Susan Houge Mackenzie

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at University of Otago

This study integrated flow theory and reversal theory perspectives to investigate a potential range of flow states amongst adventure participants in a sequence of two studies. Study one was conducted with expert (n = 6) adventure participants via retrospective interviews, while study two collected prospective data from novice whitewater riversurfer...

Objectives The purpose of the present study was to explore possible multiple motives for participation in different adventure sports.DesignQualitative design, specifically an inductive-deductive approach informed by reversal theory, was used to analyze participation motivation data.Method Data was collected using the Scanlan Collaborative Interview...

This study evaluated phases of adventure experiences by identifying flow and reversal theory states over a 3-day white-water river surfing course. Data were collected with novice river surfers (n = 5) via in-depth qualitative interviews using head-mounted video cameras. Findings suggested that "opposing" experiential phases (i.e., telic and paratel...

Flow research has primarily focused on singular optimal state models (e.g., flow, peak experience), often in traditional sport or work contexts. This study investigated a proposed alternative model encompassing distinct optimal experiences (i.e., flow and clutch) via sequential studies across diverse nature-based adventure contexts (e.g., rockclimb...

ABSTRACT Adventure recreation is a growing form of leisure associated with optimal psychological states reported to involve intensely pleasant emotions, optimal functioning, and a sense of achievement or fulfilment. However, much of the research on this topic has primarily focused on singular optimal state models (e.g. flow, peak experience), whi...

The positive effects of sport and physical activity (PA) on physical and mental wellbeing are well-documented [e.g., (1, 2)]. However, planetary health challenges, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic and long-standing climate change issues, raise questions about how these crises effect sport and PA, both now and in the future. For example, how wil...

Adventure participants have traditionally been viewed as having thrill or risk-seeking motives, and this perception remains despite empirical research suggesting that other motives may drive participation. This study was conducted to extend understanding of participation motives of adventure recreation participants in relation to Csiksentmihalyi's...

Despite a substantial history of research on the well-being of host communities at tourism destinations, the individual psychological well-being of local residents remains an underexplored topic. This study explores the psychological well-being of tourism host community members through a case study of Queenstown, New Zealand. By drawing on the self...

The growing popularity of adventure recreation highlights the need to understand its participants and the individual characteristics of these activities in order to target health and well-being outcomes through adventure leisure pursuits. While exploratory qualitative studies have questioned the centrality of risk and thrill in adventure recreation...

Ecological challenges are quickly shaping the future of the tourism industry with an increasing focus on how to develop more sustainable adventure tourism practises. Adventure guides play an important role in this transition and in shaping client experiences, however there is a need to better understand how climate change may have important impacts...

Research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the value of physical activity and nature for psychological well-being in the general population when people’s mobility and activities are restricted due to government mandates. Since restrictions may thwart the psychological benefits reported from participation in adventure recreation (e....

Adventure tourism operators have historically drawn upon a range of broad, multi-purpose sustainability frameworks to provide experiences that are more ecologically and socially just. However, these efforts have been hindered by the need to interpret and translate large volumes of diverse sustainability guidance, which is often unclear or prohibiti...

Objectives Optimal psychological states (e.g., flow) are particularly valued by rock-climbers. The integrated model of flow and clutch states has shown promise for better understanding optimal states in sport psychology. The current study examined the antecedents, characteristics, and consequences of these states amongst rock-climbers in relation t...

The current study evaluated the degree to which nature-based physical activity (NPA) influenced two distinct types of psychological wellbeing: hedonic wellbeing and eudaimonic wellbeing. The type of motivation an individual experiences for physical activity, and the extent to which individuals have a sense of relatedness with nature, have been show...

This book presents various studies on leisure activities in the outdoors. Indeed, the benefits of being outdoors in a leisure context are widely acknowledged across a range of disciplinary perspectives (including tourism, therapeutic recreation, camps, education, adventure and recreation) (Humberstone et al., 2015). These benefits include the devel...

Upcoming book chapter about interprofessional collaborations to promote outdoor adventure educational programs that integrate STEM and healthy active lifestyles learning.

Sport tourism literature has paid limited attention to the psychological well-being benefits derived from participating in this form of tourism. This is especially the case for adventure sport tourism, which is characterised by travel to a destination to participate in an adventure sport event, such as competitive surfing or mountain biking. Throug...

Covid-19 lockdown restrictions constitute a population-wide “life-change event” disrupting normal daily routines. It was proposed that as a result of these lockdown restrictions, physical activity levels would likely decline. However, it could also be argued that lifestyle disruption may result in the formation of increased physical activity habits...

