisciplinary approach

KW - psychology

KW - social network

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/7206f4fc-cf62-371a-9d73-7deb1c6ff783/

U2 - 10.1016/j.annals.2021.103310

DO - 10.1016/j.annals.2021.103310

M3 - Article

SN - 0160-7383

VL - 91

JO - Ann. Tour. Res.

JF - Ann. Tour. Res.

ER -

Designing experiences in the age of human transformation: An analysis of Burning Man

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