The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management CULTURE, CONSENSUS AND BEHAVIOR AMONG NORTH-AMERICAN SPRING BREAKERS A Dissertation in Recreation, Park and Tourism Management by Nuno Filipe da Costa Cardoso Dantas Ribeiro 2011 Nuno Filipe da Costa Cardoso Dantas Ribeiro Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2011 The dissertation of Nuno Filipe da Costa Cardoso Dantas Ribeiro was reviewed and approved* by the following: Careen M. Yarnal Associate Professor of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management Dissertation Advisor Chair of Committee E. Paul Durrenberger Professor of Anthropology Robert W. Schrauf Professor of Applied Linguistics Garry E. Chick Professor of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management Professor of Anthropology Head of the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT To what extent does culture, taken as the set of normative beliefs that individuals use to live their lives within a given context, correspond with actual behavior? Furthermore, are self-reported accounts of behavior sufficient to ascertain the veracity of informants‘ claims, particularly in the case of socially reproachable behavior? While culture undoubtedly influences behavior, individuals do not always behave in accordance with the cultural beliefs they purport to subscribe to, nor do they always report past events accurately. The problem is compounded when one looks at out-of-the-ordinary behaviors, like those that occur in leisure-based phenomena such as carnivals, festivals, and holidays. A paradigmatic example is Spring Break, a leisure phenomenon usually associated with extreme types of behavior. The purpose of this research was to provide an objective account of Spring Break behavior and contrast it with spring breakers‘ self-reported cultural beliefs and behaviors about Spring Break using the cultural consensus and cultural consonance models. Moreover, the aim of this study was to address a gap in the Spring Break literature by providing an ethnographic account of Spring Break in a typical Spring Break destination – Panama City Beach, Florida – and placing the Spring Break phenomenon in its larger socio-political-economical context. Four separate studies were conducted using a variety of research methods following a mixed-methods design. Namely, a) an ethnography of the Spring Break experience, b) an ethological analysis of spring breakers‘ public behaviors, c) a cultural domain analysis of spring breakers‘ cultural beliefs and cultural prescriptions, and d) an investigation into the relationship between Spring Break culture and self-reported and objectively measured Spring Break behaviors using the cultural consensus and cultural consonance models. Findings point towards a disconnect between culture and behavior, which I labeled ―cultural dissonance.‖ Objectively measured behavior followed cultural prescriptions iv (i.e., normative behaviors) more closely than self-reported behavior, thus supporting a wealth of research in the social sciences that stresses the behavioral implications of cultural models. These studies revealed the presence of not one but two separate Spring Break cultures, sharply divided along gender lines. Findings also dispute the notion of Spring Break as a rite of passage for college students, suggesting instead that Spring Break behaviors are but a continuation of practices that college students already engage in during the rest of the year. Moreover, this research revealed that Spring Break is not independent of local systems and global processes of economic and political importance, which influence, and are in turn influenced by, what occurs during Spring Break. Lastly, these studies validated the necessity of adopting mixed methodologies when conducting anthropological research in order to obtain valid and reliable results. The present research makes a significant contribution to the comparative study of culture and behavior. This study also furthers cultural consensus and cultural consonance theories, namely by contrasting self-reported cultural consonance and objectively measured cultural consonance with cultural consensus. Furthermore, the novelty of the research design and research methods employed has significant potential to mitigate the prevailing issue of informant inaccuracy in the social sciences. This research also contributes to a better understanding of young people‘s leisure in controversial settings by examining how their cultural beliefs influence actual and self- perceived behavior. Lastly, this research extends existing knowledge on Spring Break, a tourism phenomenon of growing economic and social importance. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES _____________________________________________________ ix LIST OF TABLES _____________________________________________________ xii ACNOWLEDGEMENTS ________________________________________________ xiii INTRODUCTION ______________________________________________________ 1 LEARNING ABOUT CULTURE _____________________________________________ 2 HOTEL SOVIVA ________________________________________________________ 6 THE HISTORY OF A BREAK ______________________________________________ 10 SOME DISCREPANCIES IN THE SPRING BREAK LITERATURE _____________________ 13 ORIENTATION TO THE DISSERTATION ARTICLES _____________________________ 16 REFERENCES ________________________________________________________ 18 ―WE‘RE NOT PORN GUYS, WE‘RE ANTHROPOLOGISTS!‖ – AN ETHNOGRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF SPRING BREAK IN PANAMA CITY BEACH, FLORIDA ____________________________________________________________ 26 ABSTRACT __________________________________________________________ 26 INTRODUCTION _______________________________________________________ 28 ―THE BEST-KEPT SECRET IN THE PANHANDLE‖ – THE MAKING OF A TOURISM DESTINATION ________________________________________________________ 33 ―YOU GUYS DON‘T LOOK LIKE SPRING BREAKERS!‖ ___________________________ 40 WELCOME TO PANAMA CITY BEACH ______________________________________ 45 BEACH LIFE _________________________________________________________ 50 THE DIRTY UNDERBELLY _______________________________________________ 58 LOCAL SYSTEMS, GLOBAL PROCESSES ____________________________________ 68 ―WE‘RE NOT PORN GUYS, WE‘RE ANTHROPOLOGISTS!‖ _______________________ 82 CODA – GUARDING FORT PANAMA _______________________________________ 84 REFERENCES ________________________________________________________ 88 APPENDIX A – A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF PANAMA CITY BEACH, 1939-2009 _______ 103 PUBLIC SPACE AND CORPORATE SPACE: RITUAL ELEMENTS IN THE SPRING BREAK EXPERIENCE IN PANAMA CITY BEACH, FLORIDA ______________ 108 ABSTRACT _________________________________________________________ 108 INTRODUCTION ______________________________________________________ 110 PANAMA CITY BEACH, FLORIDA ________________________________________ 111 vi METHODS __________________________________________________________ 112 RESULTS ___________________________________________________________ 113 SPRING BREAK – A FAKE RITE OF PASSAGE? _______________________________ 118 REFERENCES _______________________________________________________ 121 USING A VARIETY OF METHODS TO COMPARE RELATED FREE LISTS AND INVESTIGATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COGNITION AND BEHAVIOR OF A SPRING BREAK EXPERIENCE ___________________________________ 124 ABSTRACT _________________________________________________________ 124 INTRODUCTION ______________________________________________________ 126 THE SPRING BREAK CONTEXT __________________________________________ 127 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ________________________________________________ 128 METHODS __________________________________________________________ 129 Sampling Procedures _______________________________________________ 129 Analysis _________________________________________________________ 130 Defining and characterizing cultural domains __________________________ 131 Comparing cultural domains _______________________________________ 133 RESULTS ___________________________________________________________ 133 Frequency Distribution _____________________________________________ 133 Length of Free Lists________________________________________________ 135 Visualizing Domain Composition and Structure __________________________ 139 Multidimensional Scaling Plots _____________________________________ 139 Graphic Layout Algorithm Representation ____________________________ 140 Domain Comparison _______________________________________________ 145 DISCUSSION ________________________________________________________ 146 CONCLUSION _______________________________________________________ 148 REFERENCES _______________________________________________________ 149 APPENDIX A – FREE LISTING QUESTIONNAIRE ____________________________ 154 APPENDIX B – RESPONDENT-BY-ITEM SIMILARITY MATRICES ________________ 156 CULTURE, CONSENSUS, AND DISSONANCE AMONG NORTH-AMERICAN SPRING BREAKERS _________________________________________________ 163 ABSTRACT _________________________________________________________ 163 INTRODUCTION ______________________________________________________ 165 LITERATURE REVIEW _________________________________________________ 166 vii Culture, Consensus, and Behavior_____________________________________ 166 Culture, Consensus, and Leisure ______________________________________ 168 Spring Break – A North American Phenomenon _________________________ 169 PROCEDURES _______________________________________________________