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global event that has already had substantive negative impacts on psychological well-being. This study investigated the relationship between physical activity (PA) and psychological well-being during a country-wide COVID-19 lockdown in New Zealand. Motivational quality and PA context (nature-based or non-nature-based) wer...

Understanding how working in adventure tourism impacts the psychological well-being of adventure guides is vital to developing tour guiding theory and responsible industry practices. However, little research has examined the well-being of women who are commercial adventure tour guides. This study explored the experiences of female adventure tourism...

Tour guides play a critical role in influencing visitor experiences and organisational success. The experiences of tour guides themselves however are less understood, particularly with regards to how these experiences impact on guides' well-being. Adventure tour guiding unfolds in a unique context reported to involve both high levels of emotional l...

Airbnb’s disruptive impacts on tourism destinations have been well acknowledged but systematic examination is still lacking. This study investigates these impacts on host communities from the perspectives of tourism destination stakeholders including Airbnb hosts, traditional accommodation providers, local residents and policy makers in Queenstown,...

Unprecedented mobility restrictions due to COVID-19 have frozen the adventure travel and tourism industry. These restrictions have forced many to embrace ‘hyperlocal’ approaches to adventure and provided an opportunity to reimagine our adventure travel philosophies and practices. Despite claims that traditional adventure travel could address some o...

This study explored a veteran female BASE jumper's experiences in relation to (a) participation phases, motivations and emotions; (b) risk perceptions and psychological management strategies; (c) psychological effects of accidents and fatalities on risk appraisals and her protective frame; and (d) psychological health and personal development benef...

This working paper examines the ways in which spiritual tour guides, those involved in shaping mystical or divine tourist experiences, facilitate or create the experiences for their tourist clients. To address this aim, in-depth, semi-structured online interviews were conducted with 11 spiritual tourism guides from various regions of the world. The...

Despite the documented positive outcomes of adventure experiences, subjective well-being (SWB) frameworks have been largely absent from discourse and analyses in adventure studies. This conceptual paper proposes a framework for understanding how adventure recreation experiences promote eudaemonic SWB. In our framework, we propose that adventure rec...

Research and public policy has long supported links between traditional sports and well-being. However, adventurous nature sport literature has primarily focused on performance issues and deficit models of risk or sensation-seeking. This standpoint is limited by assumptions that participation is: (a) dependent on personality structures; (b) solely...

Despite the documented positive outcomes of adventure experiences, subjective well-being (SWB) frameworks have been largely absent from discourse and analyses in adventure studies. This conceptual paper proposes a framework for understanding how adventure recreation experiences promote eudaimonic SWB. In our framework we propose that adventure recr...

Objectives: Flow states may explain motivation for continued participation in adventure recreation (e.g., skydiving, kayaking). This review aimed to identify what is known about of flow states that occur during adventure recreation. Design Systematic review following PRISMA guidelines. Method: A systematic search of 10 databases (e.g., SPORTdiscu...

Tourists are increasingly seeking personal development through spiritual, or mystical and divine, tourist experiences. Yet, spiritual tourism research is still largely in its infancy. This paper reports on a research study that aimed to investigate how spiritual tour guides manage and organise, or broker, spiritual tourists’ experiences. To address...

Queenstown, New Zealand has won a bid to host the 2020 International Adventure Conference, which will bring leading tourism researchers to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time, in December next year. The winning bid was presented by the University of Otago, Queenstown Resort College, and the Otago Polytechnic Institute of Sport and Adventure...

Citation: Parsons, H., Houge Mackenzie, S., & Filep, S. (2019). Facilitating self-development: How tour guides broker spiritual tourist experiences. Tourism Recreation Research. Recent research on co-created tours has suggested that guides broker tourist experiences in four domains: physical access, understanding, encounters, and empathy. However,...

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the concept of subjective well-being within the context of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. In 2015, the United Nations established 17 universal Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These SDGs encompassed the key social, environmental and economic dimensions that can universally impro...

Citation: Parsons, H., Houge Mackenzie, S., Filep, S. & Brymer, E. (2019). Subjective well-being and leisure. In W. Leal Filho, T., Wall, A. Marisa Azul, L. Brandli, & P. Gökcin Özuyar (Eds.), Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Good Health and Well-being, World Sustainability Series, Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978...

The main outcome of this review will be to assess the frequency and intensity of flow states among adventure recreation participants. In order to comprehensively answer the main question in a systematic way, the following sub research questions are set: (1) Does the frequency or experience of flow states vary across different adventure recreation a...

