Exploring happiness in nature-based travel: a field-experimental design utilizing heart rate variability, subjective measures, and qualitative interviews

Abstract

Happiness perceptions shift during travel, as experiences enhance positive effects through interactions between bodily states and psychological happiness. The changes in happiness observed during travel can be explained by the theory of hedonic adaptation, while the interactions are grounded in the theory of embodied cognition, which argues that emotions and cognition are shaped through environmental stimuli and bodily experiences. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the dynamic changes in happiness across the entire travel experience. Adopting a longitudinal approach, the study used surveys, field experiments through heart rate variability analyses, and qualitative interviews among individuals engaging in nature-based travel to empirically analyze travel happiness. The findings revealed an enhancement in psychological happiness commencing with the onset of the trip, with the peak of mental and physical happiness observed at the midpoint of travel. The in-depth interviews revealed that the maximal happiness experienced in the middle of travel was attributed to immersion in natural surroundings and the encounter of serendipitous events. The significance of these findings lies in the demonstration of the dynamic patterns of psychological and physiological changes in happiness during travel.