Investigation of tourists' post-purchase cognitive dissonance levels

Cognitive dissonance is a psychologically disturbing condition that can be experienced after a decision-making process. Individuals' behaviors considered as decision-making processes, and there is the possibility of cognitive dissonance in any situation where the decision-maker is concerned. In the context of tourism, there are few studies in the national and international literature that examine the cognitive dissonance that tourists experience after purchasing. This dissertation is prepared with the anticipation that the analysis of the factors affecting cognitive dissonance will contribute significantly to the understanding of tourists' behaviors. In this context, the purpose of this present study is to examine the factors that affect the cognitive dissonance that tourists experience after purchasing. For this purpose, psychological factors such as personality, anxiety, attachment styles and the reoccurrence of accommodation of the predictive effect on cognitive dissonance were investigated. Within the scope of the research, Turkish and Russian tourists lodging in 3, 4 and 5 star hotels in Antalya in 2017, were taken as the target group. A questionnaire has been carried out on the following day of accomodation in order to examine the effect of the psychological factors and reoccurence of accomodation on tourists' post-purchase cognitive dissonance. The questionnaire contains four scales and demographic questions. Within the scope of the dissertation, Sweeney, Hausknecht and Soutar's Cognitive Dissonance Scale was first adapted to Turkish and Russian and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised/Abbreviated Form, the Relationship Scales Questionnaire and the Beck Anxiety Inventory were adapted to Russian. Relationships between post-purchase cognitive dissonance and personality, anxiety level, attachment styles and number of arrivals to hotels in the direction of research hypotheses were tested by logistic regression analysis for Turkish and Russian tourists separately. According to the results of the research, the number of arrivals to the accommodation facility and the psychotic personality structures have effect on the cognitive dissonance that both Turkish and Russian tourists live after purchasing. Unlike Russian tourists, the neurotic personality structure and the secure attachment style have influenced cognitive dissonance in Turkish tourists. Anxiety levels were not effective on cognitive dissonance for both groups. Exploring the factors that affect the cognitive dissonance situations of tourists who prefer Antalya destination will shed light on the factors effecting destination management. It is thought that the conclusions drawn from this study and the adaptation of the measurement instruments will contribute to the literature and future studies. Keywords: Cognitive Dissonance, Personality, Attachment Styles, Anxiety, Purchasing