Teasing tourists? A humorous intervention strategy to manage deviant behavior and negative reactions

Deviant tourist behavior adversely affects the social, economic, and ecological dimensions of destinations, but direct intervention may cause tourists’ disgust and resistance. Based on conservation of resources theory, this paper investigates the effectiveness and mechanism of teasing as an intervention strategy in tourism contexts through four experiments. The results indicate that using teasing can greatly reduce tourists’ desire to avoid and revenge compared with not teasing. This effect is mediated by a serial process in which teasing can reduce perceived face threat, which in turn reduces anger, and then decreases their desire to avoid and revenge. Moreover, this process is moderated by the presence of bystanders and power distance beliefs. This study provides a novel understanding of teasing as an intervention strategy, explores its underlying face effects and enhances an understanding of how teasing influences tourists’ emotional and behavioral responses. By incorporating the moderating roles of bystanders and power distance beliefs, the research deepens the understanding of how social environments and cultural values shape the psychological and behavioral effects of teasing. Practically, the findings suggest that managers can use teasing to correct deviant behavior, especially in public service settings and low power distance cultures.