Physical inactivity and academic underperformance in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects are complex youth issues requiring multifaceted solutions. This exploratory study investigated a novel outdoor learning approach to addressing both issues through an outdoor adventure education (OAE) STEM education programme design...

Physical inactivity and academic underperformance in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects are complex youth issues requiring multifaceted solutions. This exploratory study investigated a novel outdoor learning approach to addressing both issues through an outdoor adventure education (OAE) STEM education programme design...

The term ‘extreme sports’ has become synonymous with a variety of nontraditional adventure experiences. Terminologies such as ‘whiz sports’, ‘free sports’, ‘adventure sports’, ‘lifestyle sports’, ‘action sports’, ‘alternative sports’ and ‘extreme sports’ are often used interchangeably. One disadvantage of this proliferation is that accompanying def...

Despite the mental and physical benefits of visiting natural areas, and increases in outdoor activity participation among U.S. youth overall in the past decade, outdoor access is skewed toward nonurban, nonminority populations. This environmental justice issue is particularly pronounced for minority youth in urban areas, such as the Los Angeles Bas...

This technically oriented book on medicine as applied to extreme sports offers broad coverage of the field extending well beyond the usual focus on major trauma and acute injuries. In addition to the injuries and diseases associated with individual extreme sports, this book also addresses the topics of psychology, dermatology, ophthalmology, infect...

Geocaching is a way to integrate technology with physical activity. Geocaching utilizes a global positioning receiver system (GPS) that provides coordinates directing participants to find treasures or “caches.” With the continued concern over decreased physical activity participation in youth, it was considered that geocaching may be one way to inc...

This study investigated the motivational and emotional experience of an experienced outdoor activity participant during a three-day guided adventure trek in Colca Canyon, Peru. The research adopted a qualitative autoethnographic approach which provided unique data in the form of diary entries, experiential diagrams, field notes and email content. A...

Many institutions encourage interdisciplinary research (IDR) to maximize organizational resources and to develop more practical approaches to address transdisciplinary ‘real world’ issues such as obesity. Leisure researchers have joined fields such as public health and kinesiology to address increased rates of obesity and physical inactivity with t...

Adventurous physical activity has traditionally been considered the pastime of a small minority of people with deviant personalities or characteristics that compel them to voluntarily take great risks purely for the sake of thrills and excitement. An unintended consequence of these traditional narratives is the relative absence of adventure activit...

Transformational tourism is about a change in thinking and behaviour through travel and tourism. In contrast to the first volume which focuses on tourist perspectives, this second volume focuses on host community perspectives of transformational tourism. This volume shows that through the tourist-host relationships, interacting with other people an...

The hegemonic view of tourism is as a global panacea for struggling peoples, environments and economies (Smith and Brent 2001). This article begins by arguing that increasing worldwide risks from human-induced climate change fundamentally alter the veracity of this prediction claim. As one of the world's largest industries, tourism is also one of t...

The main objective was to further unravel the experience of motivation in an expert male skydiver by investigating: (1) his general experience of motivation and perception of the dangers of skydiving; (2) his pursuit of new challenges and learning new skills as factors in maintaining motivation; (3) evidence of a mastery-based confidence frame in h...

Adventure tours are a fast-growing segment of the tourism market and guide behaviour has been identified as a critical factor in tourist satisfaction. However, little research has investigated guides’ emotional and motivational experiences and implications for psychological well-being. This study analyses critical incidents from autoethnographical...

This article examines the significance of psychology to experiential education (EE) and critiques EE models that have developed in isolation from larger psychological theories and developments. Following a review of literature and current issues, select areas of psychology are explored with reference to experiential learning processes. The state of...

Despite the volume of research identifying the importance of experiences and emotions in consumption and the impact of tour guide behavior on client experiences, investigations of guide experiences in adventure tourism destinations are limited. In particular, the impact of guide-to-guide interactions, rather than guide-to-client interactions, on ex...

Due to the fast growing nature of the adventure tourism industry and the commodification of adventure activities therein, improved understanding of adventure tourism experiences and mountaineer adventure tourists in particular is needed. In an effort to move beyond traditional market segmentation approaches, this study analysed autoethnographical d...

There are a number of innovative procedures available for use in qualitative research, including observation, note-taking and verbal protocol techniques. This paper highlights the potential usefulness of stimulated recall as an innovative technique for use in qualitative research in sport and possibly exercise. Specifically, it focuses on video foo...