Behaviour change by communication and pedagogical strategies –

1. Behaviour change by communication and pedagogical strategies – What we can learn from other fields ECOMM 2009 in San Sebastian 14th of May 2009 Gudrun Uranitsch Austrian Mobility Research

2. Background • The Province of Vorarlberg, elaborating the Cycling Strategy, asked one simple but important question: • Are soft policies (communication via campaigning, promotion, information, training etc.) changing people‘s mobility behaviour? ?

3. Overview about different scientific fields • Environmental Psychology • Gender-orientated environmental research •  Social Psychological Findings & Advertising Psychology • Communication Strategies in Traffic Safety & Health promotion • Recommendations for Mobility Management

4. I. Environmental Psychology: Theories of behaviour change Problem: Gap between environmental attitudes and behaviours! • Conditions for behaviour change: •  social context • cognitive factors such as perceived behavioural control • efficacy • incentives • habits • actual situation • cost – benefit • personal factors • socio-cultural environment based on the key constructs of motivation, values and identity

5. Relevant factors for behaviour change (attitude-orientated model) • Source: Frewein, Seebauer: Modelle zur Beschreibung der Verkehrsmittelwahl. 2003.

6. II. Gender-orientated Environmental Research: environmental problems are not gender-free Women show higer ecological awareness & behave more ecology-minded than men • Explantion: • Women are underprivileged (e.g. fewer financial resources) and consequently need to behave and act more resource-conserving • 2. Women continue to have a central role within the household and are often responsible for issues relating to health and environment. However, they lack the possibility to actively change existing systems because they are not in the position to influence policy

7. Differences in driving behaviour ♂ ♀

8. Women behave much more eco-friendly Women know less scientific facts (most important critique on the part of feminist environmental research) but have a much broader daily relevant knowledge and their behaviour is much more eco-friendly!

9. Different information behaviour between men and women Source: Empacher / Heyn/ Schubert / Schulz: Analyse der Folgen des Geschlechterrollenwandels für Umweltbewußtsein und Umweltverhalten. Frankfurt / Main, 2001.

10. Gap between the information rich & information poor • The knowledge-gap hypothesis theory • Media research shows that increase of information doesn‘t reach everybody alike, due to: • - differences in access to the medium • - control over its use increases therefore the gap between the information rich and information poor Source: Empacher / Heyn/ Schubert / Schulz: Analyse der Folgen des Geschlechterrollenwandels für Umweltbewußtsein und Umweltverhalten. Frankfurt / Main, 2001.

11. III. Field of Social Psychology used in Advertising Psychology Know how about illusion of invulnerability We believe that the probability that we are influenced by advertising and consequently spend money is much lower for ourselves than for the others! • Third person-Effect • Prevention and Promotion strategies work with messages aiming to change people‘s attitudes and behaviours. • This is a way of influencing people. • Attention: If influence is too obvious - • defence mechanisms are activated!

12. Shock advertising to raise awareness • for environmental issues • Olivero Toscani for Benneton

13. Shock advertising to raise awareness for traffic safety issues •  Shame campaign in Styria’s TV: Could you life with it?

14. Peer group education: Promising in traffic safety communication  Direct communication & emotional approach, involving car drivers who caused heavy accidents and future car drivers

15. Evaluation of acceptance 56% can imagine to work as a peer mentor telling the story about responsibility in traffic 70% say the performance has impact on their driving behaviour

16. Communication theory: Which message is • the right one?

17. IV. Communication strategies in health promotion 1980ies: Negative Campaigning (Warning & Fear Appeals, Risk factor models: If you are not living healthy you will become ill!) Pathogenetic concept (origin & treatment of illness) 1990ies: Health genetic concept: Why do human beings stay healthy? (A. Antonovsky) Transtheoretical Model (Di Clemente / Prohaska): Successful in the areas of nutrition and exercise → change happens in multiple consecutive steps (time and process character is important) Expectancy of self-efficacy is important

18. Self-efficiacy keeps healthy Grant Study in 1930ies: 200 healthy & highly skilled male students, 25 years old, were interviewed over 50 years about their status of health & health attitudes. Research about life attitude and life confidence showed that men with an optimistic attitude were healthier! High significance of self-efficacy became obvious in this study.It is a central element!

19. Anti smoking campaign • Style • High quality and stylish pages in magazines and posters in London’s Underground • Target group Young female smokers 16 to 24 years • Method planning Target’s preferences were monitored for several month by Teenwatching (read their magazines, frequent spots where they hang out, shop where they shop etc.) • Interviews with editors of leading young women’s magazines to get know their fashion, their body image, emotional problems…

20. Anti smoking campaign • Cooperation • HEA, read medical journals and consulted UK’s leading dermatologists • Campaign message • Every cigarette you smoke is having a detrimental effect on your looks now.By using the language of cosmetics, and also the glamour and simple gloss of the best cosmetics advertisements, the message was found to be believable and extremely relevant.

21. Results ofan Anti smoking campaign •  20% increase in the number of 16 - 24 year olds who claimed to have seen advertising with an antismoking message (excluding nicotine replacement treatments). •  84% of the smokers that had seen the ads felt that they were aimed specifically at them •  Almost 2/3 said that the ads had encouraged them to think about giving up smoking

22. Toyota Campaign •  Social psychologists accompanied a group of young people for 3 years to get ideas for the design of a new car that would attract young people Source: Robert Levine “ The power of persuasion” – Psychology of manipulation

23. Counteracting Ads  The Baby boomer generation and Generation X are people who believe that they are not attractable and are immune towards advertising – they are cool, hip, ironic, a pose of opposition against advertising.  Advertisers (Nike, Reebok, MTV) counteract with Ads: You are too cool to be taken in by ads! Source: Robert Levine “ The power of persuasion” – Psychology of manipulation

24. V. Recommendations for Mobility Management: • Cycling from early childhood on! • Is Cycling a matter of habitual behaviour? • Environmental Psychology agrees: Most relevant factors for behaviour change are social norms and habit  Cycling from early childhood on as part of a continous mobility socialisation!

25. V. Recommendations for Mobility Management: • Learning by doing - Training  Cycle with different target groups in real traffic

26. V. Recommendations for Mobility Management: • Learning by doing - Training

27. V. Recommendations for Mobility Management: • Learning by doing - Training

28. V. Recommendations for Mobility Management: • Develop gender related information & methods  If you want to reach women involve them in participation processes!

29. V. Recommendations for Mobility Management • for communication: Be concrete & tangible! •  To promote cycling – call it cycling! •  Consider psychological know how (do not manipulate but be aware about the power and hidden persuasion of words) •  Use positive, concrete, tangible, gender sensitive and action-orientated messages (reason why people cycle is fun factor!) • Be precise defining your target group (health promoting campaigns!)  Invest enough money because soft measures cost money!

30. Thank you very much for your attention! Gudrun Uranitsch Austrian Mobility Research uranitsch@fgm.at www.fgm.at www.radfahrtraining.at www.bypad.org